Jesuit research university founded 1818, oldest west of the Mississippi River.
Saint Louis University offers 94 undergraduate majors and 88 graduate disciplines across 12 schools and colleges. The university maintains a 9:1 student-faculty ratio and is classified as an R1: Doctoral University with very high research spending and doctorate production. SLU has pioneered numerous academic firsts, including the first medical school west of the Mississippi (1836), first law school in the West (1843), first business school west of the Mississippi (1910), and first Ph.D. in aviation globally (2013).
The main campus spans 273 acres in Midtown St. Louis, divided between north campus (undergraduate learning and residence halls) and south campus (health sciences and hospital facilities). The university operates the Saint Louis University Madrid Campus in Spain, serving nearly 1,000 students from over 70 countries. On-campus housing is required for first-year students for four semesters unless they are local commuters. Notable facilities include Chaifetz Arena (10,600-seat multi-purpose venue), Pius XII Memorial Library (2.2 million volumes), and St. Francis Xavier College Church.
Founded in 1818 as Saint Louis Academy by Bishop Louis William Valentine DuBourg, the institution became a university in 1827 under Jesuit administration. SLU was the first university in Missouri to officially admit African-American students (1944) and became one of the first Catholic universities to shift governance to a lay-majority board in 1967. The university acknowledges its historical connection to enslaved labor and has worked toward reconciliation with descendants of enslaved workers.
SLU is a space-grant institution with significant research infrastructure, including the Edward A. Doisy Research Center (80 labs focused on vaccines, cancer, and liver disease research) and the Sinquefield Science and Engineering Center. The university has achieved numerous research milestones, including the first human heart transplant in the Midwest (1972) and pioneering work in geophysics and aviation.