private, coeducational institution of higher learning in St. Louis, Mo., U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic Church. The university comprises the colleges of arts and sciences, philosophy and letters, public service, and health sciences, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, the graduate school, and schools of business, law, medicine, professional studies, and public health. The university has three campuses: Frost campus (main) and the Health Sciences Center in St. Louis and a campus in Madrid, Spain. In addition to undergraduate studies, the university offers a range of graduate and professional degree programs. Research facilities include the Smurfit-Stone Center for Entrepreneurship and the Reis Biological Station. Total enrollment exceeds 11,000.

The university was established in 1818 as St. Louis Academy. In 1820 it was made a college, and in 1827 it came under the control of the Jesuit order. The college was chartered as a university in 1832, the first university established west of the Mississippi River. Notable alumni include Broadway producer David Merrick, physician and writer Thomas Dooley, and sculptor Harriet Goodhue Hosmer.