Washington University in St. Louis was founded in 1853 as a nondenominational community of scholars, and has developed into an independent university known for its excellence in teaching and research and for the quality of its faculty and student body. It ranks among the nation’s leading institutions in higher education, with exceptionally broad and deep university-wide strengths in biomedical education and research.
Washington University School of Medicine was formed in 1891 by the union of the first two medical schools established west of the Mississippi River: the Missouri Medical College and the St. Louis Medical College. When the two were united as the Medical Department of Washington University, they combined their strengths in clinical teaching and research, offering the finest medical instruction in the country.
Washington University’s program has been emulated by other medical schools throughout the country, ushering in the modern era of American clinical education. William Welch, the first dean of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, declared that Washington University’s new program marked the second epoch in medical education in the United States.
Today, Washington University School of Medicine is established as one of the top medical schools in the world. It excels at the scientific and research bases of medicine and their application to patient care and clinical practice, and benefits from its association with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, both of which are among the premier hospitals in the world.