Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities. SLU, which also has a campus in Madrid, Spain, is recognized for world-class academics, life-changing research,  compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.

Guided by their enduring Jesuit mission, they offer their nearly 13,000 students a highly rigorous and deeply transformative education that helps them develop into bold, confident leaders. Rated among the nation’s top 100 research universities, SLU boasts more than 20 graduate and undergraduate programs ranked among the top 100 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Academically, ethics, spirituality and compassion take center stage, while outside the classroom, members of the SLU community provide more than 1.6 million service hours each year — just one reason we’re consistently known as a character-building college. In fact, more than 80 of SLU's courses integrate service into academics.

Inspired by their pioneering history while firmly focused on a promising future, Saint Louis University continues to move forward with an unwavering commitment to serve a higher purpose while always seeking the greater good. 

The Mission of Saint Louis University is the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity.

The University seeks excellence in the fulfillment of its corporate purposes of teaching, research, health care and service to the community. It is dedicated to leadership in the continuing quest for understanding of God's creation and for the discovery, dissemination and integration of the values, knowledge and skills required to transform society in the spirit of the Gospels. As a Catholic, Jesuit university, this pursuit is motivated by the inspiration and values of the Judeo-Christian tradition and is guided by the spiritual and intellectual ideals of the Society of Jesus.

In support of its mission, the University:

• - Encourages and supports innovative scholarship and effective teaching in all fields of the arts; the humanities; the natural, health and medical sciences; the social sciences; the law; business; aviation; and technology.
• - Creates an academic environment that values and promotes free, active and original intellectual inquiry among its faculty and students.
• - Fosters programs that link University resources to local, national and international communities in collaborative efforts to alleviate ignorance, poverty, injustice and hunger; extend compassionate care to the ill and needy; and maintain and improve the quality of life for all persons.
• - Strives continuously to seek means to build upon its Catholic, Jesuit identity and to promote activities that apply its intellectual and ethical heritage to work for the good of society as a whole.
• - Welcomes students, faculty and staff from all racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds and beliefs and creates a sense of community that facilitates their development as men and women for others.
• - Nurtures within its community an understanding of and commitment to the promotion of faith and justice in the spirit of the Gospels.
• - Wisely allocates its resources to maintain efficiency and effectiveness in attaining its mission and goals.