The University of Washington’s 2026 incoming class reflects the University’s commitment to expanding access to a UW education for students from across Washington and from a broad range of communities and backgrounds.
Washington residents make up three-quarters of this year’s incoming class, and nearly four out of 10 are first-generation college students, according to the 2026-27 official enrollment count, which occurs 10 days after the start of the fall quarter. UW’s ongoing outreach to Washington high schools and communities is reflected in a student body that includes residents of 38 of Washington’s 39 counties.
There are additional indicators in the incoming class that the UW’s efforts to expand access and decrease disparities are making headway: The number of first-generation first-year students is up 4% from last year and there was a 5% increase in Pell Grant recipients.
“Seeing so many Washington students choose the UW reinforces our commitment to making a world-class education accessible to people from every corner of our state. Students from across Washington bring diverse experiences and perspectives that enrich our campus and foster collaboration,” UW President Robert J. Jones said. “As a public university serving the entire state, we have a responsibility to reflect the people and values of the communities we serve. That’s what it means to be the university for Washington.”
This year’s incoming class has a total of 12,552 first-year and transfer students enrolled across all three campuses, a 3.5% increase from last year.
Washington residents make up 75% of the incoming class across all three campuses, a 2.1% increase from last year. Of these students, 6,245 of the incoming first-year and transfer students at the UW in Seattle are Washington residents. At UW Bothell, 1,692 incoming first-year and transfer students are Washington residents. There are 1,455 Washington residents among the incoming first-year and transfer students at UW Tacoma.
There are 7,475 new first-year students at the UW in Seattle and 1,744 new transfer students. At UW Bothell, 1,149 new first-year students enrolled, alongside 651 transfer students. At UW Tacoma, 748 new first-year students enrolled, joining 785 new transfer students — a combined record high for the Tacoma campus. Of these transfer students, 1,468 in Seattle came from Washington community colleges, while 538 transfers at Bothell and 623 at Tacoma came from Washington community colleges. The total, 2,629, marks an increase on all three campuses.
The total number of students across all three campuses this year is 63,866. Enrollment at the UW’s Seattle campus is 52,338, 6,458 students enrolled at UW Bothell — the highest for this campus — and 5,073 are pursuing degrees at UW Tacoma. (The numbers reflect that three students are enrolled at more than one campus.) Of the 63,866 enrolled students across all three campuses, 46,987 are undergraduates (36,636 in Seattle, 5,938 in Bothell and 4,413 in Tacoma) and 16,879 are pursuing graduate or professional degrees (15,702 in Seattle, 520 in Bothell and 660 in Tacoma).
The number of international first-year and transfer students across all three campuses is 1,077, 99 more than 2025. In total, there are 7,333 international students enrolled across the three campuses, which reflects about a 7% drop from last year and correlates with national international student enrollment declines. Of all these international students, 6,951 are in Seattle, 222 are at UW Bothell and 160 are at UW Tacoma.
The official enrollment count — a snapshot in time — will later be presented to the UW Board of Regents.
For more information, contact Victor Balta at balta@uw.edu.