University Facts

students walking through an archway on Danforth Campus

Page index

Rankings  |  Faculty  |  Students  |  Athletics  |  Research  |  Advancing Human Health  |  Global Leadership  |  Community Cornerstone  |  Community Connections  |  Financial Highlights  |  Alumni & Friend Support


Washington University in St. Louis

We are among the world’s leaders in teaching, research, patient care, and service to society. We are committed to learning and exploration, to discovery and impact. Together, we explore our intellectual passions and challenge the unknown.

View of Brookings Hall at dusk
  • Founded: 1853
  • Chancellor: Andrew D. Martin, 2019–Present
  • Location: St. Louis, Missouri
  • Motto: Per Veritatem Vis (Strength Through Truth)

Rankings

#2 best college dorms
The Princeton Review, 2018

#2 in social work
U.S. News & World Report, 2018

#2 best run colleges
The Princeton Review, 2018

#3 best campus food
The Princeton Review, 2018

#6 in financial resources
U.S. News & World Report, 2018

#7 top 25 schools for entrepreneurs
The Princeton Review, 2018

#8 in research medical schools
U.S. News & World Report, 2018

#10 best architecture schools
Architectural Record, 2018

#11 in graduation and retention
U.S. News & World Report, 2018

#12 best quality of life
The Princeton Review, 2018

#18 in overall undergraduate programs
U.S. News & World Report, 2018

View a full listing of the university’s rankings at rankings.wustl.edu.

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Faculty

faculty

8:1 Student to faculty ratio

Number of faculty by school, fall 2017
Arts & Sciences 704
Business 130
Design & Visual Arts 127
Engineering 229
Law 118
Medicine 2,252
Other 24
Social Work/Public Health 145
University College 90
Total 3,819
Sampling of faculty honors
Pulitzer Prize 9
Poet Laureate of the United States 4
American Academy of Arts and Sciences 68
National Academy of Sciences 56
American Law Institute 39
National Medal of Science 15

Nobel Laureates
24 Nobel Laureates affiliated with Washington University

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Students

Enrollment by schoolfall 2017

Undergraduate

enrollment chart - undergraduates

  • Architecture: 180
  • Business: 866
  • Art: 310
  • Arts & Sciences: 4,435
  • Engineering: 1,296
  • Part-time and other: 628

Graduate and Professional*

enrollment chart - graduates

  • Architecture: 297
  • Art: 37
  • Arts & Sciences: 1,895
  • Business: 1,369
  • Engineering: 782
  • Law: 1,184
  • Medicine: 1,272
  • Social Work & Public Health: 573
  • Other: 272

*Graduate and professional enrollment data are not unduplicated headcounts


14,049
Full-time students in 2017-18


1,347
Part-time students in 2017-18

Total Enrollment: 15,396 Summer School 2017: 3,893

Students come from more than 100 countries and all 50 states + the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

More than 90% of undergraduates are from out of state and approximately 65% come from more than 500 miles away.

About 380 undergraduate student groups and more than 150 graduate student groups in 2017-18


icon - 3 of 4 students

80% of undergraduate students pursue multiple majors and/or minors

icon - 40% study abroad

About 1 in 3 undergraduate students study abroad


Undergraduate educational costs 2018-19

  • Basic undergraduate tuition: $52,400
  • Student activity fee: $524
  • Student health and wellness fee: $475
  • Average undergraduate room and board: $16,440

Degrees awarded in 2017-18

  • Associate: 5
  • Bachelor: 1,823
  • Master: 2,107
  • Doctor: 703
    • AuD: 15
    • DBA: 2
    • PhD: 257
    • JD: 202
    • MD: 119
    • ODT: 23
    • DPT: 82
    • JSD: 1
    • DLA: 1
    • DSc: 1
  • TOTAL: 4,638

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Athletics

WashU cheerleaders

Mascot: Bears
Colors: Red and Green
NCAA Division III titles: 22
University Athletic Association titles: 204
Academic All-Americans: 158
Varsity sports: 19 (9 men’s and 10 women’s)
Sport Clubs: 41

About 75% of undergraduates participate
in intramural sports, in more than 30 all-male, all-female and coed teams

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Research

Positioned to meet national and global imperatives in energy, environment security, health and economic prosperity, we take our responsibility seriously. Through innovative research, we are committed to creating the new knowledge necessary to achieve a bright and sustainable future.


Areas of Focus

icon - medical research
Medical research to translate basic science discoveries into solutions for the world’s biggest health problems
environmental and energy research
Environmental and energy research to discover innovations that can reduce greenhouse emissions and slow global warming
icon - innovation and entrepreneurial research
Innovation and entrepreneurial research to create intellectual property and advance research for the greatest public good
icon - plant science research
Plant science research, conducted in collaboration with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, to help the world feed its people

female research student in a lab


$711.8 million
Total research support in fiscal year 2018


$522.4 million
Federal research support in fiscal year 2018


More than 3,000 research projects
under way each year.

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Advancing Human Health

a male and a female physicians walking

Washington University Physicians

1,503 university-employed physicians at the School of Medicine representing 76 specialties provided clinical care to 49 clinical sites through Washington University Physicians, one of the largest academic clinical practices in the nation.

Washington University Medical Center Corporate Partners


1,121,579 outpatient visits to Washington University Physicians in 2017

Student-organized clinics, established by medical students and staffed by students and faculty, provide free medical care to needy people in the St. Louis community.

Health Outreach Program

  • Screenings
  • Patient navigation
  • Nutrition

Institute for Public Health

Institute for Public Health works as a connector, convener, and catalyst across all seven of our schools to tackle regional and global public health challenges. It bridges disciplines to stimulate innovation and improve population health by advancing research, practice, training, education, community partnerships, and public policy.

1,795 beds in the Washington University Medical Center

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Global Leadership

We focus on key issues facing a global society, leading to a better quality of life for all.

A select group of research universities around the world partner with Washington University, sharing the same commitment to excellence in research and to the importance of international collaboration, through the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. Future global leaders from partner institutions are mentored at the university as they pursue graduate and professional degrees. In addition, the academy fosters collaborative research and educational efforts on key issues:

  • Energy and sustainability
  • International understanding
  • Public health

InCEES

International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability collaborates with institutional, regional, and international partners across disciplines to foster targeted research:

  • Exploring sustainable alternative energy
  • Developing and producing biofuels
  • Exploring environmental systems and practices
  • Mitigating CO2 accumulation
  • Improving combustion processes
  • Reducing emissions

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Community Cornerstone

3rd ranking among largest employers in St. Louis – St. Louis Business Journal Book of Lists 2017


16,428 Total employees in fiscal year 2018


Our students from outside the St. Louis region boost the local economy an estimated $133.7 million


$288 Million Total amount of goods and services purchased locally in fiscal year 2017


$157 Million Total payments to local construction vendors in fiscal year 2017


25.4% of our 143,081 alumni live and work in the St. Louis area


Community Connections

Contributing to the region’s culture and education

icon - University Libraries
University Libraries consisting of 12 libraries that form a comprehensive research and teaching library system
icon - Continued Education
Continuing education and professional education opportunities through evening, weekend and summer offerings
icon Edison Theatre
Edison Theatre presenting professional performing artists plus providing a teaching facility for the university’s performing arts students
icon - Institute for School Partnerships
Institute for School Partnership, helping to improve K-12 teaching and learning
icon - Kemper Art Museum
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, the oldest art museum west of the Mississippi River
icon - Assembly Series lectures
Assembly Series of lectures, connecting the community to contemporary thought leaders

Visit fuse.wustl.edu to see how we are fostering a growing entrepreneurial spirit

A hub of innovation, we inspire entrepreneurial efforts. We provide the infrastructure, educational programs, and research support to tap the entrepreneurial spirit of our faculty and students.

Making a difference in the community

According to the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, Washington University volunteers more than 7 million person hours to the community each year.

Approximately 600 university/community partnerships are sustained each year.

About 60% of undergraduate students participate in community service.

Graduate and professional students support community organizations through practica and clinics connected to their degree programs, including law, social work, medicine and physical therapy. They receive practical hands-on learning while simultaneously increasing the capacity of local, national and international organizations.

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Financial Highlights

Financial Overview

(June 30, 2018)

  • Revenues $3,543,139,000
  • Expenses $3,133,048,000
  • Physical Plant Investment $2,541,137,000
  • Endowment (Market Value) $7,687,392,000

Endowment spending as percentage of revenues in fiscal year 2018

9% Endowment spending


91% All other revenues


Revenues

chart - 2018 revenues

  • Patient/hospital revenues: $1,454,719,000
  • Grants & contracts: $588,887,000
  • Tuition & fees: $411,969,000
  • Endowment spending: $322,895,000
  • Other revenue: $241,916,000
  • Unendowed gifts: $407,883,000
  • Auxiliary enterprises: $114,870,000

TOTAL: $3,543,139,000

Expenses

chart - 2018 expenses

  • Instruction: $1,988,694,000
  • Research: $537,777,000
  • Academic support: $203,196,000
  • Institutional support: $155,835,000
  • Auxiliary enterprises: $117,153,000
  • Student services: $96,666,000
  • Other deductions: $33,727,000

TOTAL: $3,133,048,000

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Alumni & Friend Support

students walking on campus

Voluntary gift support in fiscal year 2018

  • Total gifts and grants: $353.3 million
  • Total Annual Fund gift support: $31.8 million
  • Total donors: 65,588
  • Total alumni donors: 33,268
  • Alumni participation rate: 29.7%

chart - Alumni and Friends support

  • Alumni: $99.8 million
  • Friends (including bequests): $55.1 million
  • Foundations: $124.1 million
  • Corporations: $30.3 million
  • Other (including agencies and groups): $23.6 million
  • Parents: $20.4 million

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