Forbes' top-ranked Missouri institution, Washington University in St. Louis, offers a broad spectrum of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in a variety of traditional and interdisciplinary fields. In the fall of 2010, WU admitted 1,632 freshmen selected from 24,939 applicants.
Located in Fulton, Westminster College is a private liberal arts college with an average student population of just over 1,100. Its boasts include having been the setting for Winston Churchill's 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech, as well as "Breakthrough," a sculpture created from sections of the Berlin Wall.
Rockhurst University was founded by Jesuits in 1910, and maintains a tradition of focus on individual dignity as well as the seven classical modes of inquiry--artistic, historical, philosophical, theological, literary, scientific relational and scientific causal. It is located in Kansas City, and boasts a student-faculty ratio of 12 to 1.
William Jewell College offers not only a comprehensive liberal arts education, but what it claims is a supportive community dedicated to intellectual pursuits and inspired by Christian ideals. It is located in Liberty, slightly north of Kansas City.
College of the Ozarks cheerfully refers to itself as "Hard Work U." Instead of paying tuition, all full-time students work for their education. Also ranked highly on the Princeton Review's list of "Most Conservative Students," C of O prohibits all alcohol and drugs on campus as well as providing a strongly Christian environment for students.
In addition to boasting the world's first School of Journalism, "Mizzou" is one of six public universities in the United States that has law, medicine and veterinary medicine on one campus. According to the National Science Foundation, it ranks among the top 10 schools for integrating research into undergraduate degree programs.
Though Saint Louis University is technically a Catholic and Jesuit university, it welcomes students of all faiths and religious backgrounds. Ninety-nine percent of its faculty hold the highest degree in their fields, and its mascot, the Billiken, is an unusual good-luck figure of indeterminate species.
Drury University in Springfield offers six master's degree programs--in education, criminology, criminal justice, business administration, music therapy and studio art and theory. It is a private college that was founded in 1873, and has a student-to-faculty ratio of 12 to 1.
Located in Kirksville, Truman State University was founded in 1867. It offers many internship opportunities, including the chance to intern with Missouri legislators, public officials and state agencies. Prospective students can apply to Truman State free of charge.
Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla is one of the nation's best technological research universities. Many of its 65 degree programs are scientific in nature, but even its English, philosophy and history programs are infused with a technological slant.