College of Arts and Sciences

Arts & Science faculty, students, and alumni were among the recipients of 2026 UW Awards of Excellence for their teaching, volunteerism, and innovation. 

Meet the four new graduates honored as College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Medalists for 2026. 

Meet the four graduating students selected by the College of Arts & Sciences as 2026 Graduate Medalists for their accomplishments. 

Daryl Maeda brings his extensive leadership expertise to the UW College of Arts & Sciences in July, as he becomes the next Katherine and John Simpson Endowed Dean.  

The Seattle Homelessness Count is a UW Department of Sociology project led by Professor Almquist with graduate students and UW partners. It develops and pilots new methods for counting unsheltered people experiencing homelessness, with particular attention to individuals who do not actively engage with services and are most likely to be missed by conventional enumeration.

Kasaba served as director of the Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) for 10 years. Kasaba also served as Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Near and Middle East Studies (NMES) intermittently between 2004 and 2024. He’s now retiring from his position after 41 years at UW.

International migration continues to drive population growth in King County, and experts say employment-based visas for specialized workers are an important part of that trend. Sara Curran, director of the UW's Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology and professor of international studies, of sociology and of public policy and governance, is quoted.

As students, teachers and employers wrestle with the demands of an increasingly AI-powered world, the UW has a new proposition: an interdisciplinary AI minor, with an anthropologist and a computer scientist at the helm. The UW's Magdalena Balazinska, professor and director of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and Ben Marwick, professor of anthropology, are quoted.

Burrowing shrimp dig into the sand and make tunnels underground. In doing so they kick up about a handful of sand up to the surface everyday, and bury clams and oysters.Thats a problem for shellfish farmers. Jennifer Ruesink, professor of biology at the UW, is interviewed.

Across the globe, human activities are changing the way our planet smells. Jeff Riffell, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

While the majority of the world just wants to swat mosquitoes, three University of Washington researchers find these insects fascinating. They told UW News what it's like to study mosquitoes and why these critters are actually really important.

In February, a group of eight Communication students traveled to sunny Los Angeles to explore career paths in communication fields. As a part of the Career Kickstart professional development program, Career Exploration Trips give Communication students the opportunity to expand their networks in Los Angeles, New York City, D.C., and Seattle, and gives them the opportunity to explore careers that may not be obvious. Trips are little to no cost to students, thanks to the Christopher Rauch Meyer Endowed Fund, established by UW alum Paul Meyer in honor of his son. 

The College of Arts & Sciences celebrates undergraduate and graduate students from across all four divisions, who are recognized for making the most of their time at the UW. 

Ron Krabill, a professor in UW Bothells School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences and director of the Global Sport Lab in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, is co-leading this years UW Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities Seattles World Cup: Storytelling Through Community Mapping. Krabill talked with UW News about his plans for participating students, his background in sports scholarship, what hell be watching during Seattles tournament games and more.

Every summer, UW researchers head to northern Botswana to study how large predators, such as lions and African wild dogs, are affected by climate change and other shifts in their environment. UW News asked a few team members to describe their plans for this summer.