As one of our state's key institutional citizens, the University of Washington provides students with opportunities to develop the commitment, responsibility, and courage essential to leaders. Leadership grants help students develop the values of citizenship by supporting their efforts to apply what they have learned in class and actively engage the problems of our times through public service under the guidance of a faculty mentor or community leader. The great strength of a research university is a faculty committed to continued inquiry and creativity across an astonishing range of fields. As a leading research institution, the University has exceptional opportunities for undergraduate students to develop their intellectual and creative potential. Research training grants enable students to deepen their involvement in work with faculty on research, curricular design, the creative arts, and other forms of scholarly endeavor.
Students contribute to a host of faculty projects in a wide range of disciplines.
In 1989 the University of Washington became one of the nation's first space grant universities with the establishment of the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium. The program's purpose is to foster education and research in science, math, engineering, and technology. Through a partnership of the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Space Grant program, the Mary Gates Endowment for Students provides renewable scholarships for promising incoming freshmen and transfer students. This partnership also enables more than sixty students to participate in summer research with UW faculty members. Currently under development, this program will allow students to undertake imaginative endeavors of their own design.