Arts & Sciences

The Washington University in St. Louis ENDURE research program prepares undergraduates from diverse backgrounds for neuroscience PhD programs. The program combines outstanding research training, a rigorous curriculum and an empowering support system so participants thrive on their path to graduate school and beyond.

The St. Louis Area Brain Bee (SLABB) is an annual event for high school students that are interested in the brain and neuroscience led by WashU Arts & Sciences. Demonstrations, panels, and material come from Brain Facts, a book produced by the Society for Neuroscience. SLABB pays for the winner to compete in the US National Brain Bee competition.

Cancer Research Inspiring Future Scientists Program (CRISPr) provides St. Louis area high school students an entry into academic research. Participants receive a generous stipend, mentorship, training, and access to a world-class community and environment. No previous research experience is required. Students from historically underrepresented backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply.

The Center for the Literary Arts is a transformational hub for creative writing and translation, as well as different forms of literary arts and creative practice across Washington University and the St. Louis community. As an initiative of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan, the Center explores all the ways in which literary art and creative practice can change the world around us. It seeks to unite communities within and beyond academia by reimagining vital literary art-making for the 21st century locally and globally.

Advancing Secondary Science Education through Tetrahymena (ASSET) is an NIH SEPA funded science education outreach program at Washington University in St. Louis. ASSET has developed a variety of modular science education materials designed to stimulate hands-on, inquiry-based learning of fundamental biological concepts for all grade levels. Among the aims outlined in the grant for the program is reaching populations traditionally underrepresented in science in the St. Louis area.

The mission of the Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Science (TRIADS) is to explore new datasets and new techniques to understand better and address critical problems facing society today. TRIADS creates and supports transdisciplinary collaborations among scholars to connect big data to big questions.

The St. Louis Policy Initiative brings diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives to study policy in our region. Substantively, its research agendas engage with the most pressing policy challenges in society today. The initiative explores the relationship between racial segregation, political representation, housing policy, public health outcomes, and environmental outcomes in urban cores and their suburbs. For example, how does political representation translate into improved public health outcomes? To what extent do environmental factors drive disparities in home prices in Black and white neighborhoods?

Beginning Spring semester 2023, the Civil Rights & Restorative Justice (CRRJ) Action Research Lab at WashU will work with the award-winning CRRJ Clinic at Northeastern University Law School and other local and regional initiatives to research and redress histories and legacies of racial violence and repression in Missouri. The WU-CRRJ Action Research Lab at WashU is co-led by WashU faculty members and long time CRRJ research collaborators David Cunningham (Sociology) and Geoff Ward (AFAS).

“The Divided City” works to bring humanities scholars into interdisciplinary dialogue with architects, urban designers, landscape architects, legal scholars, etc. This initiative includes a number of different projects such as the Sumner Studio Lab, a lab that runs through the academic year to bring together Sumner High students, WashU students, and Ville residents.

Niños Cambios Puertas is a volunteer program that provides tutoring and mentoring to Latino children in St. Louis. Niños tutors work with elementary school students with homework and reading and math exercises. Cambios tutors work with middle and high school students. While Puertas tutors function as a college preparation program helping students study for the ACT, find scholarships, and create resumes.