Washington University in St. Louis

By James A. Barham, PhD

In brief

Washington University in St. Louis, founded in 1853, is a private research university just west of the St. Louis city limits. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #33 in the United States and #92 in the world. It admitted 12.1% of applicants for fall 2024, and admitted students had a median SAT score of 1535.

Where WashU’s influence is strongest

WashU’s influence is concentrated in the life sciences and medicine. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Biology: #13 in the US (#26 in the world), by far its strongest field
• Law: #21
• Medicine: #22
• Engineering: #26
• Chemistry and social work: #27 each

In radiology WashU ranks #4 in the US. The pattern reflects the long scientific record of its School of Medicine, where Carl and Gerty Cori, Arthur Kornberg, and Rita Levi-Montalcini did Nobel Prize–winning work. By comparison, WashU sits further back in psychology (#57), earth sciences (#66), and sociology (#72).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

WashU is associated with 26 Nobel laureates, from the physicist Arthur H. Compton, who later served as chancellor, and the physiologists Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Gasser to the economists Douglass C. North and Philip Dybvig. Other WashU-connected figures include the playwright Tennessee Williams, the actor and director Harold Ramis, the presidential adviser Clark Clifford, and the columnist Marilyn vos Savant. Our full lists of WashU’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is WashU hard to get into? Yes. It admitted 12.1% of applicants for fall 2024, and the middle half of admitted students scored 730–770 on the SAT reading section and 770–800 on math.

What does WashU cost after financial aid? Tuition is $69,594 for 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $7,361 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $589 for incomes of $30,000–$48,000 to $47,130 for incomes above $110,000.

How do WashU graduates do? 92.8% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 95% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $91,497.

What is WashU best known for academically? By our influence data: biology and medicine above all, followed by law, engineering, and chemistry.