Chemistry student in dark lab with colorful vials lit up by UV light

Research

Creating new knowledge

As part of a leading research university, faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences pursue research in areas from population health to social justice to digital humanities to the arts. They hold leadership roles in their field, serving as advisors for government agencies and working toward change on issues from criminal justice reform to labor rights to immigration. They play key roles on ambitious international projects such as the Large Hadron Collider, which explores unresolved questions in particle physics, and they push the boundaries of artistic creation through cross-disciplinary collaboration and the integration of new technologies.

Graduate students work closely with faculty researchers, advancing their research in meaningful ways. Undergraduate students also have a wide range of opportunities to be part of this exciting work, gaining skills they can apply to the real world. Our undergrads have declassified CIA documents for human rights cases, designed an adaptive Xbox controller for people who are missing a limb, helped preserve endangered languages, studied exoplanets and more.
 

Research Projects & Initiatives

Discoveries in Every Field

From malaria treatment to solar energy to human rights, Arts & Sciences researchers tackle many of our society’s most pressing issues.

 

Benjamin Mako Hill headshot

The Challenge of Peer-Produced Websites

Communication professor Benjamin Mako Hill studies why successful peer-produced websites (like Wikipedia) eventually struggle to maintain their openness to new contributors.

UW chemistry professor Alshakim Nelson in his lab

Through Chemistry and 3D Printing, New Materials Emerge

Chemistry professor Alshakim Nelson and his research team use 3D-printing technology to develop new materials with potential real-world applications in medicine, engineering, and sustainability.

Close up of an ear with a hearing aid.

An Earful of AI

Hearing aid technology is improving all the time with the help of AI, thanks to researchers like Yi Shen, professor of speech & hearing sciences. 

Public and Private Research Grants

Arts & Sciences faculty generated just over $133 million in research funds through public and private grants during the most recent fiscal year, making possible ambitious research projects, often with funding for student researchers.  

Students on an anthropological dig excavating fossils.

Find yourself in research

Whether you want to excavate a T-Rex in Montana, search for signs of life in the universe, or identify new gene mutations in fruit flies, you can take your learning to a whole new level by participating in research. Plus, over 600 Arts & Sciences students present at the UW Undergraduate Research Symposium each year.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

What will you discover?

Be a part of a community that provides a tremendous range of research opportunities for students. Alongside your peers and faculty, you can advance research and serve as a resource to the state, the region and the world.