Undergraduate Education

Letter from the Director:

Greetings and welcome to the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE)!  Our office plays a central role in creating a foundational experience for undergraduates on the UW Tacoma campus - through special initiatives such as the Freshman Core, Summer Bridge, and the Premajor Summit, our office strives to provide a comprehensive four-year undergraduate experience.

We work closely with other units across the campus - including academic units as well as the Teaching & Learning Center, the UW Tacoma Library, the Office of Academic Advising, and the Office of International Programs - to ensure you will have access to the tools you need for success during your time at UW Tacoma and beyond. 

This year I'm especially excited to kick off our new Expedition Fellows program - a new international immersion experience designed exclusively for freshmen and sophomores - as a dozen students will explore complex sustainability issues in Costa Rica during Spring Break. Also in the works is a new Undergraduate Research Apprentice program, slated to come online late Spring quarter - details to appear soon!

I'd love to hear from you with more ideas that would complement your undergraduate experience at UW Tacoma - with the number of students on campus close to 4000, we are looking forward to growing bigger and smarter in the coming years. Stay tuned as we develop and grow in these exciting times!

John "Buck" Banks

Director, OUE

 

2nd Annual Pack Forest Summit: A chance to explore your pathway at UWT and beyond

Last year's adventure was an amazing success!  Many thanks to all those who participated. For a more detailed account of our adventure, please click here.

This September, all Core students completing their freshman year, and interested premajor students looking to explore the pathways UW Tacoma has to offer will have the opportunity to spend time learning about the majors UW Tacoma has to offer, while making connections with faculty, staff, students, and alumni at Pack Forest.  There is no cost to students for participating in this event and overnight accommodations in comfortable cabins, food, and transportation from UW Tacoma to Pack Forest and back will be provided. 

The goal is to provide all student completing the Core a hands-on roadmaps of the majors/academic destinations UW Tacoma has to off.  From finding and following academic passions, to making connections between areas of study and future career paths participants will be making connections, exploring options, and having fun.  Breakout sessions will include faculty led activities, informal conversations, workshops, panels (faculty, seniors, and alumni), academic advising road-mapping sessions, peer adviser support/events, career mapping sessions, social activities and much, much more.

Registration is now open

Core Student Registration (for all students completing the Core program 2012-2013)

 

Featured Faculty: Associate Professor Cheryl Greengrove, Environmental Science

As part of our effort to share and expand the connections between faculty research and student learning, OUE will be featuring a series of short video clips that highlight faculty from across campus who actively engaging with undergraduate students in hands-on research and academic exploration.

In the video clip below, Associate Professor Cheryl Greengrove gives you a glimpse into the fieldwork she engages in with her students in the Puget Sound and Vancouver Island area.  

Dr. Greengrove is a physical oceanographer, which means she studies "motion in the ocean". She is currently part of two interdisciplinary teams of marine scientists, one studying Harmful Algal Blooms (HABS) in Puget Sound, and the other exploring the physical, chemical and biological oceanographic conditions in the fjords of Barkley and Clayoquot Sounds, in British Columbia, Canada. 

Courses Dr. Greengrove regularly teach include: Oceanography, Watersheds & Estuaries (field course), The Atmosphere & Air Pollution, Energy and the Environment. 

 

Have questions about your application to attend UW Tacoma?

If you are in the process of applying to UW Tacoma and have questions or need assistance, please visit the Admissions website.