Colleges and Universities

With more than a dozen four-year universities and colleges, Greater St. Louis is a top-choice for students pursuing degrees in a variety of fields. Over 108,000 students are currently enrolled in area four-year institutions, which each year produce more than 23,000 new graduates with bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, or professional degrees and attract to the area an enormously gifted workforce.

U.S. News & World Report named Washington University in St. Louis the third-best research medical school in the country and the 12th best university overall in 2009. The medical school ranked among the top ten in specialty fields of occupational therapy (1), physical therapy (2), audiology (5), pediatrics (7), and internal medicine (8), according to "America’s Best Graduate Schools” from U.S. News & World Report in 2009.

The National Science Foundation ranked Washington University in St. Louis sixth among private universities receiving federal research and development support, and the school routinely ranks in the top four in funding from the National Institutes of Health.

The oldest institution of higher education west of the Mississippi, Saint Louis University (SLU) ranked among the top 100 U.S. universities for 2010 and top five Catholic universities for 2006, according to U.S. News & World Report. The magazine also ranked SLU law school’s health law program No. 1 in the nation for the fifth consecutive year in 2009.

The University of Missouri — St. Louis’ international business program was named the 16th best international business program by U.S. News and World Report in 2009.

Webster University was named the 24th best university in the Midwest division of U.S.News & World Report’s “Best Universities-Master’s” category in 2009. Maryville University was named 29th on the same list, along with Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, which ranked as No. 47.

For more greater St. Louis higher education rankings, please visit the Ratings and Rankings section of our website.

Source: "College Navigator" National Center For Education Statistics, 2007-08.
Note: Data for Columbia College-St. Louis and Webster University was obtained from these organizations.

Updated: August 24, 2009