Welcome

Welcome to the University of Washington. At this site, you can explore one of the nation’s leading research universities. You will find educational programs — undergraduate, graduate and professional — that ground our students in the learning of the past and take them to the leading edge of current knowledge and future possibilities.

You will find trail-blazing research and scholarship on many fronts: medicine, genomics, computer science, nanotechnology, international studies, bioengineering, oceanography, astrophysics, the world’s great literatures and more.

You can meet faculty members who are Nobel laureates, Presidential award-winners and members of the National Academy of Sciences and other honorary societies. You can see schedules of UW music and dance performances and art exhibits, and read about top-ranked programs in drama and creative writing.

You can learn about recent UW students who have won national business competitions, international mathematics contests, and the National Ethics Bowl, as well as Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge, Truman, Mitchell and Goldwater scholarships.

The University of Washington is my alma mater (1975, political science), to which I returned in 2004 as its president. A lot has changed in 30 years in terms of what we teach and learn and how we go about it. But some aspects remain constant.

The University of Washington is still a dynamic, collegial community in a beautiful Northwest setting. It still wins more federal research funds than any other public university in the country, a position it has held every year since 1974. Among all universities, the UW is second only to Johns Hopkins. Much of this research features extraordinary interdisciplinary collaborations focused on big, complex problems and many UW undergraduates participate.

The UW is a linchpin of our state’s economy and our region’s health care. It is also a place of educational ferment, as we seek to make the most of a diverse student body, new ideas about learning and teaching, and new educational technologies.

Whatever your reasons for visiting this site, I hope you will take away a sense of the scope and excitement of the University of Washington. I also hope you will come and visit us in person if you can.

Mark A. Emmert
President