About the University of Washington Since its founding in 1861, the University of Washington (UW) has been a hub for learning, innovation, problem solving, and community building. It’s now one of the world’s preeminent public research universities, ranked No.3 among U.S. public higher education institutions on the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities., UW is comprised of three campuses in Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma, along with a global network of programs and outreach, and educates more than 60,000 students annually across its three campuses, with another 50,000 through its Continuum College. UW Medicine and UW health sciences professionals also support a world-class health care system that serves the health care needs of the people of the state of Washington and surro