Webster University: Overview

Webster University is a private, non-profit, multicampus, international institution offering a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs. The University's headquarters is located in Webster Groves, a major suburban center of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Webster students enjoy the advantages traditionally associated with a small undergraduate college, as well as alternative options normally provided only by larger institutions.

In addition to the programs offered at the Webster Groves campus, the University provides undergraduate study opportunities at the following St. Louis locations:

• the historic Old Post Office Building in downtown St. Louis.
• in St. Louis County at Westport.
• the WingHaven Complex in St. Charles County.

Webster University also offers undergraduate education at the following extended-campus locations in the United States: Kansas City (Missouri); Los Angeles (California); Orlando (Florida); San Diego (California); and South Carolina at: Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville.

Students may also study at Webster's international campuses in Geneva, Switzerland; Leiden, The Netherlands; London, United Kingdom; Vienna, Austria; or Hua Hin/Cha-am, Thailand. Last year, the St. Louis campuses enrolled 3,600 undergraduate students, and the undergraduate population at all locations totaled 5,400. The University's worldwide enrollment was approximately 21,000 students.

Mission

Webster University, a worldwide institution, ensures high quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.

Vision

Our vision is to be a premier U.S- based international university setting a distinct standard for global education.

This vision is built on a foundation of excellence in teaching and enhanced by an international perspective that fosters dialogue, respect and understanding across boundaries and between peoples. The educational endeavors in support of this vision are meeting the needs and enriching a global mix of learners within an ever increasing network of students desiring a U.S. education in multiple parts of the world. The institution is committed to offering these students a distinct personal experience and building the resources required to achieve this vision. The actions of the institution are shaped by our core values.

Core Values

• Students
  By sustaining a personalized approach to education through small classes, close relationships with faculty and staff, and attention to student life.
• Learning
  By developing educational programs that join theory and practice, provide an international perspective, encourage creativity and scholarship, and foster a lifelong desire to learn and actively serve communities and the world.
• Diversity
  By creating an environment accessible to individuals of diverse cultures, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds and instilling in students a respect for diversity and an understanding of their own and others values.
• Global Citizenship
  By educating a diverse population locally, nationally, and internationally, acting responsibly toward the environment to foster a sustainable future, and strengthening the communities we serve.

Accreditation and Licensures

Webster University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association, 312-263-0456, www.ncahlc.org. The accreditation, which was awarded in 1925, includes undergraduate and graduate levels at all locations where the University offers programs.

Licensures/Approvals and Specialized Accreditations

General Education Goals

A coherent baccalaureate program provides opportunity for the study of a discipline in depth while at the same time enabling students to obtain a broad general education within the context of their individual goals. Webster University acknowledges that the ideal components of general education can be addressed throughout the curriculum and that this learning may occur in a variety of ways. The University requires all baccalaureate students to complete a general education program. The following nine goals are the framework for this program:

1. Critical Thinking (a systematic method of examining and evaluating arguments).

2. Communications (writing and speaking that are clear, concise, and accurate when conveyed to a broad audience).

3. Historical Consciousness (recognition of causes, relationships, and sequences within seemingly random social and historical events).

4. Humanities (analysis of the themes of human experience through the legacy of great works and ideas).

5. Values (critical reflection on the attitudes and beliefs relevant to individual and social choices and actions).

6. Cultural Understanding (examination and comparison of international and/or diverse cultures).

7. Arts Appreciation (recognition of artistic expressions gained through analysis, reflection, or practical experience).

8. Scientific Understanding (analysis of concepts of a scientific discipline and its methods, limitations, and impact in the modern world).

9. Mathematics (recognition of the value and beauty of mathematics, as well as the ability to use geometric, algebraic, or numerical reasoning).

Webster University is committed to the idea that these processes, methods, experiences, and skills can be acquired by individuals in a variety of ways, in numerous fields of study, and at varying times in their academic lives. Generally, students satisfy the general education requirement by taking one 3-credit-hour course in each of the nine areas. See Academic Policies and Information for specific details for each degree program.

The Webster Groves Campus

University Center

The University Center, a 46,000-square-foot, $5.7 million facility, opened in the fall of 1992. Recreational facilities include a gym, an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, locker rooms, and a sauna. Varsity athletic, intramural, and recreational programs are offered. The upper level includes the UC Crossroads food court with Blimpie Subs and Salads, World of Wings (WOW) Café, and Freshëns Smoothie Company, a campus information center, meeting and conference rooms, lounges, student organization offices, and the student leadership center. The Office of the Dean of Student Affairs is on the upper level.

Leif J. Sverdrup Business/Technology Complex

The 66,000-square-foot Leif J. Sverdrup Business/Technology Complex first opened for classroom use in the spring of 1988. The complex, consisting of three contiguous buildings, houses the Media Center, User Services, and the Grant Business and Management Center. Café a la Cart is located in the central lounge and provides food and beverages.

The Media Center is a facility available to members of the University community for media production and instruction. Located in the Business/Technology Complex, it houses a black-and-white darkroom with 16 stations, a three-station color darkroom, a film-processing room, and a photo studio. For those interested in audio and video production, the Center has a sound studio with fully equipped 32-track audio mixing board, a radio broadcasting system, and a television studio, as well as a newly created video postproduction suite. A computerized journalism center is also located in the Media Center.

Also located in the Business/Technology Complex is User Services, which serves as a centralized location for faculty, staff, and student computer use. The center uses PC and Macintosh equipment in a setting suitable for group instruction or individual learning. User Services consists of 10 labs equipped with interactive video, multimedia and desktop publishing software, and laser printers. The labs run on Novell servers using Ethernet technology. Noncredit training is offered in a variety of topics including word processing, Internet, and Microsoft Office applications.

Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts

The Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts was opened in 1966 through a gift from the late Conrad Hilton. With a recently expanded lobby, the center serves as the setting for professional and student productions, lectures, and concerts, and it houses teaching spaces, workshop areas, a dance studio, faculty offices, and an art gallery. The center features a 924-seat main stage theatre with a thrust stage and also contains a flexible-space, 125-seat Studio Theatre. In this major St. Louis cultural facility, professional performances are held throughout the year by The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Webster University Symphony Orchestra. Many of the student productions of the University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts and dance programs are staged in the Loretto-Hilton.

Webster Hall

Built in 1915, this historic five-story, multipurpose building houses administrative offices, faculty offices, academic classrooms, science laboratories, and theatre rehearsal spaces. Special facilities include the Winifred Moore Auditorium, which seats 252 people and is used extensively for lectures, concerts, and films. Stage 3 is a 125-seat flexible theatre space used primarily for student productions of the Conservatory of Theatre Arts.

Emerson Library

Webster University's new five-story Emerson Library, completed in 2003, is centrally located in the University's academic corridor and features the latest in information technology, including multimedia facilities, a reference/electronic commons, an electronic classroom, and a 24-hour cybercafè. Emerson Library houses a growing collection of more than 200,000 volumes of monographs, rare books, periodicals, videos, and other media and has seating for over 700 in a variety of individual and group study spaces. Special collections of the library include the Harry James Cargas Literature and Holocaust Collection, the Henrietta Maizner Hochschild Children's Literature Collection, the Curriculum Collection, and the University Archives. As part of a joint library system with Eden Theological Seminary's Luhr Library, students, faculty, and staff of both Webster and Eden enjoy reciprocal resources and services of both Emerson and Luhr Libraries, including the fine collection of materials on religion and related subjects located in Luhr Library.

Through continuing technological innovation, the library provides a variety of online resources to faculty, students, and staff, including an online integrated research system called Passports. Passports is the library's World Wide Web site, integrating online services, Internet resources, and online databases for student and faculty research. Passports is accessible from campus, home, or office and provides 24-hour access to Bridges, the library's online catalog; MOBIUS, a statewide consortium; over 100 online and full-text databases; Internet resources; and online services, including reference and electronic reserves.

The library's Reference/Electronic Commons is the central service point in the library for electronic and traditional research. Here users have access to the latest equipment, worldwide resources, and professional research assistance and training needed for scholarship. This area includes over 20 state-of-the-art online research workstations and 21,000 reference volumes. A Media Listening/Viewing Center offers a growing multimedia collection with 20 listening/viewing rooms and stations. An electronic classroom is available for hands-on instruction in the fast-changing world of libraries and the information industry.

The library features 20 group study rooms seating from four to 10 people. As education becomes more experiential and collaborative, these rooms provide essential space for group research and projects. Each is fully wired for electronic as well as traditional research and study.

The library also offers a variety of individual study environments, including study carrels with task lighting and network connections. Open reading areas on the upper level include individual and group seating and are fully wired for electronic and traditional research. A large lecture/conference room provides space for both instruction and meetings.

Jazzman's Cybercafè offers coffee bar fare and provides an informal and lively meeting place that is accessible 24 hours a day. Over 20 multi-function, networked workstations are available for student use of e-mail and online research resources. On the top floor of the library, a Faculty Development Center includes the latest multimedia equipment and resources for teaching and learning excellence as faculty incorporate information technology into the curriculum.

Garden Park Plaza

Located on Garden Avenue, Garden Park Plaza provides parking spaces for 700 vehicles and also houses the offices of Academic Advising, Career Services, and Graduate and Evening Student Admissions. The University bookstore is also housed on the ground floor of the building.

Loretto Hall

Offices located in Loretto Hall include the Academic Resource Center, Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention, Campus Ministry, Counseling and Life Development, Health Services, Mail and Copy Solutions, Multicultural Center, and International Student Affairs, Public Safety, the Registrar and Writing Center.   Approximately 85 students also reside in Loretto Hall, in shared two-bedroom, one bath suites.

Webster Village Apartments

The Webster Village Apartments include six apartment buildings housing 280 students in efficiencies and 2- and 4-bedroom units plus a clubhouse and an outdoor pool.

East and West Halls

With the opening of two new residence halls in Fall 2006, Webster University provides modern, air-conditioned, on-campus housing options for students. West Hall is reserved for freshmen and includes shared two-bedroom, one-bath suites. East Hall is reserved primarily for sophomores and upperclassmen and includes shared three-bedroom, two-bath suites and private four-bedroom, two-bath suites. These new residence halls include laundry rooms, social lounges, study lounges, kitchenettes on each floor, a recreation room, a multipurpose room, and a classroom.

Other Instructional Locations and Campus Facilities

Pearson House contains the departmental offices for English and philosophy, as well as six classrooms.

H. Sam Priest Center for International Studies houses the History, Politics, and International Relations Department.

The Music Building contains faculty offices, a recital hall, three classrooms, 10 teaching studios, and 20 practice rooms.

The Visual Arts Studios house drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, and graphic design studios.

The Community Music School provides music performance and rehearsal halls, applied music studios, and resourses for the University and the community.

The Cecille R. Hunt House contains art faculty offices and studios.

The International Recruitment and Services Center is at 538 Garden Avenue.

The Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs department is located in the lower level of Loretto Hall.

The Admissions Center is located at 8356 Big Bend Boulevard, and it houses undergraduate admissions.

The John Allan Love Foundation Alumni House is at 534 Garden Avenue.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is at 210 Hazel Avenue.

The Carriage House is the headquarters for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the professional regional theatre company that works directly with the Webster Theatre Conservatory.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Area

The metropolitan St. Louis area has a population of more than two million people and offers students many opportunities to enrich their educational experiences through its cultural and entertainment attractions.

St. Louis is frequently called "The Gateway to the West" because of its historic role in the nation's westward expansion. Commemorating this role is the 630-foot, stainless steel Gateway Arch designed by Eero Saarinen. The arch is the focal point of the 86-acre Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the Mississippi riverfront.

Downtown St. Louis is the hub of the metropolitan area, featuring a commercial and business district, the Laclede's Landing entertainment district on the riverfront, the Scottrade Center, and Busch Stadium. A short distance away is St. Louis Union Station, built in 1894 and now a major tourist attraction and shopping area. Webster University has participated in this downtown renewal with an expanded campus in the Old Post Office building.

St. Louis attractions include one of the world's major zoos in Forest Park, site of the 1904 World's Fair. Also located in Forest Park are the Saint Louis Art Museum; the Municipal Opera amphitheatre; the St. Louis Science Center; and the Missouri Historical Society Museum.

Among St. Louis' cultural opportunities are The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, both housed on Webster University's home campus; the Saint Louis Symphony; and professional theatre and entertainment events presented at the historic Fox Theatre and other theatres in the urban area.

St. Louis is the home of the baseball Cardinals, the hockey Blues, and the football Rams. The Missouri Botanical Garden contains one of the world's outstanding botanical collections. The Climatron, a domed greenhouse, recreates a tropical ecosystem.

Other places of interest include the boyhood home of Eugene Field, "the children's poet"; Campbell House, a preserved and authentically furnished Victorian mansion (1854); the gracious Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion (1848); the magnificent Byzantine-style St. Louis Cathedral, with its brilliant mosaics; and Ulysses S. Grant's Farm Estate, with roaming herds of buffalo and deer.