UW welcomes most diverse class in 155-year history

With more than 75 percent of this year’s new students from inside the state, the UW welcomes the largest and most diverse entering class ever.

The number of freshmen and transfer students across the University totals 11,009, according to a recent enrollment report. On the Seattle campus that includes a record number of 976 from underrepresented backgrounds, up from 879 last year. The Tacoma and Bothell campuses also have record enrollments of underrepresented students, with 368, up from 302, and 302, up from 268, respectively.

The rise in underrepresented students is due in large part, say UW leaders, to the efforts of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity Multicultural Outreach & Recruitment team to connect with and encourage underrepresented minority, first-generation and low-income high school students in their applications to college.

“Our team connects with students in high schools across the state, talking to them about the many opportunities they have here at the UW, and more importantly about the support we give students once they get here,” says Rickey Hall, vice president for Minority Affairs & Diversity.

The office also hosts programs to bring seniors to campus to participate in application workshops and get a taste of life as a Husky. “We want them to see that if they come here, they will have a community to which they can connect,” says Hall.

Overall, enrollment increased by more than 1,000 to 56,656 students in Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma. More than 40,000 are undergraduates and nearly 16,000 are pursuing graduate and professional degrees. The number of international graduate and undergraduate students is up as well, with 6,886 in Seattle, 589 in Bothell and 320 in Tacoma.