The University of Washington (UW, commonly called U-Dub) is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. UW is the largest university in the northwestern United States, one of the oldest universities on the West Coast and one of the preeminent research universities in the world. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in Seattle's University District and two other campuses Tacoma and Bothell. Its operating budget for fiscal year 2005 was $3.1 billion. The UW occupies over 500 buildings, with over 20 million gross square footage of space. In 2009, the school placed 16th in the world's top universities, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. UW is considered a Public Ivy institution.
