The US News and World Report ranks Washington University in St. Louis 14th in its America’s Best Colleges 2011 rankings with 19 of the university’s graduate and professional programmes rated in the top 10

Established in 1853, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) is nationally and internationally reputed for excellence in academics and research. The US News and World Report ranks it 14th in its America’s Best Colleges 2011 rankings with 19 of the university’s graduate and professional programmes rated in the Top 10. Internationally, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011 ranks WUSTL among the Top 50 universities worldwide.

The varsity’s seven academic schools — arts and science, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, John M. Olin School of Business, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, schools of engineering, law, and medicine — offer over 90 study programmes and 1,500 courses to 11,000 students instructed by 3,297 faculty. The university’s annual operating budget is $1.8 billion, and its $4.2 billion (Rs.23,219 crore) endowment places it in the ranks of America’s most well-endowed private varsities. The 159-year-old varsity is also a major recipient of federal, industrial, and foundation research support for medicine, science, engineering, and social science projects with more than $567 million (Rs.3,134 crore) provided annually by external research sponsors.

Sprawled across four campuses over an aggregate area of 2,300 acres in the St. Louis region of Missouri state, Washington University in St. Louis has produced 22 Nobel laureates and hosted more US presidential and vice presidential debates than any other institution in history.

St. Louis. Situated at the confluence of two of America’s great rivers — the Mississippi and Missouri — St. Louis (pop. 318,069) is the second largest city in the state. Founded in 1764, the city which was once a major river port has since transformed into a hub of business and research, especially in biotechnology and plant sciences. The St. Louis region hosts several Fortune 500 corporations including Monsanto, Graybar Electric and Express Scripts. Consistently ranked among the nation’s most affordable and best places to live and raise a family, it also offers opportunities to participate in a wide range of sports, recreational activities and cultural events. Not far from St. Louis’ urban core are the rolling hills of the Ozark range offering outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing and spelunking in some of Missouri’s more than 6,000 caves.

Spring is the wettest season and often triggers tornadoes and storms. Summers are hot and humid. Fall is mild with lower humidity and can produce intermittent bouts of heavy rainfall and winters can be cold and snowy with temperatures frequently plunging below freezing point.

Campus facilities. WUSTL’s campuses are sited contiguous to the cultural hub of St. Louis, surrounded by and adjacent to museums, performance venues, vibrant entertainment and dining districts, one of the nation’s largest civic parks, and placid tree-lined neighbourhoods.

The university’s main 169-acre Danforth campus, bordered by the Forest Park, hosts the great majority of the university’s undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Dominated by its distinctive Gothic buildings — several of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places — the Danforth campus offers student residences, dining facilities and activity centres. The Edison Theatre is one of the chief cultural draws with its professional, student and community theatre, music and dance productions, and also serves as a teaching and performance facility for the university’s performing arts departments. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, located on the eastern edge of the campus, is part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

On the eastern edge of Forest Park is the 164-acre Washington University Medical Center which hosts the Washington University School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals, clinics, patient care centres and research facilities. The medical campus is located in the city’s vibrant Central West End, which offers the region’s best shopping and dining facilities.

WUSTL’s smaller campuses include the West and South campuses in Clayton, North campus in St. Louis, 560 Music Center and Lewis Center in University City, as well as the 2,000-acre Tyson Research Center. Washington University in St. Louis hosts 12 libraries on three campuses: ten on the Danforth campus including the main Olin Library and one each on the medical school campus and West campus. Together, they offer 4.5 million volumes and access to over 2.8 million electronic journals.

Sports facilities include an athletics complex which comprises Field House, Francis Field, Bushyhead Track and the Tao Tennis Center. The complex includes a recreational gym with adaptable basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts; an eight-lane swimming pool; eight handball/racquetball and two squash courts; indoor and outdoor tracks; a full weights room, sauna and the McWilliams Fitness Center.

Moreover, there are over 300 student organisations on campus offering a plethora of social and cultural options.

Admission. The minimum eligibility requirement for admission into  undergraduate programmes is successful completion of Plus Two. All foreign applicants are required to first submit the Pre-application Data Sheet/Common Application Supplement on paper or online. After the admissions office receives the supplement, it will send the applicant a Common Application which should be submitted before January 15 together with an application fee of $55 and essay. Freshman applicants must also submit the following supporting materials: school report and official transcript, teacher evaluation, SAT or ACT  scores, and TOEFL or IELTS scores. Students applying to the College of Art must also submit a portfolio of their work.

For further information contact Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Washington University, 1 Brookings Drive, PO Box 434003, St. Louis, MO 63143-0403. Ph: + 800) 638-0700 or (314) 935-6000; email: admissions@wustl.edu; website: www.wustl.edu.

Accommodation. The majority of undergraduates live on campus. Washington University in St. Louis’ 31 on-campus residential buildings offer single, double and triple rooms; suites; and apartment-style units equipped with computing facilities. All student residences are co-ed, with same-sex rooms. Most freshmen live in double rooms, with a few singles and triples also available. Second year students also have on and off-campus housing options.

Degree programmes. Its seven academic schools offer over 90 study programmes and 1,500 courses leading to bachelor’s, Masters, and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualised programmes (see box).

Scholastic options at Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis offers the following undergraduate programmes: College of Arts & Sciences. African & African-American studies, American culture studies, Arabic, art history, anthropology, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, children’s studies, Chinese language & culture, classics/ancient studies, comparative arts, comparative literature, dance, drama, earth & planetary sciences, East Asian studies, economics, education, English, environmental policy, film & media studies, literatures, & cultures, history, humanities, institutional social analysis, international & area studies, Italian, Japanese language & culture, journalism and communications, Korean, legal studies, linguistics, mathematics, music, performing arts, philosophy, neuroscience & psychology, physics, political science, public health, religious studies, Russian studies, South Asian languages & cultures, speech & hearing, urban studies, women, gender & sexuality studies, among others Olin Business School. Accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, healthcare management, international business, managerial economics & strategy, marketing, operations & supply chain management, organisation & human resources Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Architecture, communication design, fashion design, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture School of Engineering & Applied Science. Aerospace engineering, bioinformatics, biomedical, chemical, computer, electrical, energy, environmental, and mechanical engineering, mechatronics, robotics, systems science and engineering Moreover, the Graduate School of Arts and Science, School of Law, School of Medicine and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work offer a wide range of postgraduate and doctoral programmes. Bill of costs (per year). Tuition fee: $42,500; Student activity fee: $425; Health fee: $780; Room & board:  $13,118. Total: $56,823

Summiya Yasmeen