St. Louis University is a private institution that was founded in 1818. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,687, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 271 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. St. Louis University's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 99. Its tuition and fees are $37,966 (2014-15).
St. Louis University is a Catholic, Jesuit school that is open to students of any faith. The Campus Ministry organizes specialized retreats and mission trips throughout the year, and the on-campus church holds a daily Mass. The Saint Louis Prayerbook is an online database of prayers – some traditional, others original and submitted by students or faculty members. In addition to religious extracurriculars, students can also choose from more than 150 student organizations at SLU, including more than 20 fraternities and sororities. Freshmen and sophomores must live on campus, unless they commute from a parent's home, are married or have been in the military for at least two years, among other exemptions. In total, about 90 percent of freshmen live on campus – all in halls exclusively for first-year students. Students can get involved in campus leadership positions as early as the second semester of freshman year.
The St. Louis Billikens compete in the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference. The Billiken is an unusual mascot – a smiling, gnome-like figure that is a considered to be a good-luck charm. Off campus, students can explore downtown St. Louis, Missouri, home to the Grand Center arts district, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and several professional sports teams. On the nearby Mississippi Riverfront, students can bike, sail and check out the Museum of Westward Expansion.
In addition to its main location in Missouri, the university also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, where students can study for the entirety of their college career or for just a semester. At the main campus, graduate students can enroll in the university's law school or medical school. Notable alumni include Enrique Bolanos, former president of Nicaragua, and August Busch IV, former president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch Inc.
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a Catholic, Jesuit institution that values academic excellence, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service. Its mission is the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity. The 2013-2014 academic year was a time of progress and change for the University. In March 2014, SLU named Fred Pestello, Ph.D., as its 33rd president. Formerly the president of Le Moyne College, a comprehensive Jesuit liberal arts institution in Syracuse, N.Y., Pestello is SLU's first permanent lay president.
In 2013, the University enrolled the most academically gifted freshman class in its history. The class of 2017 boasted a record mean high school GPA of 3.81 and an all-time high average ACT score of 27.6. In 2013, the University combined its nationally accredited schools of public health and social work to form a new academic unit: the College for Public Health and Social Justice. Offering a wide array of leading undergraduate and graduate programs, the college is the only academic unit of its kind among the nation,s 250 Catholic institutions of higher education. The University also relocated its prestigious School of Law into downtown St. Louis in 2013. Renovated at a cost of $30 million, the school's new state-of-the-art home is located in the heart of the city's legal community, with federal and civil courts, governmental offices and top law firms nearby. One of only seven Catholic universities classified by the Carnegie Foundation as having "high research activity." SLU received more than $53 million in research funding during FY13.
In 2013, the National Institutes of Health chose SLU's renowned Center for Vaccine Development as one of only nine vaccine units in the country to bid on up to nearly $1 billion in research projects. With students from nearly 80 different countries, SLU has become a true international university. In 2013, the University opened the $8 million Center for Global Citizenship, which features a 1,000-seat auditorium, meeting rooms with worldwide teleconferencing abilities and an internationally themed cafe. One of the first American universities to expand into international education, the University completed a $14 million renovation project on its Madrid campus in 2013.
The new San Ignacio Hall houses classrooms, performing arts studios, dining facilities and a library. SLU's focus on improving the world and developing global citizens starts in its classrooms, where ethics, spirituality and compassion take center stage, no matter what the subject. With more than 80 courses directly integrating service into academic content, the University has been named a "character-building college" by the Templeton Foundation. Outside of the classroom, SLU provides more than a million service hours each year. In 2013, the University made the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the sixth consecutive year. The University also expanded its free health clinic in North St. Louis, increasing the ability of SLU medical students and faculty physicians to treat the underserved. Dedicated to sustainability and to fostering a green campus, SLU was named to the 2014 Princeton Review "Guide to 332 Green Colleges and to the Sierra Club 2013 "Cool Schools" list. A major catalyst for urban progress, the University generates more than $715 million in annual economic impact and supports nearly 7,000 jobs throughout the region. In 2013, the University's endowment topped the $1 billion mark for the first time, placing SLU among a select group of North American colleges and universities.