The University of Missouri-St. Louis is one of four campuses that constitute
the University of Missouri. Established in Columbia in 1839 on the ideals
of Thomas Jefferson, the University of Missouri became a land-grant institution
upon passage of the Morrill Act by Congress in 1862.
The university remained
a single-campus institution until 1870, when the Rolla campus was opened.
In the 1960s a movement began across the country toward creation of public
universities located within metropolitan centers. That movement marked
the most significant change in higher education in the twentieth century,
and the University of Missouri-St. Louis
is a product of that educational development. Two campuses were added
in 1963. The private University of Kansas City became the university's
Kansas City campus, and an entirely new campus was started in St. Louis.
The notion of a major public institution serving the
St. Louis area evolved from a dream to a solid reality, which today
exceeds the expectations of those who created it. Since the doors of
the old Administration Building opened nearly 40 years ago, UM-St.
Louis has become the largest university serving St. Louisans and the
third largest university in the state. The university faculty has grown
from 30 in 1963 to more than 900 members, committed to the future of
the St. Louis area through teaching, research, and service.
One of the keys to this university's development as an
outstanding institution has been the careful selection of faculty over
the years. UM-St. Louis has attracted some of the top authorities in many
fields. More than 90 percent of the full-time regular faculty hold
doctoral degrees, a figure that far exceeds the national average. These
professionals develop new theories and new procedures, and in so doing
attract millions of dollars each year in research funding.
Student enrollment has grown from 600 in 1963 to more than 15,000.
The numbers have changed, but not the spirit. Faculty and students are
still most concerned with the education of new talent, which is the basis
for the future social, intellectual, and economic health of Missouri
's largest metropolitan area. From its beginning on what was once the
site of a country club with a single building, UM-St. Louis has grown
to a large modern campus of almost 300 acres with 58 buildings used to
support academic and other University activities.
The curriculum has grown to include more than 40 undergraduate
programs, 30 master's programs, seven preprofessional programs, 12
doctoral programs, and one professional degree program. Programs address
the particular needs of older students returning to school; of students
pursuing pre-architecture,
pre-law, pre-medicine, pre-pharmacy, pre-engineering, or pre-journalism
courses, and of students interested in urban careers. Many opportunities
exist for students to combine their academic course work with internships
that often lead to job offers.
Mission
Statement
The University of Missouri-St. Louis is the land-grant research institution
committed to meeting the diverse needs in the state's largest metropolitan
community. It educates traditional and nontraditional students in undergraduate,
graduate, and professional programs so that they may provide leadership
in health professions, liberal and fine arts, science and technology,
and metropolitan affairs such as business, education, and public policy.
University research advances knowledge in all areas, and through outreach
and public service, assists in solving, in particular, problems of the
St. Louis region.
Academic programs are enriched through advanced technologies
and partnerships that link UM-St. Louis to institutions and businesses
locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Its special commitment
to partnership provides UM-St, Louis with a leadership role among public
educational and cultural institutions in improving the region's quality
of life, while its relations with two- and four-year colleges and universities
in the St. Louis region promote seamless educational opportunities.
Academic Structure
UM-St. Louis consists of the College of Arts and Sciences,
College of Business Administration , College of Education , Evening
College , College of Fine Arts and Communication, Graduate School ,
Pierre Laclede Honors College , College of Nursing, College
of Optometry , UM-St. Louis/Washington University Joint Engineering
Program, and Continuing Education and Outreach.
College of Arts and Sciences
The
College of Arts and Sciences is the academic core of the University
of Missouri-St. Louis. In its classes, students engage in creative and
critical thinking, learn to appreciate pattern in complexity, reflex
on important issues of the past and present, and hone their ability to
communicate effectively orally and in writing. Across the curriculum,
the College emphasizes “Learning through Research,” an approach
in which students actively identify and analyze a variety of intellectual
approaches and forms of information.
The campus oldest and largest college, Arts and Sciences
takes special pride in its professional faculty of nearly 200, all
of whom hold earned Ph.D. degrees. The College offers a wide range
of accredited baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees and multi-disciplinary certificates
through 15 departments and the Institute for Women’s and Gender
Studies.
Anthropology (B.A.)
Biochemistry & Biotechnology
(B.S., M.S.)
Biology (B.A., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.)
Chemistry
and Biochemistry (B.A.,B.S., M.S., Ph.D.)
Criminology
and Criminal Justice (B.S., M.A., Ph.D.)
Economics
(B.A., B.S., M.A.)
English (B.A., M.A., M.F.A.)
Foreign
Languages and Literatures (B.A. in French and Spanish)
History
(B.A., M.A.)
Mathematics and Computer Science (B.A.,
B.S., M.A., M.S., Ph.D.)
Philosophy (B.A., M.A.)
Physics
and Astronomy (B.A., B.S., M.A., Ph.D.)
Political
Science (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
Public Policy and Administration
Psychology
(B.A., M.A., Ph.D.)
Social Work (B.S.W., M.S.W.)
Sociology
(B.A., B.S., M.A.)
Women’s and Gender Studies
(certificate)
Whether completing general education
requirements or pursuing a specific degree, undergraduate students have
the opportunity to learn from internationally renowned faculty such as
E. Desmond Lee Professor Patricia Parker (Biology), Distinguished Teaching
Professor J. Martin Rochester (Political Science), and Curators’ Professor
Scott Decker (Criminology and Criminal Justice).
Student participation in internships with the university’s
public and corporate partners paves the way for subsequent employment.
Collaborative research by students and faculty similarly expands both
intellectual horizons and prospects for graduate study and professional
careers.
Alumni of the College of Arts and Sciences include physicians, lawyers,
teachers, political leaders, scientists, corporate executives, college
and university faculty, psychologists, social workers, and a host of
other professionals.
College of Business Administration
Through
its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, the College of Business
Administration expands student capability in communication, analysis,
and judgment, enabling its graduates to deal effectively with today's
complex economic environment. The college maintains a balance between
the specialization of professional courses and the diversity of liberal
arts.
College of Education
Consistently
one of the top two institutions in the state in preparation of educators,
the College of Education provides undergraduate and graduate programs
to support and sustain educational leaders. Its programs emphasize
state-of-the-art technological applications to enhance teaching and
learning as well as collaboration among university, school, agency,
and corporate partners.
College of Fine Arts and Communication
The College includes the departments of Art and Art History, Communication,
Music, and Theatre, Dance and Media Studies. The faculty and alumni of
the College have distinguished themselves as scholars visual artists,
teachers and performers. The University’s new $55 million Performing
Arts Center which opened in the fall of 2003, provides two world-class
venues for performances. In addition, three galleries offer space for
display of student and faculty artwork as well as visiting exhibitions.
Evening College
For
students interested in traditional university study, the Evening College
offers many of the undergraduate degree programs and campus services
available to day students and ensures that these programs conform to
the same standards and requirements as their daytime counterparts. The
Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program is designed for mature students
who want more flexibility in reaching their educational goals.
This degree option may also provide an alternative to traditional degrees,
by allowing mature adults to develop an interdisciplinary program specifically
tailored to their individual needs and interests.
Graduate School
Programs
offered in the Graduate School fall into two categories: professional
programs designed to develop a special competence in a particular field
and academic programs designed to develop the student's command of a
range of related subjects within a field. These graduate programs are
structured to meet the needs of the metropolitan area and to give students
the skills and professional competence to succeed.
College of Optometry
The
College of Optometry is one of 17 such schools and colleges in the
United States providing professional optometric education and clinical
experience. Facilities are furnished with equipment and technology
for the enhancement of both teaching and research. The college operates
the University Eye Center on campus, the Optometric Center of St. Louis
in the city's Central West End , the Harvester Eye Care Center in St.
Charles County , and the East St. Louis Eye Center , jointly owned
and operated by the UM-St. Louis College of Optometry and Southern
Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Pierre Laclede Honors College
The
Pierre Laclede Honors College brings together intellectually curious
and gifted students who are pursuing various career goals and earning
degrees in disciplines offered by the university's other undergraduate
schools and colleges. Honors Scholars follow a curriculum that combines
Honors College classes with course work in their major areas.
The college also coordinates participation in The National Student
Exchange (NSE), an association of 174 colleges and universities that
have joined to provide tuition reciprocal exchange opportunities for
their students. Since 1968, over 70,000 students have been placed at
campuses across the U.S. , its territories, and recently Canada.
Students have gone to Florida to study marine biology, to the University
of Alabama to study criminology and to the University of Montana for
Wilderness Studies. UM-St. Louis students have attended a variety of
schools in all regions of the country for academic, personal, and social
reasons; NSE students from an equally diverse number of campuses have
enriched our classes and residence halls and contributed vitally to on-campus
life.
College of Nursing
The College of
Nursing offers programs at the bachelor's, master's,
and doctoral levels. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing is available
for a student wishing to pursue a program of study leading to eligibility
to complete state licensure examinations to become a registered nurse
(R.N.). In addition, an upper-level option designed for the associate
degree or diploma-educated registered nurse avoids repeating basic
nursing course work. The Master of Science in Nursing, a cooperative
program with UM-Kansas City School of Nursing, offers studies in adult,
children's, and women's health. Practitioner options are also available
(adult, family, pediatric, and women) as part of the MSN program. The
Ph.D. in Nursing offers studies focused on health promotion and protection,
health restoration and support, and health care systems.
The College of Nursing also offers bachelor's
programs in health studies with options in cytotechnology and clinical
laboratory science. Both programs are accredited by the Committee on
Allied Health Education and Accreditation.
UM-St. Louis/Washington University Joint
Undergraduate Engineering Program
The University
of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University have joined forces to offer
ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science degrees in mechanical, electrical,
and civil engineering. Students who enter the program take about half of
their course work--mathematics, physics, chemistry, humanities and social
sciences, and some elementary engineering subjects--on the campus of UM-St.
Louis. The remaining half consists of upper-level engineering courses and
laboratories taken on the campus of Washington University and taught by
Washington University engineering faculty members. Students register for
all courses at UM-St. Louis, pay tuition at UM-St. Louis rates (plus a
small surcharge on engineering courses), and receive their degrees from
the University of Missouri.
Division of Continuing Education and Outreach
Continuing
Education and Outreach extends the university's expertise to the community
by offering a variety of credit and noncredit courses, both on- and
off- campus. It also sponsors programs in the community, such as the
annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival.
Office of International Student and Scholar
Services of
the Center for International Studies
The
Office of International Student and Scholar Services assists international
students and scholars with undergraduate and graduate admission, credential
and transfer credit evaluations, visa and immigration advising, taxation
matters, pre-arrival and cultural adaptation assistance, new international
student and scholar orientation, prospective student information requests,
and personal advising. The office also coordinates activities for integration
of students and scholars into the community by facilitating cultural
events and activities, coordinating the annual International
Student Speaker's Bureau, and working closely with other campus and
community organizations.
Student Life
Although UM-St. Louis provides opportunities for all
students through a demanding curriculum, the life of the university
is not all work. There are a great many leisure-time activities,
either free or at reduced cost to students. Numerous student organizations,
from the Accounting Club to Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, seek members-and
leaders. Interesting speakers, concerts, film series, plays, exhibits,
recitals, and a host of informal gatherings crowd each week's schedule.
The St. Louis area offers still more recreational, sports, and cultural
events.
The university offers a wide range of varsity and intramural sports
for students, whether as players or spectators. On the varsity level,
Rivermen and Riverwomen compete in most major sports. UM-St. Louis men's
soccer teams have participated in numerous NCAA Division II tournaments;
the team won the national title in 1973. The men's basketball, baseball,
and golf teams frequently play in national tournaments. The expanding
women's program includes varsity competition in basketball, soccer, softball,
volleyball, and tennis. The women's soccer team ranks annually in the
top 20 teams nationwide.
The Mark Twain athletic facility offers a state-of-the-art
fitness center, weight room, swimming pool, and basketball, volleyball,
handball, and racquetball courts. Outdoor facilities include tennis
and handball courts, a fitness trail, and baseball, soccer, and softball
fields.
Students will find fitness activities, both organized and individual,
to suit their interests and needs. Intramural sports are available to
all students, with schedules designed for maximum participation.
Graduates
The graduates of UM-St. Louis reflect the diversity found in a
metropolitan community. The university has more than 70,000 graduates living
in all 50 states and several foreign countries. Of these alumni, more than 80
percent continue to live and work in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The university is a major force in providing the region
with a highly educated and diverse work force. Alumni can be found
in companies and organizations throughout the region and nation. UM-St.
Louis has graduated more than 4,540 accountants, 4,761 nurses, and
794 doctors of optometry. With the granting of 17,187 education degrees,
the College of Education is the largest educator of teachers in the
St. Louis metropolitan area.
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