The University of Washington (commonly referred to as UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.

Founded in 1861, Washington was first established in downtown Seattle approximately a decade after the city's founding to aid its economic development.

 

Today, the university's 703-acre main Seattle campus is situated in the University District above the Montlake Cut, within the urban Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest. The university has two additional campuses in Tacoma and Bothell. Overall, UW encompasses over 500 buildings and over 20 million gross square footage of space, including one of the largest library systems in the world with over 26 university libraries, as well as the UW Tower, lecture halls, art centers, museums, laboratories, stadiums, and conference centers.

 

The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through 140 departments in various colleges and schools, sees about 46,000 in total student enrollment every year, and functions on a quarter system.

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Washington is a member of the Association of American Universities and classified as an R1 Doctoral Research University classification under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. It is cited as a leading university in the world for scientific performance and research output by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the CWTS Leiden Ranking. In the 2015 fiscal year, the UW received nearly $1.2 billion in research funding, the 3rd largest among all universities in the United States. 

 

As the flagship institution of the six public universities in Washington State, it is known for its research in medicine, science, as well as its highly-competitive computer science and engineering programs. Additionally, Washington continues to benefit from its deep historical ties and major collaborations with numerous technology giants in the region, such as Amazon, Boeing, Nintendo, and particularly

Microsoft. Paul G. Allen, Bill Gates and others spent significant times at Washington computer labs for prior venture before founding Microsoft.

 

 Its 22 varsity sports teams are also highly competitive, competing as the Huskies in the Pac-12 Conference of the NCAA Division I, representing the United States at the Olympic Games, and other major competitions.

The University has been affiliated with many notable alumni and faculty, including 20 Nobel Prize laureates and numerous Pulitzer Prize winners, 

Fulbright Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars, as well as members of other distinguished institutions.