Here are the best colleges and universities in Washington. Our list will help you find the right kind of school for you.
Of the 40 public options, the University of Washington in Seattle is the largest. Roughly 40,000 students attend classes in fields like nursing, education, biology, and computer science. This public research institution is also affordable, charging about $11,000 for tuition. In fact, none of the public schools in Washington exceed $12,000 in price. This includes community colleges, technical colleges, and four-year universities, making Washington a uniquely affordable place to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.
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Washington also has 24 private institutions. Of those, nine are religious. The most widely known of these, Catholic university Gonzaga enrolls roughly 7,000 students, at a cost of $40,000, in areas such as religious studies, engineering, and law. Central Washington University (CWU) is a smaller public school, serving just over 12,000 students, and has a tuition of $8,000. With 15% of its population being Hispanic, CWU is now recognized as an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution. Washington health professions also have the opportunity to receive funding for loan repayment through Washington’s Health Professional Loan Repayment Program.
Set in the Pacific Northwest, Washington offers ocean beaches and lush forests. In fact, over half the state is covered in forests, earning Washington its nickname as The Evergreen State. Viewers atop the Space Needle in Seattle can take in the sights of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and both the Cascades and Olympic mountain ranges. In addition, prospective students can choose from over 60 higher education institutions in the state.
Check out the top higher education programs and find an affordable degree in Washington.
Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
We’ve identified 47 colleges and universities in Washington that meet our criteria. This list of the top 25 colleges in Washington below focuses on schools that offer bachelor’s degrees. The ranking features fully accredited public and private colleges and universities in Washington.
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
84%
Student body
44K
Median SAT/ACT
1326/30
University of Washington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
60%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/23
Washington State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$49K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
75%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/27
Seattle University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
68%
Student body
14K
Median SAT/ACT
1175/25
Western Washington University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
85%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1255/27
Gonzaga University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
89%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/31
Whitman College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
43%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1078/20
Evergreen State College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
50%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
985/19
Eastern Washington University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
74%
Student body
2K
University of Puget Sound’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
66%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/23
Seattle Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
54%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/20
Central Washington University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
69%
Student body
3K
Pacific Lutheran University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
46%
Graduation
57%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/28
DigiPen Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Student body
1K
City University of Seattle’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Graduation
64%
Student body
2K
Walla Walla University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
33%
Student body
11K
Bellevue College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
75%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/24
Whitworth University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
58%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/20
University of Washington Tacoma’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
66%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/23
University of Washington Bothell’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
61%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1045/19
Saint Martin's University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
36%
Student body
5K
Columbia Basin College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
51%
Student body
1K
Peninsula College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
35%
Student body
5K
Seattle Central College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
33%
Student body
3K
Wenatchee Valley College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
36%
Student body
5K
Highline College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.