University of Washington

UW is one of the world's preeminent public universities. Our impact on individuals, our region, and the world is profound — whether we are launching young people into a boundless future or confronting the grand challenges of our time through undaunted research and scholarship. Ranked No. 13 in the world on the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the UW educates more than 54,000 students annually. We turn ideas into impact and transform our lives and our world. For more about our impact, visit our news site, UW News.
So what defines our students, faculty, and community members? Above all, it is our belief in possibility and our unshakable optimism. It is a connection to others near and far. It is a hunger that pushes us to tackle challenges and pursue progress. It is the conviction that together, we can create a world of good. Join us on the journey.
At the University of Washington, diversity is integral to excellence. We value and honor diverse experiences and perspectives, strive to create a welcoming and respectful learning environments, and promote access, opportunity, and justice for all. The study of diversity fosters an understanding of cultural traditions, histories, and influences sharpen critical and analytic thinking, explores inequality sources in society, and encourages a vibrant intellectual community free of bias and prejudice.
Students, staff, and faculty strive to improve our communities' well-being by mobilizing our collective capacities so that we can better the world around us.
UW faculty conduct research on the benefits of cultural diversity, as well as its challenges. This generates new knowledge with economic, social, and cultural impacts on both local and global scales.
The UW Innovation Imperative is an integrated approach that will drive positive change for our state and beyond. We empower students and researchers to learn, discover, and build solutions to tomorrow's challenges. We encourage the cross-pollination of ideas by providing the space and opportunity for people from all backgrounds — the humanities and the sciences, the poetic and the pragmatic — to connect, imagine, and discover.
From aeronautics to urban design, all of our academic departments provide you with the opportunity to go beyond the status quo. Dream bigger, question the answer, dare to do — after all, that is what you came here for. Start discovering the possibilities.
You are undaunted by challenges. You seek them out. You believe that a world of good starts with one person. One step. We believe that too. So what are you waiting for? Start the journey to become a Husky today. When you come to the UW's Seattle campus, you are part of more than the innovative city that's brought us everything from legendary music to lifesaving cures. You are part of something bigger, too. You are part of a globally connected community that loves to innovate, to explore, to create. Here, you are part of Seattle's vibrant history — and the world's promising future. As the fastest-growing university in the state, UW Bothell offers high-demand degree programs emphasizing student-faculty interaction and critical thinking. Our breathtaking campus includes the state's most successful wetlands restoration site, providing unique educational and research opportunities. At UW Tacoma, students become engines of change for themselves, their families, and their communities. Set in beautiful historic downtown Tacoma, the campus melds classic urban architecture with modern technology. Faculty and students work together in small classes striving for academic excellence, personal growth, and professional expertise.
The University of Washington offers more than 370 graduate programs across all three UW campuses and online, from master's to doctoral programs to launch or continue academic, research, or professional careers. To explore or to apply to a graduate program, start with the Graduate School.
The UW School of Law is one of the nation's top public law schools and one of the world's most respected centers for interdisciplinary legal scholarship and study. Our innovative, student-focused learning environment prepares our students to succeed in the evolving legal profession and to go on to be leaders for the global common good. The UW School of Medicine, renowned for its pioneering research, is recognized as one of the nation's top medical schools. Its unique community-based medical education program, WWAMI, serves a five-state region and emphasizes training clinicians to serve in rural areas. The School of Dentistry, a global leader in oral health research, prepares students to be dedicated 21st-century dentists with evidence-based training grounded in the latest advances of biological and materials science. Nationally and globally ranked, the School of Pharmacy educates the next generation of pharmacy and research leaders and trains students for a career that combines a love of science and patient-centered health care. Choose from more than 130 certificate programs, 70 degrees, and hundreds of courses with part-time options in the evening, weekends, and online.
The Lifecycle represents all activities typically involved in a research project. The activities may be programmatic (scientific) or administrative, or both. They begin with forming a hypothesis or research question to conclude with final financial reports and scientific publications. In most cases, a new research project begins its Lifecycle based on a hypothesis or question developed from a previous project's results.