Interested in attending a STEM school in Washington? Our ranking of top research universities for bachelor’s degrees displays schools that will best prepare you for STEM careers.
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.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
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.
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The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
Less Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
A research university is a great option for students interested in obtaining STEM degrees. Research universities invest heavily in research, which consequently provides meaningful and extensive opportunities for its students and faculty to participate in research. There are 5 research universities in Washington, all of which satisfy our criteria. The list below of the best research universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
82%
Student body
47K
Median SAT/ACT
1345/30
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University of Washington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
73%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/27
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Seattle University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
59%
Student body
28K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/23
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Washington State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
65%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/22
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Seattle Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
88%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1280/27
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Gonzaga University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
What are Custom College Rankings?
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