Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL, Wash. U.) is a private research university 15 minutes west of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It includes schools of arts & sciences, law, business, medicine, social work, art, architecture, and engineering. In the 2004 U.S. News & World Report rankings, its undergraduate program was tied for ninth in the nation; in the 2005 list, it was ranked 11th. WUSTL's medical and social work schools are both ranked second in the nation. Tuition for both in-state and out-of-state undergraduates is $31,100.00.
Washington University was founded as a nonsectarian, private institution in 1853 by the Unitarian minister William Greenleaf Eliot, grandfather of the Nobel Prize laureate poet T. S. Eliot, and by St. Louis leader Wayman Crow. It desegregated its undergraduate divisions in May of 1952.
The current Chancellor of the University is Dr. Mark S. Wrighton, a Caltech-trained chemist who was formerly provost at MIT.
Overview
The university's original name at the time of foundation was "Eliot Seminary." The name was a tribute to St. Louis minister/teacher William Greenleaf Eliot. Eliot, however, was not in favor of the name, and in 1854, the Board of Trustees recommended changing the name to "Washington Institute in St. Louis." In 1857, the name was modified to simply "Washington University." Often confused with the other twenty-odd institutions sharing the Washington name in their titles, the university again changed its name in 1976, adding the "in St. Louis" suffix to distinguish it.
Campus
The university's Hilltop campus is known for its gorgeous collegiate Gothic architecture. Its construction was accelerated through a lease of several buildings to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Thanks to the efforts and influence of David R. Francis, an alumnus and former mayor of St. Louis, Missouri governor, and Interior Secretary, newly-constructed buildings on the edge of Forest Park became the heart of Hilltop campus when the Fair was over. This included facilities used by the six-day 1904 Summer Olympics, such as Francis Field and Francis Gymnasium [1]. The campus is close to St. Louis' Delmar Loop.
Since 1995, more than 25 new buildings have been erected.
The campus was the venue for 3 Presidential debates, the first 1992 Presidential debate on October 11, 1992, the third 2000 Presidential debate on October 17, 2000, and the second 2004 Presidential debate on October 8, 2004. It was also scheduled to host one in 1996, but that debate was cancelled when the two candidates chose not to participate.
Athletics
WUSTL's sports teams are called the Bears. They participate in the University Athletic Association, an NCAA Division III conference. They were the NCAA Division III champions in women's basketball four years in a row, 1998-2001, and women's volleyball eight times, 1989, 1991-1996, and 2003.
Schools
College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the central undergraduate unit of the University with 330 tenured and tenure-track faculty along with over 100 research scientists, lecturers, artists in residence, and visitors serving about 3,000 undergradautes in forty academic departments divided into divsions of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Undergraduates in the other schools meet general education requirements by taking courses in the College of Arts & Sciences. Many of these students have double majors or minors in an Arts & Sciences discipline as well as in their professional field.
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
The Graduate School Serves over 1,000 students pursuing Masters and Ph.D. degrees. It is ranked highly in terms of time to degree and the rate at which it places its graduates.
School of Law
The law school offers a full-time, day program beginning in August for J.D in a state-of-the-art building, Anheuser-Busch Hall (opened in 1997). The building combines traditional architecture, a five-story open-stacks library, and the latest wireless and other technologies. National Jurist ranked Washington University 4th among the "25 Most Wired Law Schools." The School of Law offers eight joint-degree programs, including JD/MSW, JD/East Asian Studies, and JD/MBA programs. The law school offers 3 semesters of courses in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and requires at least 87 hours of coursework for graduation. Tuition for the 2004-05 academic year is $32,590 divided into fall and spring payments. The average undergraduate grade point average is 3.6 and LSAT is 164 for the 2003-2004 school year.
Olin School of Business
The John M. Olin School of Business is located in the heart of the Midwest, historic city St. Louis. Olin has been ranked in the Top 30 US MBA programs by BusinessWeek for years. As one of the country's leading research-oriented business schools, Olin attracts top faculty and students from all over the world.
Olin School of Business was founded in 1917. The school was named after the entrepreneur John M. Olin in 1988. As one of the leading business schools in United States, Olin obtained its reputation from strong research-oriented achievements and competitive graduates. The school provides degree programs in BSBA, MBA, EMBA, and part-time programs in MBA and PHD degrees. In 2002, an Executive MBA program was established in Shanghai, in cooperation with Fudan University.
Olin has a network of about 13,000 alumni all over the world. Over the last several years, the school’s endowment has increased to $178 million (2004) and annual gifts average $12 million per year. Due to a donation from John E. Simon, [Simon Hall] was opened in 1986.
The flexible course arrangement is a factor attracting potential students. Undergraduates who pursue accounting concentration can choose a five-year Master of Science program which is seeking CI certification in school. Graduate students can select electives from other areas in Washington University such as Medical School and Law School.
School of Medicine
The School of Medicine is ranked third in the country according to U.S. News & World Report, behind Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University.
The medical school partners with St. Louis Children's Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital (part of BJC HealthCare), where all physicians are members of the school's faculty.
George Warren Brown School of Social Work
The George Warren Brown School of Social Work (commonly called GWB) is currently ranked #2 among Master of Social Work (MSW) programs in the United States. GWB also offers a Ph.D. in Social Work, in cooperation with the Graduate School. The school is named for George Warren Brown, a St. Louis shoe manufacturing magnate and philanthropist. The school was led by Dr. Shanti K. Khinduka from 1968 to 2003, who greatly expanded the school's international appeal, including cooperative agreements with universities in Central Asia through the Open Society Institute established by George Soros. It also has a center for Native American research.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
The School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) was ranked 36th in the 2005 U.S. News undergraduate engineering program ratings.
School of Architecture
The School of Architecture offers BS and BA degrees as well as M.Arch. There is a combined six year BS/M.Arch degree program as well as joint M.Arch programs with most of the other schools in the University.
School of Art
The school of Art offers the BFA and MFA in Art in the context of a full university environment. Students take courses in the College of Arts and sciences as well as courses in the School of Art to provide a well rounded background. One third of students in the school pursue a combined study degree program, second major, and/or minors in other undergraduate divisions at Washington University. U.S. News & World Report ranked the MFA program 21st in the nation.
Well-known alumni
-
Clark M. Clifford (JD 1928), U.S. Secretary of Defense 1968-69
-
Alan J. Dixon (LLB 1949), U.S. Senator 1981-1993
-
Charles Eames, designer, architect, filmmaker
-
Hugh Ferriss (B.Arch 1911, M.Arch 1928), architect
-
David R. Francis (BA 1870), St. Louis mayor 1885-89, Missouri governor 1889-93, U.S. Secretary of Interior 1896-97
- Bernard Fuchs (MFA 1954), painter and illustrator
-
Henry Hampton (BA 1961), film producer
- Moses W. Harrison II (JD 1958), chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
- A.E. Hotchner (BA 1940, JD 1941), playwright
- Fannie Hurst (1909), writer and social activist
- Josephine Winslow Johnson , Pulitzer Prize-winning author
- George E. Kassabaum (B.Arch 1947), architect, former president of American Institute of Architects
- Joyce Ladner (MA 1966, PhD 1968), sociologist and activist
- Max Lerner (MA 1925), intellectual and author
-
Daniel Nathans (1954), Nobel laureate in medicine
-
H. Richard Niebuhr (MA 1917), theologian
- Oliver Nelson (student 1954-7), jazz musician and composer
-
Gyo Obata (B.Arch 1945), architect
- J.D. Parran (MA 1971), jazz musician
-
Mike Peters (BFA 1965), Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
-
Harold Ramis (BA 1966), film actor and director
- Charles Van Ravenswaay (BA 1933, MA 1934), historian
- Eugene B. Redmond (MA 1966), poet, critic, civil-rights activist
- Carolyne Roehm (BFA 1973), fashion designer
-
Abram L. Sachar (BA, MA), Historian
- Sol Spiegelman (PhD 1944), molecular biologist
-
Jim Talent (BA 1978), U.S. Senator 2003-present
- Raymond Tucker (BS 1920), mayor of St. Louis 1953-1965
-
George Herbert Walker, founder of golf's Walker Cup and grandfather of President George H.W. Bush
-
William Webster (1949), former director of the FBI and CIA
-
Mary Wickes (1930), stage and film actress
-
Tennessee Williams (student 1936-7), playwright
- Olly Wilson (BA 1959), composer
- George Zimmer (BA 1970), founder of Men's Wearhouse
Official websites
Last updated: 05-07-2005 16:10:28
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04
