About WashU
The mission of Washington University in St. Louis is to act in service of truth through the formation of leaders, the discovery of knowledge, and the treatment of patients for the betterment of our region, our nation and our world.
At WashU, we generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge. We foster freedom of inquiry and expression of ideas in our research, teaching and learning.
We aim to create an environment that encourages and supports wide-ranging exploration at the frontier of discovery by embracing diverse perspectives from individuals of all identities and backgrounds. We promote higher education and rigorous research as a fundamental component of an open, vibrant society. We strive to enhance the lives and livelihoods not only of our students, patients, and employees but also of the people of the greater St. Louis community and beyond. We do so by addressing scientific, social, economic, medical, and other challenges in the local, national, and international realms.
Our goals are:
to foster excellence and creativity in our teaching, research, scholarship, patient care and service
to welcome students, faculty and staff from all backgrounds to create an inclusive, equitable community that is nurturing and intellectually rigorous
to cultivate in students habits of lifelong learning and critical and ethical thinking, thereby enabling them to be productive members and leaders of a global society
to contribute positively to our home community of St. Louis, and to effect meaningful, constructive change in our world
To this end we intend:
to hold ourselves to the highest standards of excellence
to educate aspiring leaders of great ability from diverse backgrounds
to encourage faculty and students to be innovative, bold, independent, critical thinkers
to build an inclusive, equitable, respectful, ethically-principled environment for living, teaching, learning and working for the present and future generations
to focus on meaningful and measurable outcomes for all of our endeavors
History and Traditions
In the early 1850s, 17 prominent St. Louis business, religious, and political leaders saw the need for a Midwestern institute for higher learning. However, though they all were successful in their fields, none of them had experience in the business of establishing and growing a university.
On February 22, 1853, one of these men — State Senator Wayman Crow — saw an opportunity to act on their vision and drafted a charter for an “Eliot Seminary” for the governor. The charter was signed into law the same day, effectively establishing the seminary. This action had not been discussed with the others and was a surprise to all, including William Greenleaf Eliot Jr., the St. Louis Unitarian minister after whom Crow had named the institute.
Nevertheless, under Eliot’s leadership, the men took their charge seriously and set about to build a university.
One of Eliot’s first actions was to change the institution’s name to Washington University to free it from any implied sectarianism or personal self-interest. Eliot insisted that Washington University remain forever nonsectarian and politically nonpartisan.
Without a prior endowment or backing by a religious or political group, or a single wealthy donor, Washington University’s growth was small at first. Evening classes for local St. Louisans offered the university’s first big successes.
What began as a modest venture to address a need in the Midwest is now an internationally renowned university focused on teaching, learning, research, service, and patient care.
Today, while proud to continue offering evening classes for local St. Louisans, WashU’s nine schools serve 17,000 undergraduate and graduate/professional students who come from more than 100 countries and all 50 states.
WashU is an R-1 private research institution whose faculty and staff brought in over $950 million in research funding in 2022. WashU’s School of Medicine represents 78 specialties at 60+ clinical sites through WashU Physicians, one of the largest academic clinical practices in the nation.