WashU

WashU is the informal name for Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university located in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1853 by a group of citizens who met in turnpike cabins along the Missouri River, and it received its present name in 1864. The university was incorporated by an act of the Missouri legislature and has been a non-profit institution since its inception.

The main campus occupies 280 acres in the North St. Louis Heights neighborhood, with additional satellite campuses in Bethesda, Maryland; Shanghai, China; Geneva, Switzerland; and Baltimore, Maryland. The North campus houses the majority of undergraduate and graduate schools, including the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the School of Law. The St. Louis Park campus hosts the College of Pharmacy and the Dental School, while the downtown campus houses the Mary King Thorn School of Images and the School of Business.

Washington University is classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity.” It is member of the Association of American Universities and has been consistently ranked among the top 50 public universities in the United States. The university's research activities span a wide spectrum from biomedical and engineering innovations to humanities and social sciences. Over 100,000 alumni serve in leadership positions worldwide, and the institution has produced numerous Rhodes Scholars, MacArthur Fellows, and Pulitzer Prize winners. WashU is also known for its athletics, competing in the NCAA Division I as members of the Missouri Valley Conference for most sports and the Atlantic Coast Conference for men’s and women’s tennis.