Photo: Suobara (CC BY-SA 3.0)
School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
UMSL is a public research university serving the St. Louis region, with particular strength in optometry, nursing, criminology, and business. It enrolls many transfer students and working adults, and its campus sits in north St. Louis County with its own MetroLink light-rail stops connecting directly into the city.
Academics
The College of Optometry is UMSL's standout program, one of a limited number in the country, and it anchors a broader health-sciences profile alongside nursing. Criminology and business are also well-established, with strong ties to the St. Louis region's employers and criminal-justice agencies.
Campus & student life
UMSL's population of transfer students and working adults gives it a less traditionally residential social atmosphere than a typical four-year college, with direct MetroLink access making it easy for students to live off campus and commute into the city.
After graduation
UMSL graduates are heavily represented in the St. Louis regional workforce, particularly in optometry, health care, business, and criminal justice, reflecting the university's deliberate orientation toward serving the local labor market.
Worth knowing
The optometry program is a genuine national-level specialty at a school whose broader profile is regional, and the MetroLink connection is a practical, distinctive feature for students who want to live in the city rather than immediately on campus.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying
umsl.edu ↗High school coursework
Required4 years of English (2 emphasizing composition/writing; 1 of the remaining 2 may be speech or debate) · 4 years of mathematics (Algebra I and higher) · 3 years of science, not including general science, at least 1 a laboratory course · 3 years of social studies · 1 year of fine arts · 2 years of a single foreign language
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