Washington University in St. Louis
Academics

Back to Profile

How strong are the academics at Washington University in St. Louis?

Let's cover class sizes, graduation rates, and outcomes.

7:1
Student to faculty ratio
23
Average class size
87%
4-year grad rate

Class Sizes

Class sizes likely stayed the same for you through high school. You'll find that college is much different. Some of the largest universities have classes that can seat hundreds of students in giant lecture halls. Conversely, as they progress and their focus narrows, higher-level courses can sometimes have just a handful of students.

WashU has an average student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1. The typical school is 14:1. While this ratio is important, what’s more important is how big a typical class is.

Class Sizes
2-9
510
10-19
775
20-29
268
30-39
110
40-49
106
50-99
114
100+
61

Outcomes

It’s critical to understand a school’s outcomes to understand if your four (or more) years at the school will be worth it. Here are some key statistics about the outcomes of students who enroll at Washington University in St. Louis:

96%
First-year retention rate
87%
4-year grad rate
94%
6-year grad rate

The average base annual salary of students who were employed within six months of graduation is $87,366. This is higher than the national average of $48,300.

$87,366
$48,300 (National Average)

Majors

Many students choose a school largely based on the what they want to study. The are Washington University in St. Louis' most popular majors, ranked by how many people graduated with the concentration in the most recent year:

Computer Science
Experimental Psychology
Mechanical Engineering
Finance, General
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
65.4
84.12
102.84
121.56
140.28
159

The Full List

Major Graduates
Architecture And Related Services
  • Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology 26
  • Architecture 16
Area
  • American/United States Studies/Civilization 12
  • Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other 10
  • African-American/Black Studies 5
  • Latin American Studies 3
  • East Asian Studies 1
  • Near and Middle Eastern Studies 0
Biological And Biomedical Sciences
  • Biology/Biological Sciences, General 74
  • Neuroscience 69
  • Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Other 36
  • Microbiology, General 18
  • Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other 18
  • Environmental Biology 17
  • Ecology 4
Business
  • Finance, General 100
  • Marketing/Marketing Management, General 42
  • Business/Managerial Economics 30
  • Accounting 12
  • Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General 10
  • Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management 9
  • Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies 8
  • Business Administration and Management, General 0
  • Knowledge Management 0
Communication
  • Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 4
  • Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 4
  • Mass Communication/Media Studies 0
  • Journalism 0
Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
  • Computer Science 159
  • Information Technology 25
Education
  • Education, General 4
  • Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching 1
  • Secondary Education and Teaching 1
  • Elementary Education and Teaching 0
  • English/Language Arts Teacher Education 0
  • Social Science Teacher Education 0
Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering 103
  • Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering 48
  • Chemical Engineering 28
  • Electrical and Electronics Engineering 26
  • Computer Engineering, General 21
  • Systems Engineering 21
  • Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering 5
  • Engineering, General 3
  • Engineering, Other 1
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians
  • Engineering/Industrial Management 0
English Language And Literature/Letters
  • English Language and Literature, General 19
  • Creative Writing 14
Foreign Languages
  • Linguistics 4
  • Spanish Language and Literature 4
  • Chinese Language and Literature 2
  • Korean Language and Literature 2
  • Japanese Language and Literature 1
  • Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 1
  • Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 1
  • Arabic Language and Literature 1
  • Comparative Literature 0
  • Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 0
  • Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 0
  • Iranian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 0
  • French Language and Literature 0
  • Italian Language and Literature 0
  • Hebrew Language and Literature 0
  • Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 0
  • Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 0
Health Professions And Related Programs
  • HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS 6
  • Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 6
  • Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 6
  • Health/Health Care Administration/Management 5
  • Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, Other 0
History
  • History, General 31
Liberal Arts And Sciences
  • Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies 0
  • Humanities/Humanistic Studies 0
Mathematics And Statistics
  • Mathematics, General 43
  • Statistics, General 6
  • Applied Mathematics, General 3
  • Mathematics, Other 1
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Cognitive Science, General 55
  • International/Globalization Studies 37
  • Mathematics and Computer Science 33
  • Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 14
  • Economics and Computer Science 9
  • Sustainability Studies 3
  • Ancient Studies/Civilization 1
  • MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 0
  • Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General 0
  • Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General 0
Natural Resources And Conservation
  • Environmental Studies 18
  • Environmental Science 5
  • Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, General 5
Philosophy And Religious Studies
  • Philosophy 5
  • Religion/Religious Studies 4
  • Philosophy, Other 2
Physical Sciences
  • Chemistry, Other 22
  • Chemistry, General 13
  • Physics, General 11
  • Geology/Earth Science, General 5
  • Astrophysics 3
  • Geochemistry 1
  • Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Other 1
  • Planetary Astronomy and Science 0
  • Geophysics and Seismology 0
Psychology
  • Experimental Psychology 118
  • Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics 32
  • Psychology, General 4
  • Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1
Social Sciences
  • Econometrics and Quantitative Economics 81
  • Political Science and Government, General 61
  • Medical Anthropology 50
  • Anthropology, General 23
  • Sociology, General 21
  • Economics, General 3
  • Urban Studies/Affairs 3
  • Archeology 0
  • International Relations and Affairs 0
Visual And Performing Arts
  • Design and Visual Communications, General 54
  • Fine/Studio Arts, General 17
  • Cinematography and Film/Video Production 7
  • Fashion/Apparel Design 6
  • Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General 5
  • Art History, Criticism and Conservation 5
  • Dance, General 4
  • Film/Cinema/Media Studies 4
  • Painting 4
  • Music, General 3
  • Intermedia/Multimedia 1
  • Sculpture 1
  • Photography 0
  • Printmaking 0

Mistakes were made

(But not by you!)

These are the top 10 mistakes people make when searching for colleges

Top Ten Mistakes

CollegeIQ relies on data from government and private resources. Always confer with the individual college or university for the most recent data. Learn more about our data and methodology.

© 2025 Whittier Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service