Washington University in St. Louis was the only of Missouri's post secondary institutions to crack Forbes's top 100 for America's Best Colleges; it was ranked number 76. With a student population of just over 13,300, this university has a student-to-faculty ratio of eight-to-one. Here, students can choose from over 300 different graduate and undergraduate programs. Notable graduates from this university include Geoffrey Ballard, TIME Magazine's Hero of the Planet in 1999 and Phoebe Cousins, the first woman ever to enter a law college.
Westminster College in Fulton was ranked 113 in Forbes's America's Best Colleges list. This private college offers 29 majors and 35 minors for its student body population of around 1,000. The college hosts an international lecture series annually, and has hosted figures like Winston Churchill, who delivered his "Iron Curtain" speech here in 1946, George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher. Notable Westminster alumni include Stephen F. Brauer, a former ambassador to Belgium, and Thomas Starzl, recipient of the National Medal of Science.
Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City. It ranked 131 in the "Forbes" list. With around 3,000 students, this university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Students here can enjoy a student-to-faculty ratio of 12-to-one and an average class size of 24 students, ensuring that students receive personal attention from their professors, 87 percent of whom hold a terminal degree in their field. Graduates from Rockhurst include Dennis Thum, the president of the Kansas City Chiefs and Joseph J. Urusemal, the former president of Micronesia.
William Jewell College in Kansas City ranked in the 157th spot on the "Forbes" list. This private college is the home to about 1,200 students who enjoy a student-to-faculty ratio of nine-to-one. Students here can enjoy 60 majors, minors and preprofessional programs, including dentistry, classical humanities and studio art. In the past six years, William Jewell has had a Fulbright scholar, two Rhodes scholar finalists, a Marshall scholar and three Truman scholars.