Washington University in St. Louis participated in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) from 1943 until the program ended in 1945. Under an Army contract, specific courses were offered for active duty military in 12 week sessions. All students were military, and classes were not mixed with civilian. Most classes taught were in engineering or a closely related topic. Another focus was on foreign language and area study courses. During 1942 – 1943 Washington University also offered meteorology training programs “B” and “C” under contact to the Army Air Corps program.

In January 1941 Washington University in St. Louis began offering classes through the Engineering Defense Training (EDT) program, as part of the School of Engineering and the University College. The first courses offered were Machine Design, Materials Inspection and Testing, Production Engineering, Production Supervision, and Tool Engineering. Later that year Aeronautic and Explosives courses were added. Renamed in 1942 the Engineering, Science and Management War Training (ESMWT) program, participation continued as part of the School of Engineering until 1945 when the discontinued by the government. Under administration of the U.S. Office of Education, the program offered part-time classes aimed at training civilian workers for defense industries. Classes were taught by University faculty and by staff from local industries, including Monsanto, Curtis-Wright, and McDonnell Aircraft.  Enlisted service members were not permitted to enroll. Most classes were offered nights and weekends, varied in length, and students received a certificate of completion, but not college credit.

Sources: V.R. Cardozier, Colleges and Universities in World War II (Praeger Pub.: Westport, CT: 1993) and Ralph Morrow,  Washington University in St. Louis: A History, (St. Louis : Missouri Historical Society Press: 1996)