Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit Catholic research university located in St. Louis, Missouri, with a second campus in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and the second-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Spending and Doctorate Production" and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. SLU enrolls approximately 15,200 students, including 8,500 undergraduates and 6,700 graduate students representing all 50 states and 96 countries. The 273-acre campus in Midtown St. Louis features 129 buildings split between north and south locations along Grand Boulevard. SLU's athletic teams, the Billikens, compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The university's motto is "Ad maiorem Dei gloriam" (Latin for "For the greater glory of God")
University Overview
The university established the first medical school west of the Mississippi River in 1836 and the first law school in the West in 1843. In 1867, after the Civil War, the university purchased "Lindell's Grove" in what is now Midtown St. Louis and subsequently moved to this location, which remains the current site of today's north campus. Construction of DuBourg Hall began in 1888, and St. Francis Xavier College Church was completed in 1898.
In 1944, SLU became the first university in Missouri to establish an official policy admitting African-American students, following a passionate homily by Father Claude Heithaus challenging the institution's segregation policies. In 1967, SLU became one of the first Catholic universities to give laypeople majority control over the affairs of the school, shifting its board of trustees to an 18 to 10 lay majority.
The Madrid campus was established in 1967, becoming the first freestanding campus operated by an American university in Europe and the first American institution recognized by Spain's higher education authority as an official foreign university. In 2016, the university acknowledged its historical ties to slavery by revealing names and stories of Black Americans who had been enslaved by the institution and its founders, with descendants now petitioning for a physical monument on campus.
Throughout its history, SLU has achieved numerous "firsts," including the first federally licensed school of aviation (1927), the first department of geophysics in the Western Hemisphere (1925), and the first human heart transplant in the Midwest (1972). The university celebrated its bicentennial in 2017 with events including a Mass under the Gateway Arch.
Popular Programs
Medicine, Law, Business, Health Sciences, Engineering
Tuition Fees
$45,000 - $55,000/year
Scholarships
Presidential Scholarships, Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarships, Jesuit High School Awards, Transfer Scholarships
Admission Requirements
GPA 3.4+, ACT 26-32/SAT 1240-1420, Letters of Recommendation, Personal Statement
