Community Colleges

Greater St. Louis is served by 18 two-year and community colleges, with convenient locations throughout the metropolitan area. More than 71,000 students are enrolled at these schools, which serve as an alternative to the area’s four-year universities and colleges and play a significant role in bolstering the St. Louis area work force with numerous academic degree options.

Missouri-based Community Colleges

Anthem College: The college offers both Diploma and Associate Degree programs in Health Care and Criminal Justice. Since its inception in 1981, the college has focused on graduating students with skill sets that are most demanded by the market. The college is an accredited educational institution.

East Central College: Located in Union in Franklin County on a 200-acre campus, also has facilities in Washington, St. Clair and Sullivan. The college also provides summer camps for young people, training for business and industry and community seminars.

Jefferson College: located in Hillsboro, has recently completed its 40th year of providing accessible college education to area residents. In addition to offering a wide range of academic and career programs, the college offers a Dean's Certificate in Biotechnology and an Associate of Arts Degree with an emphasis on Biotechnology.

L'Ecole Culinaire: Lecole provides quality training in Food Preparation, Restaurant Management, Baking and Hospitality. The Diploma program here is 40 weeks and the Associate degree program spans across 90 weeks.

Lutheran School of Nursing: With over 100 years of history, this school provides hospital-based diploma nursing programs. Apart from many other interesting programs the school offers both 22-month Registered Nurse track and a 14-month Licensed Practical Nurse-to-Registered Nurse (LPN to RN) bridge track.

Midwest Institute: Since 1965 Midwest has been providing Diploma and Associate degree programs in paramedical field. Midwest Institute has two campuses one in Earth City and the other in Kirkwood.

Missouri College: Here career-oriented degree and diploma programs are offered in the fields of Business, Health Care, Massage Therapy and Digital Animation. In 1963 the college started off by providing professional courses in dental and medical field. The college has gradually grown since then by adding new programs.

Sanford-Brown College: With several locations across the St. Louis MSA, Sanford-Brown College offers career-oriented programs in Health Care, Business, Criminal Justice and Computers. Most of the programs can be completed on fast track spanning across nine months.

St. Charles Community College: located in central St. Charles County, is the ninth largest college/university in the St. Louis region. The college completed its fourth phase of construction in fall 2006 for a total of 12 buildings on its 235-acre campus. The college offers accredited associate's degrees and certification programs, work force training, community-based personal/professional development, and cultural, recreational, and entertainment opportunities.

St. Louis Colleges of Health Careers: Since its establishment in 1981, St. Louis Colleges of Health Careers has been graduating highly trained health care support staff for the St. Louis Metropolitan region. The institution has two locations; the main campus is located adjacent to Washington University Medical Center and the other is located in Fenton.

St. Louis Community College: is the largest such institution in the area. Its biotechnology program recently received the Excellence in Education Award from the Missouri Biotechnology Association. The college also recently initiated efforts to develop a Life Science Center whose mission is to form partnerships, programs and curriculum that support new and emerging technologies in the life sciences area. In addition, the college has developed the new Emerson Center for Engineering Manufacturing at its Florissant Valley campus.

Vatterott College: This fully accredited college offers career-oriented programs predominantly in the field of Information Technology & Business, Trades (welding technology and electrical technology) and Health Care.

Illinois-based Community Colleges

Kaskaskia College: also in Illinois, offers campuses throughout the region. The college was recently honored with the "Lincoln Bronze Award for Commitment to Excellence" by the Lincoln Foundation.

Lewis and Clark Community College: which has campuses on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, has seen its enrollment grow by 20 percent during the last five years. The college is partnered with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and other educational institutions to form the Southwest Illinois Advanced Manufacturing Center.

Southwestern Illinois College: is the sixth largest community college in the state of Illinois with three campuses and 26 off-campus sites. It provides educational opportunities for more than 25,000 students each year.  

Source: "College Navigator" National Center For Education Statistics, 2011.