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.
Discoveries in Every Field
The Curious Journey of Chinese Characters
Several Asian countries adapted the Chinese writing system—the oldest writing system still in use—for their own languages. In a new book, Professor Zev Handel shares how that happened.
Can Machines Learn Morality?
UW researchers at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and in the Allen School are exploring the potential for training AI to value altruism.
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.
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.
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.