Private university in St. Louis, Mo.
It was founded as a seminary in 1853 and became a university in 1857. It is a comprehensive research and teaching institution, with one of the leading medical schools in the U.S. It has a college of arts and sciences, a graduate school, and schools of architecture, business (the Olin School), engineering and applied science, fine arts, law, and social work. Research facilities include a space science centre, a centre for the study of Islamic culture and society, and an institute for the deaf.