Washington University in St. Louis (WashU, or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus (Danforth) mostly split between St. Louis County, Missouri, and Clayton, Missouri. The 169-acre Danforth Campus is at the heart of Washington University and is the academic home to the majority of the university’s undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The Danforth Campus features predominantly Collegiate Gothic architecture in its academic buildings, and is bordered by Forest Park and the cities of St. Louis, Clayton and University City. It is often ranked as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by major education publications.It also has a West Campus in Clayton, North Campus in the West End neighborhood of St. Louis, and Medical Campus in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis. The Washington University Medical Campus spreads over 17 city blocks and 164 acres. The center is home to the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and its affiliated hospitals, clinics, patient care centers and research facilities. The Medical Campus is located in St. Louis’ Central West End, home to some of the region’s best shopping and restaurants.

Founded in 1853 and named after George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries. Washington University is composed of seven graduate and undergraduate schools that encompass a broad range of academic fields. To prevent confusion over its location, the Board of Trustees added the phrase "in St. Louis" in 1976. Washington University is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".As of 2020, 25 Nobel laureates in economics, physiology and medicine, chemistry, and physics have been affiliated with Washington University, ten having done the major part of their pioneering research at the university. In 2019, Clarivate Analytics ranked Washington University 7th in the world for most cited researchers. The university also received the 4th highest amount of NIH medical research grants among medical schools in 2019.