Any graduate program consists of a protracted period of hard, and sometimes frustrating, work. It is important, therefore, to do one's work in a comfortable environment that offers many pleasures and diversions.
While academic excellence is an integral part of the Washington University, it is not the only part. The cultural and social life of the University is as vibrant as its intellectual life. Theater and music, lectures and readings, art exhibits and concerts are all staples of campus life. So is physical activity. Not only does the University have excellent athletic facilities on campus -- it also sits alongside Forest Park, one of the nation's largest municipal parks. In a single day, a student can easily canoe, hike, or play soccer, and attend a concert by a well known ensemble or a reading by a well known writer. The presence on campus of an extraordinary group of creative writers (including several pulitzer prize winners) leads to many such opportunities. Award winning poets and novelists, such as William Gass, Stanley Elkin and Donald Finkel, to name but a few, add luster to the University.
Also on campus, students have full access to a two million volume library system; comprehensive health services; a modern athletic facility with indoor and outdoor tracks, a swimming pool, tennish, squash, and racquetball courts, and weight rooms; and ample dining facilities.
Just as parks and recreation are conveniently nearby, so is good, affordable housing. Graduate students can easily find comfortable accomodations within walking distance of the campus. The university maintains a housing referral service to help students get situated.
A prominent feature of the university is the School of Medicine situated on its own campus two miles east of the Mathematics building. The Washington University School of Medicine is recognized world-wide for excellence in research, teaching, and patient care. Barnes Hospital, one of several hospitals affiliated with the School of Medicine, is ranked among the five best in the country. Our Mathematics Department has several collaborative research ventures with the Medical school --in population genetics, magnetic resonance imaging, and radiology.
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