University Of Washington, Seattle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the
West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...
. The university has a main campus located in the city's University District. It also has
satellite campus A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...
es in nearby cities of Tacoma and Bothell. Overall, UW encompasses more than 500 buildings and over 20 million gross square footage of space, including one of the largest library systems in the world with more than 26 university libraries, art centers, museums, laboratories, lecture halls, and stadiums. Washington is the flagship institution of the six public universities in Washington State. It is known for its medical, engineering, and scientific research. Washington is a member of the
Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of predominantly American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 69 public and private ...
. According to the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
, UW spent $1.73 billion on research and development in 2024, ranking it fifth in the nation. Its 22 varsity sports teams compete as the Huskies in the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
of
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
, and represent the United States at the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
and other competitions.


History


Founding

In 1854, territorial governor
Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represe ...
recommended the establishment of a university in the
Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
. Prominent Seattle-area residents, including
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
preacher
Daniel Bagley Daniel Bagley (September 7, 1818April 26, 1905) was a pioneer preacher, educational booster, and industrialist in Seattle, Washington. Arriving in Seattle in 1860, he was instrumental in the founding of the Territorial University of Washington. ...
, saw this as a chance to add to the city's potential and prestige. Bagley learned of a law that allowed United States territories to sell land to raise money in support of public schools. At the time, Arthur A. Denny, one of the founders of Seattle and a member of the territorial legislature, aimed to increase the city's importance by moving the territory's capital from Olympia to Seattle. However, Bagley ultimately persuaded Denny that founding a university would better contribute to the growth of Seattle's economy. Two universities were initially chartered, but later the decision was repealed in favor of a single university in Lewis County provided that locally donated land was available. When no site emerged, Denny successfully petitioned the legislature to reconsider Seattle as a location in 1858. In 1861, scouting began for an appropriate site in Seattle to serve as a new university campus. Arthur and Mary Denny donated eight acres, while fellow pioneers Edward Lander, and Charlie and Mary Terry, donated two acres on Denny's Knoll in
downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
. More specifically, this tract was bounded by 4th Avenue to the west, 6th Avenue to the east, Union Street to the north, and Seneca Streets to the south. John Pike, for whom Pike Street is named, was the university's architect and builder. It was opened on November 4, 1861, as the Territorial University of Washington. The legislature passed articles incorporating the university, and establishing its Board of Regents in 1862. The school initially struggled, closing three times: in 1863 for low enrollment, and again in 1867 and 1876 for shortage of funds. Washington awarded its first graduate Clara Antoinette McCarty Wilt in 1876, with a Bachelor of Science degree.


19th-century relocation

By the time
Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
entered the Union in 1889, both Seattle and the university had grown substantially. Washington's total undergraduate enrollment increased from 30 to nearly 300 students, and the campus's relative isolation in downtown Seattle faced encroaching development. A special legislative committee, headed by UW graduate Edmond Meany, was created to find a new campus to better serve the growing student population and faculty. The committee eventually selected a site on the northeast of
downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
called Union Bay, which was the land of the Duwamish, and the legislature appropriated funds for its purchase and construction. In 1895, the university relocated to the new campus by moving into the newly built Denny Hall. The University Regents tried and failed to sell the old campus, eventually settling with leasing the area. This later became one of the university's most valuable pieces of real estate in modern-day Seattle, generating millions in annual revenue with what is now called the Metropolitan Tract. The original Territorial University building was torn down in 1908, and its former site now houses the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The sole-surviving remnants of Washington's first building are four , white, hand-fluted cedar, Ionic columns. They were salvaged by Edmond S. Meany, one of the university's first graduates and former head of its history department. Meany and his colleague, Dean Herbert T. Condon, dubbed the columns as "Loyalty," "Industry," "Faith", and "Efficiency", or "LIFE." The columns now stand in the Sylvan Grove Theater.


20th-century expansion

Organizers of the 1909
Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition The Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, acronym AYP or AYPE, was a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909 publicizing the development of the Pacific Northwest. It was originally planned for 1907 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Klondike Gold ...
eyed the still largely undeveloped campus as a prime setting for their
world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
. They came to an agreement with Washington's
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...
that allowed them to use the campus grounds for the exposition, surrounding today's Drumheller Fountain facing towards
Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...
. In exchange, organizers agreed Washington would take over the campus and its development after the fair's conclusion. This arrangement led to a detailed site plan and several new buildings, prepared in part by
John Charles Olmsted John Charles Olmsted (September 14, 1852 – February 24, 1920) was an American landscape architect. The nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, he worked with his father and his younger brother, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., in their fath ...
. The plan was later incorporated into the overall UW campus master plan, permanently affecting the campus layout. Both
World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...
s brought the military to campus, with certain facilities temporarily lent to the federal government. In spite of this, subsequent post-war periods were times of dramatic growth for the university. The period between the wars saw a significant expansion of the upper campus. Construction of the Liberal Arts Quadrangle, known to students as "The Quad," began in 1916 and continued to 1939. The university's architectural centerpiece, Suzzallo Library, was built in 1926 and expanded in 1935. In 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry in the Seattle area were forced into inland
internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
as part of
Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a President of the United States, United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. "This order authorized the fo ...
following the attack on
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
. During this difficult time, university president Lee Paul Sieg took an active and sympathetic leadership role in advocating for and facilitating the transfer of Japanese American students to universities and colleges away from the Pacific Coast to help them avoid the mass incarceration. Nevertheless, many Japanese American students and "soon-to-be" graduates were unable to transfer successfully in the short time window or receive diplomas before being incarcerated. It was only many years later that they were recognized for their accomplishments, during the University of Washington's Long Journey Home ceremonial event that was held in May 2008. In October 2, 1946, the University of Washington formally opened a medical school as part of a School of Health Sciences against the Washington State Medical Association's oppositions, who did not wish to create a competitive surplus of physicians. The operation was spearheaded by President Henry Suzzallo based on plans created by Gideon Weed, Rufus Willard, and Thomas Minor earlier in 1884. The
G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...
was later created and passed, establishing the School of Health Sciences while providing $3.75 million for buildings and $450,000 for salaries. This was the foundation for the University of Washington Medical Center, ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top ten hospitals in the nation. The School of Health Sciences was later renamed the School of Medicine in 1946, which is now consistently ranked as the top medical school in the United States. The University of Washington's role as a medical school sharply drew more attention after the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
boom in wartime industry and economics.
J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World ...
was nominated in 1954 by the University of Washington's Physics Department to lecture physics students for one week, but was unable to attend because of loyalty checks asked for by the
US Federal Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...
. Oppenheimer never accepted the invitations, and President Dr. Henry Schmitz disapproved of his nomination. From 1958 to 1973, the University of Washington saw a tremendous growth in student enrollment, its faculties and operating budget, and also its prestige under the leadership of Charles Odegaard. During this period, the faculty was sharply divided over the issues of the role of the faculty in faculty appointments, and the conflict of who should run the University, the faculty or the parents and taxpayers. Henry Schmitz characterized the matter as "an internal power struggle." UW student enrollment had more than doubled to 34,000 as the
baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of births. This demography, demographic phenomenon is usually an ascribed characteristic within the population of a specific nationality, nation or culture. Baby booms are caused by various ...
generation came of age. The University of Washington has a long history with civil rights starting from 1874, through 1899 with civil activism and through 1968 to 1975. This era was also marked by high levels of
student activism Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...
, as was the case at many American universities. Much of the unrest focused around
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
, actively seen when football coach Jim Owens suspended four Black football players on October 30, 1969, for " lack of commitment to the team," after which activists demanded Owen's resignation and the rest of the black football players on the team refused to play. For a time, activists had been passionate as to incite a response from school administration to occupy the campus after the activists harmed 17 persons. African American Dr. Robert Flennaugh was appointed to the UW Board of Regents on March 25, 1970 and later on June 22 the ''University of Washington Daily'' eliminated gender-based help ads. Activism peaked in 1975 when 2,000 students protested university hiring practices on the campus through May 13 and 14. Further opposition to the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
occurred, and in response to anti-Vietnam War protests by the late 1960s, the University Safety and Security Division became the University of Washington Police Department. On June 29, 1969, a bomb detonated on campus, causing $100,000 damages and no injuries. No group claimed responsibility for the incident. Odegaard instituted a vision of building a "community of scholars", convincing the Washington State legislatures to increase investment in the university. Washington senators, such as
Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington (state), Washington. A Cold W ...
and Warren G. Magnuson, also used their political clout to gather research funds for UW. The results included an increase in the operating budget from $37 million in 1958 to over $400 million in 1973, solidifying UW as a top recipient of federal research funds in the United States. The establishment of technology giants such as
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
,
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
in the local area also proved to be highly influential in the UW's fortunes, not only improving graduate prospects but also helping to attract millions of dollars in university and research funding through its distinguished faculty and extensive alumni network.


21st century

In 1990, the University of Washington opened its additional campuses in Bothell and Tacoma. Originally designed for students who had completed two years of higher education, both schools have since evolved into four-year universities with the authority to award degrees. The first freshman classes were admitted in the fall of 2006. Today, both the Bothell and Tacoma campuses also offer a range of master's degree programs. In 2012, the university began exploring plans and governmental approval to expand the main
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
campus, including significant increases in student housing, teaching facilities for the growing student body and faculty, as well as expanded public transit options. The
University of Washington light rail station University of Washington station is a light rail station on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is served by the 1 Line (Sound Transit), 1 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, ...
was completed in March 2016, connecting Seattle's
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
neighborhood to the UW Husky Stadium within five minutes of rail travel time. It offers a previously unavailable option of transportation into and out of the campus, designed specifically to reduce dependence on private vehicles, bicycles and local King County buses.


Controversies

In January 23, 1939, the University of Washington was criticized for hiring Economics Professor Harold J. Laski, a British
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
, as a visiting lecturer in between the
First Red Scare The first Red Scare was a period during History of the United States (1918–1945), the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of Far-left politics, far-left movements, including Bolsheviks, Bolshevism a ...
and Second Red Scare. The University of Washington was highly suspect by the
Truman Administration Harry S. Truman's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been Vice President ...
in 1948 and 1949. Thomas H. Bienz, a Democratic
State senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
, declared that "At least 150 niversity faculty membersare
Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
" and soon thereafter two investigations were started by the Canwell Committee and the University. Professor of philosophy Herbert Phillips, professor of
old English literature Old English literature refers to poetry (alliterative verse) and prose written in Old English in early medieval England, from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066, a period often termed Anglo-Saxon England. The 7th- ...
Joe Butterworth and professor of
social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...
Ralph Gundlach were dismissed after the investigations. A year after, another second investigation was commenced by the Joint Legislative Fact-finding Committee on Un-American Activities in the State of Washington, leading to investigations into other professors with a response of "One hundred and three professors igningan open letter to the University of Washington Board of Regents that stated the firings were based on guilt by association. The letter also declared that faculty morale and the University's reputation was damaged." The original proposal of the University included increases for research scientists of about 10% over three years plus changes in the pay structure and a catch-up increase of 3.25% for those who did not get a merit raise last year. For postdocs, the original UW offer was an average 15% total wage increase in 2023, including 13% in January when new minimums were introduced, plus higher minimum salaries.


Campus

UW's main campus is situated in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, by the shores of Union and Portage Bays with views of the
Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
to the east, and the
Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus (Washington), Mount Olympus is the high ...
to the west. The site encompasses bounded by N.E. 45th Street on the north, N.E. Pacific Street on the south, Montlake Boulevard N.E. on the east, and 15th Avenue N.E. on the west.
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
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.


North Campus

North Campus features some of UW's most recognized landscapes as well as landmarks, stretching from the signature University of Washington Quad directly north of
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
to N.E. 45th Street, and encompasses a number of the university's most historical academic, research, housing, parking, recreational and administrative buildings. With UW's continued growth, administrators proposed a new, multimillion-dollar, multi-phase development plan in late 2014 to refine portions of the North Campus, renovating and replacing old student housing with new LEED-certified complexes, introducing new academic facilities, sports fields, open greenery, and museums. The UW Foster School of Business, School of Law, and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, which houses a significant number of exhibits including a 66-million-year-old
Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...
fossil skull – one of only 15 known to exist in the world today and part of an ongoing excavation, are also located in North Campus. The U District light rail station is just west of the Burke Museum.


South Campus

South Campus occupies the land between Pacific Street and the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The land was previously the site of the University Golf Course but was given up to construct a building for the School of Medicine. Today, South Campus is the location of UW's health sciences and natural sciences facilities, including the UW Medical Center and the Magnuson Health Sciences Center as well as locations for instruction and research in oceanography,
bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number ...
, biology, genome sciences, hydraulics, and comparative medicine.


East Campus

The East Campus area stretches east of Montlake Boulevard to Laurelhurst and is largely taken up by
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s and Huskies sports facilities and recreation fields, including
Husky Stadium Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor American football, football stadium in the Northwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Wa ...
,
Hec Edmundson Pavilion Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (formerly and still commonly referred to as Hec Edmundson Pavilion or simply Hec Ed) is an indoor arena on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It serves ...
, and Husky Ballpark. The area directly north of the sports facilities is home to UW's computer science and engineering programs, which includes computer labs once used by Paul G. Allen and
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
for their prior venture before establishing Microsoft. In 2019, the Bill & Melinda Gates Center For Computer Science & Engineering opened in East Campus. Located adjacent is the Mechanical Engineering Building, home to the Industrial and Systems Engineering program. The area northeast of the sports facilities is occupied by components of the UW Botanic Gardens, such as the Union Bay Natural Area, the UW Farm, and the Center for Urban Horticulture. Further east is the Ceramic and Metal Arts Building and Laurel Village, which provides family housing for registered full-time students. East Campus is also the location of the UW light rail station.


West Campus

West Campus consists of mainly
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
structures located on city streets, and stretches between 15th Avenue and
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
from the Ship Canal, to N.E. 41st Street. It is home to the College of Built Environments, School of Social Work, Fishery Sciences Building, UW Police Department as well as many of the university's apartments such as Stevens Court and Mercer Court and residence halls Alder, Lander, Maple and Elm Hall.


Administration


Board of Regents

The University of Washington Board of Regents governs the University of Washington per the
Revised Code of Washington The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws currently in force in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Temporary laws such as appropriations acts are excluded. It is published by the Washington State S ...
28B.20.130 statute. The board is responsible for selecting, overseeing, and assessing the
university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth na ...
. Generally, the Board of Regents entrusts the president with the daily operations of the university, in collaboration with the faculty and in line with legal provisions. The Board of Regents is made up of eleven members, including one student member and one faculty member. Regents are appointed by the governor of the State of Washington for six-year terms, except for the Student Regent (who serves for one year) and the Faculty Regent (who serves for three years). Regents continue to serve after their terms have ended until either they resign or the governor appoints a successor. Officers of the board are elected annually at the September meeting. One of the most notable former regents is William Henry Gates II, the father of
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
. William Henry Gates II served as a regent from 1997 to 2012.


President

The president of the University of Washington, Ana Mari Cauce, was selected by the Board of Regents, effective October 13, 2015. On November 12, 2015, the Board of Regents approved a five-year contract for Cauce, awarding her yearly compensation of $910,000. Cauce's compensation package includes an annual salary of $697,500, $150,000 per year in deferred compensation, an annual $50,500 contribution into a retirement account, and a $12,000 annual automobile allowance. She was the Interim President before her appointment, fulfilling the position left vacant by the previous President Michael K. Young when he was announced to be
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
's next president on February 3, 2015. Phyllis Wise, who had served at UW as provost and executive vice president, and as interim president for a year, was named the chancellor of the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
in August 2011. Cauce has announced she plans to step down after her second term is complete in 2025. On February 3, 2025, the Board of Regents announced that Robert J. Jones will take her place as the 34th UW president.


Finance

In 2017 the university reported $4.893 billion in revenues and $5.666 billion in expenses, resulting in an operating loss of $774 million. This loss was offset by $342 million in state appropriations, $443 million in investment income, $166 million in gifts, and $185 million of other non-operating revenues. Thus, the university's net position increased by $363 million in 2017.


Donors

The university is funded in part by donations from philanthropists, foundations, and corporations, as well as individual donors. Bill Gates Sr. and his son
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
, as well as Melinda French Gates and the
Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...
, are described as having an "unmatched" impact across the entire university. As of 2020, the university's Honor Roll of Donors recognized top contributors as including Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
, the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...
, and the late Paul G. Allen. Additional notable donors include
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
,
AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...
,
Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...
,
BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...
,
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
, Burroughs Wellcome Fund,
Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...
,
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organization established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of 99 percent of the couple's wealth from their Facebook shares over their lifetim ...
, China Medical Board,
Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...
,
Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and CO ...
,
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
, Merck,
Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...
,
Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...
, Open Philanthropy,
Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...
,
Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
,
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
, and
Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...
.


Endowment

Endowed gifts are commingled in the university's Consolidated Endowment Fund, managed by an internal investment company at an annual cost of approximately $6.2 million. The university reported $443.383 million of investment income in fiscal year 2017.


Major projects

In 2018, the university claimed to have nearly $1 billion in new construction underway.


Sustainability

Environmental sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
has long been a major focus of the university's Board of Regents and Presidents. In February 2006, UW joined a partnership with Seattle City Light as part of their Green Up Program, ensuring that all of Seattle campus' electricity is supplied by and purchased from renewable sources. In 2010, then UW President Emmert furthered the university's efforts with a host of other universities across the U.S., and signed the
American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment Started in 2006, the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) was a “high-visibility effort” to address global warming (global climate disruption) by creating a network of colleges and universities that had committe ...
. UW created a Climate Action Team, as well as an Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC) which keeps track of UW's greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. Policies were enacted with environmental stewardship in mind, and institutional support was provided to assist with campus sustainability. Overall, the University of Washington was one of several universities to receive the highest grade, "A−", on the Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card in 2011.


International collaboration

The University of Washington is an active member of the
University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...
. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region. The university also participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.


Academics

The university offers bachelor's, master's and
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
degrees through its 140 departments, themselves organized into various colleges and schools. It also continues to operate a Transition School and Early Entrance Program on campus, which first began in 1977.


Rankings and reputation

UW is an elected member of the American Association of Universities, and has been listed as a "
Public Ivy "Public Ivy" is an informal term that refers to public colleges and universities in the United States that are perceived to provide a collegiate experience on the level of Ivy League universities. Richard Moll in his book ''Public Ivys: A Guide ...
" in Greene's Guides since 2001. The ''
Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...
(ARWU)'' has consistently ranked UW as one of the top 20 universities worldwide every year since its first release. In 2019, UW ranked 14th worldwide out of 500 by the ''ARWU'', 26th worldwide out of 981 in the ''
Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...
'', and 28th worldwide out of 101 in the ''Times'' World Reputation Rankings. Meanwhile, ''
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
'' ranked it 68th worldwide, out of over 900. '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked UW 6th out of nearly 1,500 universities worldwide for 2024, with UW's undergraduate program tied for 40th among 389 national universities in the U.S. and tied for 19th among 209 public universities. In 2019, it ranked 10th among the universities around the world by
SCImago Institutions Rankings The SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) since 2009 has published its international ranking of worldwide research institutions, the SIR World Report. The SIR World Report is the work of the SCImago Research Group,Kiplinger Kiplinger ( ) is an American publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice that is a subsidiary of Future plc. Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., was a closely held company managed for more than nine decades by three generations o ...
'' magazine's review of "top college values" named UW 5th for in-state students and 10th for out-of-state students among U.S. public colleges, and 84th overall out of 500 schools. In the ''
Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
'' National University Rankings UW was ranked 15th domestically in 2018, based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. In 2017, the ''Leiden Ranking'', which focuses on science and the impact of scientific publications among the world's 500 major universities, ranked UW 12th globally and 5th in the U.S.


Undergraduate admissions

The university does not require submission of either
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
or ACT scores for admission, and the university position is that those scores are "not considered for admission, even if submitted (test blind)". In 2024, newly enrolled students had a median high school
GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...
of 3.82. The university's undergraduate admissions process is rated 91/99 by the
Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
, and is classified "more selective" by the '' U.S. News & World Report''. For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), UW received 48,840 applications and accepted 26,121 (53.5%). Of those accepted, 7,252 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 27.8%. UW's freshman
retention rate Retention rate is a statistical measurement of the proportion of people that remain involved with a group from one time period to another. The concept is used in many contexts, including marketing, investment, education, employee management, rese ...
is 93%, with 84% going on to graduate within six years. Of the 19% of the incoming freshman class who submitted
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1240–1450. Of the 8% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 29 and 34. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 24 freshman students were National Merit Scholars. The university uses capacity constrained majors, a gate-keeping process that requires most students to apply to an internal college or faculty. New applications are usually considered once or twice annually, and few students are admitted each time. The screening process is based on cumulative academic performance, recommendation letters and extracurricular activities.


Research

UW's research budget surpassed the $1.0 billion research budget milestone in 2012, and university endowments reached almost $5.0 billion by 2021. In 2014, the University of Washington School of Oceanography and the UW Applied Physics Laboratory completed the construction of the first high-power underwater cabled observatory in the United States. Gabrielle Rocap, one of the researchers who discovered arsenic-breathing microbes in the Pacific, is part of the department's faculty. To promote equal academic opportunity, especially for people of low income, UW launched ''Husky Promise'' in 2006. Families of income up to 65 percent of state median income or 235 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible. With this, up to 30 percent of undergraduate students may be eligible. The cut-off income level that UW set is the highest in the nation, making top-quality education available to more people. UW President Mark Emmert said that being "elitist is not in our DNA". UW was the host university of ResearchChannel program (now defunct), the only TV channel in the United States dedicated solely for the dissemination of research from academic institutions and research organizations. Participation of ResearchChannel included 36 universities, 15 research organizations, two corporate research centers and many other affiliates. Alan Michelson, now Head of the Built Environments Library at UW Seattle, manages the Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD), which Michelson started in 2002 while he worked as Architecture and Design Librarian at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA). The PCAD serves as a searchable public database detailing significant but importantly, also lesser-known and -lauded designers, buildings and structures, and partnerships, with links including to bibliographic literature. In 2019, reported that Chinese hackers had launched cyberattacks on dozens of academic institutions in an attempt to gain information on technology being developed for the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Some of the targets included the University of Washington. The attacks have been underway since at least April 2017.


Student life

University of Washington had 50,097 total enrollments as of fall 2023, making it the largest university on the West Coast by student population in spite of its selective admissions process. It also boasts one of the most diverse student bodies within the US, with more than 50% of its undergraduate students self-identifying with
minority group The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
s.


Organizations


Registered groups

The University of Washington boasts over 800 active Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), one of the largest networks of any universities in the world. RSOs are dedicated to a wide variety of interests both in and beyond campus. Some of these interest areas include academic focus groups, cultural exchanges, environmental activities, Greek life, political/social action, religious discussions, sports, international student gatherings by country, and STEM-specific events.


Student government

The Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) is one of two student governments at the University of Washington, the other being the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. It is funded and supported by student fees, and provides services that directly and indirectly benefit them. The ASUW employs over 72 current University of Washington students, has over 500 volunteers, and spends $1.03 million annually to provide services and activities to the student body of 43,000 on-campus. The Student Senate was established in 1994 as a division of the Associated Students of the University of Washington. Student Senate is one of two official student-governed bodies and provides a broad-based discussion of issues. Currently, the ASUW Student Senate has a legislative body of over 150 senators representing a diverse set of interests on and off-campus. The ASUW was incorporated in the State of Washington in 1906. The ASUW Experimental College, part of the ASUW, was created in 1968 by several University of Washington students seeking to provide the campus and surrounding community with a selection of non-credit classes not offered on the university curriculum. The Experimental College ceased operation in 2017.


Publication

The student newspaper is ''
The Daily of the University of Washington ''The Daily of the University of Washington'' (usually referred to in Seattle simply as ''The Daily'') is the student newspaper of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It is staffed entirely by University of Washington students, ...
''. It is the second-largest daily paper in Seattle. In 2010, ''The Daily'' launched a half-hour weekly television magazine show, ''The Daily's Double Shot'', on UWTV Channel 27. UW continues to use its proprietary UWTV channel, online and printed publications. The faculty also produce their own publications for students and alumni. The ''Tyee'' was the official student
yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of Annual publication, a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually ...
of the University of Washington.


Student activism

Throughout the 20th century, UW student activism centered around a variety of national and international concerns, from
nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...
to the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
. In 1948, at the beginning of the
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
era, students brought their activism to bear on campus by protesting the firing of three UW professors accused of communist affiliations. In May 2025, pro-Palestinian protestors caused approximately $1 million in damage to the school's Interdisciplinary Engineering Building. 31 people were arrested.


University support


Housing

The university operates one of the largest campuses of any higher education institution in the world. Despite this, growing faculty and student count has strained the regional housing supply as well as transportation facilities. Starting in 2012, UW began taking active measures to explore, plan and enact a series of campus policies to manage the annual growth. In addition to new buildings, parking and
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
stations, new building construction and renovations have been scheduled to take place through 2020. The plan includes the construction of three six-story
residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...
s and two apartment complexes in the west section of campus, near the existing Terry and Lander Halls, in Phase I, the renovation of six existing residence halls in Phase II, and additional new construction in Phase III. The projects will result in a net gain of approximately 2,400 beds. The Residence Hall Student Association (student government for the halls) is the second-largest student organization on campus and helps plan fun events in the halls. For students, faculty, and staff looking to live off-campus, they may also explore Off-Campus Housing Affairs. The Greek system at UW has also been a prominent part of student culture for more than 115 years. It is made up of two organizational bodies, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Association. The IFC looks over 34 fraternities with 1,900+ members, and Panhellenic consists of 19 sororities and 1,900 members. The school has additional Greek organizations that do not offer housing and are primarily special-interest.


Disability resources

In addition to the University of Washington's Disability Resources for Students (DRS) office, there is also a campus-wide DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center program that assists educational institutions to fully integrate all students, including those with disabilities, into academic life. DO-IT includes a variety of initiatives, such as the DO-IT Scholars Program, and provides information on the "universal" design of educational facilities for students of all levels of physical and mental ability. These design programs aim to reduce systemic barriers which could otherwise hinder the performance of some students, and may also be applied to other professional organizations and conferences.


Athletics

UW students, sports teams, and alumni are called
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...
. The
husky Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...
was selected as the school mascot by the student committee in 1922, which replaced the "Sun Dodger", an abstract reference to the local weather. The university participates in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
's Division I FBS. It is a member of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
, after having been in the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
for decades prior until the 2024 conference realignment. The
football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...
is traditionally competitive, having won the 1960 and 1991 national title and appeared in the
College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...
in 2016 and 2023, to go along with seven Rose Bowl victories and single wins in the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
and
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
. From 1907 to 1917, Washington football teams were unbeaten in 64 consecutive games, an
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
record.
Tailgating Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. The safe distance for following another vehicle varies depend ...
by boat has been a Husky Stadium tradition since 1920 when the stadium was first built on the shores of
Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...
. The Apple Cup game is an annual game against cross-state rival
Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
that was first contested in 1900 with UW leading the all-time series, 75 wins to 33 losses and 6 ties. Following the 2024 conference realignment—which resulted with UW and WSU in separate conferences—the schools agreed to continue the Apple Cup "through at least 2028." This game was last won by the University of Washington, and the Apple Cup trophy currently resides in Seattle.
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
member Don James is a former head coach. The men's
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team has been moderately successful, though recently the team has enjoyed a resurgence under coach
Lorenzo Romar Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball, Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He pre ...
. With Romar as head coach, the team has been to six NCAA tournaments (2003–2004, 2004–2005, 2005–2006, 2008–2009, 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 seasons), 2 consecutive top 16 (sweet sixteen) appearances, and secured a No. 1 seed in 2005. On December 23, 2005, the men's basketball team won their 800th victory in Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the most wins for any NCAA team in its current arena.
Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
is a longstanding tradition at the University of Washington dating back to 1901. The Washington men's crew gained international prominence by winning the
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
at the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
in Berlin, defeating the German and Italian crews much to the dismay of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
who was in attendance. The team was depicted in the 2013 bestseller ''
The Boys in the Boat ''The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics'' is a non-fiction book written by Daniel James Brown and published on June 4, 2013. Background ''The Boys in the Boat'' is a true story based ...
''. In 1958, the men's crew deepened their legend with a shocking win over
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
Trud's world champion rowers at the Moscow Cup, resulting in the first American sporting victory on Soviet soil, and certainly the first time a Russian crowd gave any American team a standing ovation during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The men's crew have won 46 national titles (15
Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs College rowing (United States), intercollegiate rowing between Varsity team, varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, whil ...
, 1 National Collegiate Rowing Championship), 15 Olympic gold medals, two silver and five bronze. The women have 10 national titles and two Olympic gold medals. In 1997, the women's team won the NCAA championship. The Husky men are the 2015 national champions. Recent national champions include the
softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
team (
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
), the men's rowing team (2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007), NCAA Division I women's cross country team (2008), and the women's volleyball team (
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
). Individually, Scott Roth was the 2011 NCAA men's Outdoor
Pole Vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...
and 2011 & 2010 NCAA men's Indoor Pole Vault champion. James Lepp was the 2005 NCAA men's golf champion. Ryan Brown (men's 800 meters) and Amy Lia (women's 1500 meters) won individual titles at the 2006 NCAA Track and Field Championships. Brad Walker was the 2005 NCAA men's Outdoor and Indoor Pole Vault champion. The university has an extensive series of sports facilities, including but not limited to the
Husky Stadium Husky Stadium (officially Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is an outdoor American football, football stadium in the Northwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Wa ...
(football, track and field), the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion (basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics), Husky Ballpark (baseball), Husky Softball Stadium, The Bill Quillian Tennis Stadium, The
Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...
Tennis Center, Dempsey Indoor (Indoor track and field, football) and the Conibear Shellhouse (rowing). The golf team plays at the Washington National Golf Club and until recently, the swimming team called the
Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
Aquatic Center and the Husky pool home. The university discontinued its men's and women's swim teams on May 1, 2009, due to budget cuts.


Husky Stadium

The rebuilt Husky Stadium is the first and primary source of income for the completely remodeled athletic district. The major remodel consisted of a new grand concourse, underground light-rail station which opened on March 19, 2016, an enclosed west end design, replacement of bleachers with individual seating, removal of track and Huskytron, as well as the installation of a new press box section, private box seating, football offices, permanent seating in the east end zone that does not block the view of Lake Washington. The project also included new and improved amenities, concession stands, and bathrooms throughout. The cost for renovating the stadium was around $280 million and was designed for a slightly lower
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
than its previous design, now at 70,138 seats. The university calls the stadium the "Greatest Setting in College Football."


Mascot

The University of Washington's costumed mascot is
Harry the Husky Harry the Husky is the athletic mascot for the University of Washington and is one of two mascots utilized by the university, with the other being the live mascot Dubs II. Harry the Husky has two other siblings: Hendrix the Husky who lives in ...
. "Harry the Husky" performs at sporting and special events, and a live Alaskan Malamute, currently named Dubs II, has traditionally led the UW
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team onto the field at the start of games. The school colors of purple and gold were adopted in 1892 by student vote. The choice was inspired by the first
stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...
of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
's '' The Destruction of Sennacherib'': The
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
.
The university has also hosted a long line of Alaskan Malamutes as mascots.


Notable alumni and faculty

File:Patrick Shanahan.jpg, Patrick M. Shanahan,
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...
File:SpeakerFoley.jpg, Tom Foley, 49th
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...
File:Michael P. Anderson.jpg,
Michael P. Anderson Michael Phillip Anderson (December 25, 1959 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. He and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster ...
,
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
astronaut and Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster crew member File:Sally Jewell official portrait.jpg,
Sally Jewell Sarah Margaret "Sally" Roffey Jewell (born February 21, 1956) is a British-American business executive and environmentalist who served as the 51st United States secretary of the interior in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017. Jewell was ...
, 51st
United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...
and former CEO of
REI Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, clim ...
File:Joe Sutter, University of Nova Gorica, June 2006.jpg, Joe Sutter, head of the
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
747 design team File:Bruce Lee 1973.jpg,
Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
, actor and martial artist File:Kenny G 1998.jpg,
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
,
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
-winning jazz musician File:Kyle MacLachlan by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan ( ; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning role as Dale Cooper in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire ...
,
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
-winning actor File:Rainn Wilson 2011 Shankbone.JPG, Rainn Wilson, actor File:Jim L Mora 2006-11-19.jpg, Jim L. Mora, former NFL coach File:Hope Solo USA Training (edited).jpg, Hope Solo, former USWNT goalkeeper File:William H. Foege Color.jpg, William Foege, former Director of the
CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...
, credited for global
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
eradication strategy File:Pappy Boyington.jpg, Pappy Boyington,
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
combat fighter ace File:Waldo Tobler 2007.jpg, Waldo R. Tobler,
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and
cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
known for his first and
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
law of geography File:Richard F. Gordon.jpg, Richard F. Gordon, Jr. NASA astronaut, crew member of
Gemini 11 Gemini 11 (officially Gemini XI) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the ninth crewed spaceflight mission of NASA's Project Gemini, which flew from September 12 to 15, 1966. It was the 17th crewed ...
and
Apollo 12 Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles ...
Notable alumni of the University of Washington include NFL football player Carl Fennema (1926); U.S. Olympic rower Joe Rantz (1936); architect
Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...
(1934); news anchor and Big Sky resort founder
Chet Huntley Chester Robert Huntley (December 10, 1911 – March 20, 1974) was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkley Report,'' for 14 years beginning in 1956. Early life Hunt ...
(1934); US Senator
Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington (state), Washington. A Cold W ...
(JD 1935); Baskin Robbins co-founder Irv Robbins (1939); former actor,
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
columnist and TCM host
Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, author, actor and the primary television host for the premium cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for over twenty years. Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...
(1954); glass artist
Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...
(BA 1965);
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy (; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989), known colloquially as Ted Bundy, was an American serial killer who kidnapping, abducted, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls between 1974 and 1978. His ''modus ...
; Nobel Prize-winning biologist Linda B. Buck; Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Summers Robinson (born November 26, 1943) is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and th ...
(PhD 1977), martial artist
Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
; saxophonist
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
(1978); MySpace co-founder
Chris DeWolfe Chris DeWolfe (born ) is an American technology entrepreneur. He co-founded Myspace in 2003 and was its chief executive officer (CEO) until 2009. DeWolfe has been the CEO of Jam City, a video game developer, since he co-founded it in 2010. E ...
(1988);
Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...
lead vocalist Mark Arm (1985, English);
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...
guitarist
Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960)Kim Thayil Biography
Unofficial SG Homepage.
(Philosophy); music manager Susan Silver (Chinese); actor Rainn Wilson (BA, Drama 1986); radio and TV personality Andrew Harms (2001, Business and Drama); actor and comedian
Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger, Jeffrey "Jeff" Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community (TV seri ...
(BA, History 1995, MFA 2000), actor and Christian personality
Jim Caviezel James Patrick Caviezel Jr. ( ; born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He played Jesus in ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004), Tim Ballard in Sound of Freedom (film), ''Sound of Freedom'' (2023), and starred as John Reese (Person of Inte ...
, former soccer player Megan Kufeld, and basketball player Matisse Thybulle. Among the faculty as of 2012, there have been 151 members of American Association for the Advancement of Science, 68 members of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
, 67 members of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
, 53 members of the
Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...
, 29 winners of the
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...
, 21 members of the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
, 15 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, 15
MacArthur Fellows The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...
, 9 winners of the Gairdner Foundation International Award, 5 winners of the
National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...
, 8 Nobel Prize laureates, 5 winners of Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, 4 members of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
, 2 winners of the
National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...
, 2 winners of the
National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...
, 2
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winners, 1 winner of the
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
, and 1 member of the National Academy of Public Administration. Among UW students by 2012, there were 136 Fulbright Scholars, 35 Rhodes Scholars, 7 Marshall Scholars and 4 Gates Cambridge Scholars. UW is recognized as a top producer of
Fulbright Scholars The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, ranking 2nd in the US in 2017.


Sustainable energy initiatives


History of energy at UW

The first UW power plant was built simultaneously with some of the first campus buildings back in 1895, and was located to the east of campus along the existing shoreline of
Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...
. The plant, which burned coal to produce steam to help heat and electrify the campus, was quickly replaced in 1901 as the campus’ energy needs began to grow. This second power plant was located where the modern day Allen Library stands. It too used a coal and steam system, and was in use for 7 years before it was put to rest and a third plant was built. This third power plant, which originally consisted of two 250 horsepower coal powered boilers, remains the current site for the University of Washington's central power plant. It is located opposite Montlake Boulevard from the Intramural Activities Building (IMA). The university started their switch from coal to natural gas in 1956 and finished in 1988, motivated by growing global environmental concerns and awareness. An additional power plant, the West Campus Utility Plant (WCUP), was added to campus in 2017. This plant serves as a backup power supply to research buildings on Southwest campus, and generates and stores chilled water for cooling purposes. The current capacity of this plant is 6 megawatts of emergency power and 4,500 tons of chilled water, but is expandable to double the size of both reserves with no necessary building modifications. The WCUP was awarded the Envision Gold Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure for its sustainability focused building design and purposes.


Current energy mix

Fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s are still tightly embedded in energy systems across the world. This is reflected in the university's energy production, as they still rely on
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
to heat most of its buildings, despite their clean energy goals and commitments. Although natural gas produces less particulate matter than coal and oil during combustion and is considered one of the cleaner fossil fuels, natural gas is criticized for other environmental impacts. Harvested using potentially environmentally degrading techniques, such as
hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of Formation (geology), formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the ...
, natural gas has the potential to leak into nearby water sources, as well as the atmosphere, and emits greenhouse gasses during both harvesting and combustion processes. It was found that as of 2024, 93% of the university's direct greenhouse gas emissions originated from the natural gas combustion system within the UW's central power plant. The heat produced using natural gas is transported through 8 miles of underground utility tunnels that connect to campus buildings, alongside side electrical lines, communication lines, and internet cables. Although electric chillers are already in place, which cool water down as a form of AC to then be pumped into buildings through the utility tunnels, the university hopes to switch the heating processes from natural gas to electric heat pumps in order to meet their clean energy goals. In contrast from the current heating systems, most of the UW's electric power is supplied by Seattle City Light, who generates the majority of their electricity through
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
systems. Other sources of energy include the previously mentioned WCUP for building cooling and emergency backup electricity, as well as a number of solar installations across campus. Buildings with solar installations include Mercer Court Alder Hall, Elm Hall, the Intramural Activities Building, Maple Hall, and the Life Sciences Building.


Energy goals

Although the majority of the university's electricity supply is carbon-free, the iniversity hopes to completely phase out natural gas from their heating systems and to be fossil fuel free by 2035 in regard to their direct emissions. Research shows that there are many aspects that contribute to universities energy consumption, such as student activity, technology use, building types, systems efficiency, and more. The university of Washington has addressed these aspects within their future energy goals. From late 2023 into the end of 2024, the University of Washington created an actionable energy systems decarbonization plan with the help from an outside energy consultant team who assisted in assessing the campuses energy needs, existing systems, and energy goals. The university's main energy-related goals include: * Installing additional meters * Upgrading building control systems * Expanding data analytics * Replacing old building chillers * Add cold water storage * Moving from a high temperature steam system to a lower temperature hot water system * Installing heat pumps * Increase solar capacity (such as installing solar parking lots)


See also

* Friday Harbor Laboratories * Internationales Kulturinstitut *
List of forestry universities and colleges This is a list of tertiary educational institutions around the world offering Bachelor's degree, bachelor's, Master's degree, master's or Doctor of philosophy, doctoral degrees in forestry, agronomy, animal sciences, or related fields. Where note ...
*
Manastash Ridge Observatory The Manastash Ridge Observatory (MRO) is an astronomical observatory built in 1972 by the University of Washington. It is located in a remote area approximately west of Ellensburg, Washington, at an altitude of 3930' (1198 m), a longitude of 1 ...
* Theodor Jacobsen Observatory * University Book Store * University of Washington Educational Outreach * University of Washington firebombing incident * University of Washington Information School * Washington Escarpment – escarpment in Antarctica named for the university


Notes


References


External links

*
University of Washington Athletics website

University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Calvin F. Todd Photographs Collection
includes images from 1905 to 1930 of the University of Washington campus and scenes from Seattle including the waterfront, various buildings especially apartments,
regrading Grading in civil engineering and landscape architectural construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and ...
activities, and the Pike Place Market.
University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – University of Washington Campus Photographs
Photographs reflecting the early history of the University of Washington campus from its beginnings as the Territorial University through its establishment at its present site on the shores of Lake Washington. The database documents student activities, buildings, departments, and athletics. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, University of Universities and colleges established in 1861 Flagship universities in the United States Research institutes in Seattle Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges in Seattle
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...