Tulane University (officially The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund) is a private, nonsectarian research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally founded as a public medical college in 1834, the school grew into a comprehensive university in 1847. The institution was eventually privatized under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1884. Tulane is a member of the Association of American Universities.