University of Washington Seattle

Office of Admissions

• Academic Departments
• Finances
• Freshman Class of 2007
• Seattle
• Student Life
• The University
• Transfer Admission Autumn 2006
• University Student Body

Academic Departments

• A recent Success magazine survey of the "Top 25 Business Schools for Entrepreneurship" placed the Business School's entrepreneurship program 12th, ahead of Stanford, MIT, and Harvard.
• Since 1984, when the first national survey of nursing schools was conducted, the UW School of Nursing has been ranked #1.
• Landscape architecture majors study urban design and green spaces in Japan, Germany, Italy, and Mexico.
• Atmospheric Sciences: upper-division courses average 10-15 students per class.
• 100% of Materials Science & Engineering majors are involved in undergraduate research.
• The MFA program in Dance was the first of its kind, created specifically for professional dancers in transition to college-level teaching.
• The School of Drama's Professional Actor Training Program is consistently rated as one of the best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
• Asian Languages and Literature is the home of the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project and language programs in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and East Asian languages.
• Classics faculty, in conjunction with History and Archaeology faculty from UC Berkeley, are excavating the ancient city of Tel Dor in Israel.
• Comparative Literature is the home of the UW's Cinema Studies Program.
• The UW's French and Italian Studies program has the greatest number of French majors of any west coast university.
• The Germanics Department is widely recognized as one of the top 10 in the country.
• Members of the Linguistics faculty are helping to save indigenous native languages.
• Near Eastern Languages and Civilization offers an undergraduate degree in Comparative Islamic Studies.
• The Department of Scandinavian Studies, one of the country's top three programs, is nearly 100 years old (established in 1909). A major in Finnish was recently added.
• The UW department of Slavic Studies hosts an annual Olympiad of Spoken Russian for high school students.
• Spanish and Portuguese Studies sponsors study abroad programs in Cadiz, Spain and Oaxaca, Mexico.
• Astronomy presently has leading roles in two major telescope projects, the 3.5-m general-purpose telescope and the 2.5m Sloan Digital Sky Survey, both in the high mountains of New Mexico.
• The Department of Atmospheric Sciences is leading efforts to understand the role of natural and human-produced aerosols in climate change.
• The Biology Department has offered a summer institute for K-12 teachers since 1987. Three participants have gone on to receive the Washington State Science Teacher of the Year Award.
• The Department of Chemistry has the largest undergraduate instructional laboratory program at the UW.
• Computer Science and Engineering is part of the College of Engineering, but it offers an undergraduate Computer Science degree program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• The Earth and Space Sciences Seismology lab is the main source of descriptive information after an earthquake or other seismic event in the Northwest.
• The Department of Mathematics sponsors an annual Math Day for high school students, attracting more than 1,200 students each year.
• More than 160 undergraduates currently participate in research with the Department of Physics.
• The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences graduate program was ranked second in speech language pathology and fourth in audiology by U.S. News and World Report.
• The Department of Statistics was ranked seventh in the nation by the National Research Council.
• The Department of American Ethnic Studies has three curricula -- Afro-American Studies, Asian/Pacific American Studies, and Chicano Studies.
• The American Indian Studies Center (AIS) was established by Native American and non-Native American faculty, students, and staff in the summer of 1970.
• Business students seeking international careers may opt for the Certificate of International Studies in Business (CISB), which includes language training, experience abroad, and a practicum at home.
• The Jackson School of International Studies comprises 15 programs dedicated to the study of world politics, culture, and ideas.
• The Department of Philosophy offers a minor in human rights as part of a collaborative tri-campus program with UW Bothell and UW Tacoma.
• All undergraduates majoring in Women Studies complete a yearlong senior thesis.
• The Burke Museum collection of Northwest Indian artifacts is the fifth largest in the U.S., with more than 10,000 objects. Its entire collection consists of more than 4,000,000 artifacts.
• The Henry Art Gallery is the northwest's premier gallery for contemporary art.
• Students in the Comparative History of Ideas program (CHID) study in cities around the world, including Belfast, Berlin, Istanbul, Prague, Rome, Cape Town, and Seoul.
• Every year, 7,000 undergraduates participate in research. One of them could be YOU.

Finances

• The lifetime earnings of a person with a college degree are on average double those of someone without a degree.
• All students and their families can afford higher education in the state of Washington, with the right combination of parental and student contributions, loans, grants, campus jobs, and work-study.
• Tuition for residents, 2007-08: $6,385; Tuition for nonresidents: $22,131
• Room & board on campus, 2007-08: $8,337
• Cost of books & supplies for one year: $1,008
• Personal expenses, 2007-08: $2,265
• Estimated Transportation Expenses: $396 per year
• TOTAL EXPENSES for residents, 2007-08: $18,391
• TOTAL EXPENSES, nonresidents, 2007-08: $34,137
• Did you know that last year the UW distributed $161 million in financial aid to undergraduate students?
• The UW awards a scholarship to 26 of the finalists each year, with additional finalists receiving private funds awarded directly by the National Merit Corporation.

Freshman Class of 2007

• Freshman Admission:
  Applied: 16.571; Offered: 11,339; Enrolled: 5.475
• The freshman class includes 67 National Merit Finalists and Semifinalists.
• 84% of the freshman class was in the top 10% of its high school graduating class.
• High School GPA (Middle 50%) also known as average GPA of the freshman class: 3.55-3.90
• The freshman class includes 2.5% international students.
• 45 states, DC, Guam, Saipan + 38 countries represented in the freshman class. Top 10 states: WA, CA, OR, HI, CO, TX, AK, MN, AZ, *NY, *NV (*tie)
• UW freshmen are happy with their experience: 92% of them returned for their sophomore year! (class of 2006)
• 95% of UW applicants choose to apply online. Does that work for you, too?
• (Freshman Class of 2000) 75% graduate in 6 years, 71% in 5 years, 48% in 4 years
• One third of freshmen will be the first in their families to graduate from college.
• SAT Critical Reading, Middle 50% range, 530-650
• SAT Math, Middle 50% range, 560-670
• SAT Writing, Middle 50% range, 520-630

Seattle

• Seattle was founded in 1851.
• Latitude: 47°39'N Longitude: 122°18'W
• Seattle Land Area: 84 square miles
• Seattle City Population: 573,000; Metropolitan Population: 3,500,000
• Miles to Canadian border 113...to Mount Rainier 87
• Average annual rainfall is 37". Compare it to 15" in LA, 38" in Chicago, 51" in Eugene OR, and 50" in New York City. Snow in Seattle is a rare treat.
• Average daily high temps: Oct, 60/ Jan, 45/ Apr, 58/ July, 75/
• Number of 0° days: none, in 80 years of record-keeping
• Seattle nicknames: The Emerald City, The Jet City, The Queen City, Seatown, Rain City
• Seattleites buy more sunglasses per capita than any other city in the nation. Wonder why?
• The Puget Sound region is home to more than 2,000 software and digital media firms.
• Established in 1907, the Farmer's Market at Pike Place Market is the longest continuously operating farmer's market in the U.S.
• Seattle is second only to New York City in per capita live performances held each year. The arts scene includes 29 professional theater companies, and more than 80 live music clubs.
• Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet has the highest per capita dance attendance in the U.S.
• Seattle ranks second in the U.S. among adults with a bachelor's degree or higher (nearly 50%) and has one of the highest rates of home Internet access.
• Seattle has more bookstores per capita than any other city, with Seattleites spending double the national average on books yearly.
• Seattle, with the largest percentage of library cardholders in the nation (80%), is first in literacy, measured by education, newspaper readership, bookstores, library use, and Internet resources.
• The Northwest Folklife Festival takes over Seattle Center over Memorial Day weekend, when 5,000 performers and artists present the music, dance, craft and food of the world.
• In 1999, the Mount Baker ski area in northwest Washington set the world record for seasonal snowfall with 1,124 inches.
• The Seattle Sonics hold the distinction of playing the first and only NBA game that ever rained out (January 1986 at Seattle Center Coliseum).
• More people in Seattle commute to work via bicycle than any other city in the United States.
• Seattle boasts more glassblowing studios than any other city in the U.S. and second only to the island of Murano near Venice, Italy.
• Bertha Landes was elected mayor of Seattle in 1926, thus becoming the first female mayor of a major American city.
• The Seattle International Film Festival, held annually mid-May to mid-June, is the largest film festival in North America.
• Built in 1940, the Mercer Island Floating Bridge (now I-90) was the first floating bridge in the world.
• The Washington State Ferry System is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and the state's #1 tourist attraction.
• Seattle has more pleasure boat owners per capita than any other metropolitan city.
• Seattle's Elliott Bay is home to the world's largest tugboat races held annually in May.
• The world's first hydroplane racing boat was built in Seattle.
• Bio- and medical technology generate $2 billion annually in the state's economy and directly account for 15,000 jobs in 170+ companies and nonprofit organizations.
• Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center receives more funding from the federal government than any other cancer research facility in the nation.
• Seattle is the most "unwired" city in the U.S., as Wi-Fi reaches far beyond cafes and libraries into laundries, ferry boats, airports and entire neighborhoods.

Student Life

• There are more than 550 registered student organizations. Don't see one you like? Create your own!
• The UW's Ethics Bowl team, the Ethics Dawgs, took home national championships in 2000 and 2005. The team takes on big questions such as animal rights and sexual discrimination.

The University

• Average class size: All undergraduate classes: 34. First/second year: 42. Third/fourth year: 28. Yes, really.
• Built in 1909, Cunningham Hall includes a gallery featuring work of local women artists. The Hall was renamed in 1983 to honor famed photographer Imogen Cunningham (Class of 1907).
• The UW Libraries received the 2004 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, which recognizes the top university research library in the country.
• More than 20,000 courses from Washington community and technical colleges are listed in the Equivalency Guide.
• The UW offers instruction in more than 50 foreign languages. The Language Learning Center supports students in their learning.
• Located throughout campus, 22 outdoor "Code Blue" Emergency Phones connect directly to the UW Police Department. UWPD will arrive in 1-2 minutes.
• The UW is on a quarter system. To convert quarter to semester credits, multiply by .66. To convert semester to quarter credits, multiply by 1.5: 30 sem credits = 45 qtr credits.
• UW Professor Emeritus Hans Dehmelt shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics. Dehmelt was honored for trapping a single electron and isolating a single atom and watching it make quantum leaps. photo
• Unique Majors Offered by the UW: Comparative History of Ideas; Digital Arts & Experimental Media; Informatics; Scandinavian Area Studies; Oceanography
• University of Washington was founded in 1861, the first public university on the West Coast.
• When the University was founded in 1861, Seattle's population was 250. It is now 573,000.
• The UW began with one professor teaching 30 students in six subjects: Tuition was $5 a quarter ($10 for Latin and Greek). There are now 3,521 instructional faculty.
• The UW began as the "Territorial University" in 1861 at a site in downtown Seattle. The campus moved to its present location in 1895.
• Every year, 7000 undergraduates participate in research. One of them could be YOU.
• CLUE, the popular late-night academic center designed to support all UW undergraduates, is open Sun-Thurs, 7 p.m. to midnight, in Mary Gates Commons.
• The UW enjoys a 643-acre campus, 5 miles from downtown Seattle.
• The UW libraries subscribe to more than 100 Turkish language periodicals.
• Mary Gates Hall is the center of Undergraduate Education on campus. Inside you'll find First Year Programs, Undergraduate Advising, CLUE, the Undergraduate Research Program, the Honors Program, a 220-seat computing lab, and much more. Make it your home, too.
• Located on more than 7 acres and containing more than 500 medicinal herbs, the UW's Medicinal Herb Garden is the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
• The UW attracts more federal research money than any public or private university in the nation, save Johns Hopkins.
• Since 1984, when the first national survey of nursing schools was conducted, the UW School of Nursing has been ranked #1.
• The first interstate medical education program in the nation was founded at the UW in 1971. Called the WWAMI program, it serves Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.
• The UW is the nation's #1 supplier of new technical employees to both Microsoft and Intel.
• The UW's Penthouse Theatre was the first building in the world constructed for an arena stage, commonly known as theater in the round.
• Founded in 1919, the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences is the largest and most diverse fisheries program in the United States.
• Art Professor Jacob Lawrence received a 1990 National Medal of Arts for his lifetime achievements in painting the African American experience.
• UW researchers David Engel, Joseph Miller and Roy Martin helped entrepreneur David Giuliani make the first sonic toothbrush.
• Located on more than 7 acres and containing more than 500 medicinal herbs, the UW's medicinal herb garden is the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
• Good news for returning students: unlike milk or meat there is no expiration date for transfer credit.
• UW faculty members have received nine fellowships from the MacArthur foundation, the so-called "genius awards."
• The latest U.S. News & World Report survey of the best business schools for undergraduate education ranked the UW 16th in the nation and among the top 10 in international business programs.
• The 1990 National Book Award for Fiction was won by UW English professor Charles Johnson for his novel, Middle Passage.
• The logo of the College of Arts and Sciences was created by design students in the School of Art.

Transfer Admission Autumn 2006

• Entering Transfer Students: Minority students 33.0%
• Entering Transfer Students: African American 2.9%
• Entering Transfer Students: Asian American 24.8%
• Entering Transfer Students: Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.6%
• Entering Transfer Students: Latino 3.7%
• Entering Transfer Students: Native American 1.1%
• Entering Transfer Students: Caucasian 52.5%
• Entering Transfer Students: International students 3.3%
• Entering Transfer Students: Washington residents 76%
• Entering Transfer Students: Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
• Mean Entering Transfer GPA 3.44
• Top 10 feeder community colleges for transfer students: Bellevue, Seattle Central, North Seattle, Shoreline, Green River, Highline, Edmonds, South Seattle, Everett, Olympic

University Student Body

• In fall 2006 the UW Seattle student body comprised 39,524 students, of whom 70% were undergraduates.
• University Student Body: 29.8% Minority students
• University Student Body: Asian American 21%
• University Student Body: Caucasian 52.5%
• University Student Body: 2.9% African American, 1.1% American Indian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.6%, 4.2% Latino
• University Student Body: International 6.6%
• University Student Body: Women 52.4%, Men 47.6%
• Top 5 countries represented among international students: China (includes Hong Kong), South Korea, Taiwan, India, Japan.
• More than 2,600 international students from 103 different countries were enrolled at the UW autumn 2006.