Undergraduate Education

At the UW's Friday Harbor Labs, scientists learn great lessons from armored and obscure life under the sea.

Astronomers at the University of Washington simulated four Milky Way-sized galaxies for five billion (virtual) years to test a leading theory about how dark matter might influence streams of orbiting stars. The results could help researchers separate true evidence of dark matter from false positives.

Dominic Muren, UW teaching professor of design, and Adrienne Russell, UW professor of communication, examine environmental problems from a perspective beyond the hard sciences. They spoke to UW News about what todays energy crises reveal about contemporary societies dependence on fossil fuels and how we can create a solar-powered system.

UW Communication graduate (and Tacoma restaurateur) Reginald Jacob Howell, ’16, has been taking his passion for barbecue to a national audience on “Pitmasters” from the Food Network. Can he and his best friend, Denzel Johnson, take home the $50,000 prize? Only one way to find out. UW Magazine profiles Howell, from his time at Cultivate, the UW’s campus-adjacent restaurant, to the opening of GRANN, his restaurant on 6th Ave in Tacoma, and more. Check it out!

After Iran intensified its demands over the weekend before it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump didnt threaten new strikes but instead indicated that he planned to choke Iran economically. Jamaal Muwwakkil, assistant professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

Top leadership is shifting at the UWs Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, as Director Magdalena Balazinskas term concludes after nearly seven years. Dan Grossman, professor of computer science and engineering and vice director, will take over as interim director.

A new study using data from NASAs Hubble Space Telescope found that star formation in the nearby Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline, with an even steeper drop in the last 40 million years.

UW English major Piper Sorensen ('27) shares why the humanities matter, particularly in our polarized society, and how studying the humanities has shaped her world view. 

After nearly two years of engaging Black young adults through culturally grounded research and community conversations, the Black Adult Resilience Study has reached a major milestone. Priscilla Lui, associate professor of psychology at the UW, and Nia Jones, research coordinator and UW graduate, are quoted.

Come curious. Leave inspired. Wherever you are, the University of Washington offers opportunities to learn and connect with the ideas, people, and research shaping our world. This summer, visit campus for the latest exhibitions at the Henry Art Gallery and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, or join us from anywhere through recorded lectures, podcasts, virtual experiences, and more. As a public university, we’re proud to share the knowledge, creativity, and discoveries of the UW with communities near and...

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One of the most endangered sea creatures of the Pacific Ocean is getting a leg up in the kelp forests of Washingtons San Juan Islands: a 24-armed sea star called the sunflower star. Researchers are working with the Samish Indian Nation to bring this pizza-sized predator back from the brink of extinction after a vast underwater pandemic. Jason Hodin, a research scientist at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, is quoted. Tess Chapman, Chloe Schwab and Julia Knopf, all research assistants at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, are mentioned.

Nia Brice’s undergraduate experience wasn’t just about one major, one course, one project or one grade. It was about finding joy, challenging herself and redefining what it means to be resilient.

In March 2021, a group of four linguists and computer scientists published their now legendary paper On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? It argued that large language models generate text by statistically predicting likely sequences of words rather than understanding what they are saying. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is featured.

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

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.