Colleges University of Washington

University of Washington www.washington.edu

University of Washington is a public institution that was founded in 1861. It’s set on a 703-acre main campus located in the University District neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle by the shores of Union and Portage Bays with views of the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains. UW encompasses more than 500 buildings including one of the largest library systems in the world with more than 26 university libraries, art centers, museums, laboratories, lecture halls, and stadiums. The University is a cutting-edge research university and hosts an annual undergraduate research symposium for students to present their work to the community. UW does not require freshmen to live on campus, but it encourages students who do to conserve energy and recycle. Students can join one of the 950-plus student organizations on campus. Those looking for an honors program can consider UW’s, which gives undergraduate students a chance to attend smaller classes, pursue special projects and have more interaction with UW faculty members. Students can choose between the interdisciplinary and departmental honors tracks.

Academics

The University of Washington is a multi-campus university as well as a world-class academic medical center. UW is a member of the Association of American Universities and is one of the oldest public universities on the West Coast. It comprises the School of Medicine, College of Engineering, and Michael G. Foster School of Business. UW’s colleges and schools offer around 1,800 undergraduate courses each quarter, and have nearly 100 majors to choose from. Beyond UW’s main campus in Seattle, it has campuses in Bothell and Tacoma, all of which offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The student-faculty ratio at University of Washington is 21:1, and the school has 28% of classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Psychology, Communications, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Special Highlights

UW Honors Program. The UW Honors Program gives undergraduate students a chance to attend smaller classes, pursue special projects and have more interaction with faculty members. Students can choose between the interdisciplinary and departmental honors tracks. The first is more generally focused, and the latter provides an opportunity for in-depth study within a particular major. Extra-ambitious students can pursue both types of honors. Students can apply to the interdisciplinary honors program when they apply to UW or during the end of their freshman year. Students submit departmental honors applications after they choose their major.

eScience Institute. The eScience Institute empowers researchers and students in all fields to answer fundamental questions through the use of large, complex, and noisy data. As the hub of data-intensive discovery on campus, we lead a community of innovators in the techniques, technologies, and best practices of data science and the fields that depend on them. UW must be a leader in advancing these techniques and technologies, and in making them accessible to researchers in the broadest imaginable range of fields.

School Mission & Unique Qualities

The UW Innovation Imperative is an integrated approach that will drive positive change for our state and beyond. We empower students and researchers to learn, discover and build solutions to tomorrow’s challenges. We encourage the cross-pollination of ideas by providing the space and opportunity for people from all backgrounds – the humanities and the sciences, the poetic and the pragmatic – to connect, imagine and discover. On campus, Red Square is the heart of the campus, surrounded by landmark buildings and artworks, such as Suzzallo Library, the Broken Obelisk, and the statue of George Washington. It functions as the central hub for students and hosts a variety of events annually. University Way, known locally as “The Ave,” lies nearby and is a focus for much student life at the university.

Student Reviews…

“The campus is expansive and will impress anyone who gets the chance to explore it. As for academics, it’s a research school and the classes reflect this standard. Every teacher I’ve had has been well informed in their topics and project true enthusiasm for student learning.”