Welcome

Opening Fall 2009 -
The welfare of the Earth and its inhabitants is a defining theme of the 21st century. Higher education has a powerful role to play in understanding and addressing environmental challenges, and the University of Washington’s College of the Environment is uniquely positioned to lead the quest for solutions.

Vision

As a public institution, it is our mission and responsibility to advance and disseminate knowledge in support of a better world. The UW has an unprecedented opportunity to focus our collective expertise to meet our planet’s environmental challenges and to train the next generation of leaders.

Guiding principles
• Discovery - Rigorous learning, high-impact research
• Development - Teamwork, innovative solutions
• Application - Positive, sustainable change

University of Washington President Mark Emmert talks about the new College of the Environment.

A strong foundation

The UW is home to one of the strongest collections of environmental intellectual talent in the world.

Unrivaled expertise - The University of Washington has over 400 faculty involved in environment-related research and education.

Program breadth - At the UW, there are more than 50 independent environmental programs, from degree-granting units to collaborative research centers.

Demonstrated success - The UW is responsible for over $140 million annually in environmentally related research.

How will the
college work?

The college is expected to be made up of three key elements:
• Degree-granting academic units organized around disciplines
• Dedicated faculty and staff from partnering departments and schools
• A central institute that will focus on particular issues and build partnerships with entities outside the UW

College updates

The UW Board of Regents on June 12, 2008, approved creation of the College of the Environment.

Read details of the proposal to create the college (PDF) >

Recent news coverage of the proposal: UW News | Seattle Times