New Orleans Gets First Gulf South HBCU Medical School
Aspiring doctors in the region gain a local HBCU-affiliated path into medicine, with classroom instruction followed by clinical training at Ochsner Health.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in College Applications
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Xavier University of Louisiana has opened the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine in New Orleans, the fifth HBCU-affiliated medical school in the United States and the first in the Gulf South. The school operates in partnership with Ochsner Health and occupies 72,000 square feet of Benson Tower in downtown New Orleans' BioDistrict.
Why it matters
The school is designed to address a physician shortage that is expected to worsen in coming years, while adding training capacity in the region. Only about 6% of U.S. doctors are Black, compared with Black Americans representing around 14% of the population, a gap the school's mission directly targets.
The medical school occupies 72,000 square feet of Benson Tower in downtown New Orleans' BioDistrict. Only about 6% of U.S. doctors are Black, while Black Americans represent around 14% of the U.S. population.
The players
Xavier University of Louisiana
A historically Black university in New Orleans whose new medical school expands its health-professions training.
Ochsner Health
A New Orleans-based health system that partners with the medical school and hosts students for clinical training.
The details
The first two years of the program are primarily classroom-based, giving students foundational medical instruction on site. After those two years, students move into live medical scenarios and training conducted with Ochsner Health. The anatomy lab will eventually house cadavers as the program's teaching facilities develop.
Timeline
November 13, 2026: The medical school holds its opening day tour and the story is published.
2023: Year of the data showing Black doctor representation figures.
Education Landscape
The school joins a small group of HBCU-affiliated medical schools, adding the first such program in the Gulf South. It responds to a documented gap in Black physician representation and a physician shortage that is projected to deepen.
Students considering medicine in the New Orleans area now have an HBCU-affiliated option with a classroom-based first two years followed by clinical training with Ochsner Health. Prospective applicants should ask the school's admissions office about application timelines and program requirements.
The takeaway
The new medical school expands a regional pathway into medicine at a moment of projected physician shortage. Prospective applicants should contact the school's admissions office directly for current application deadlines and requirements.
Further reading
Explore more on College Applications to see how medical school admissions and pathways work for students considering this route.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Axios.
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