The University of Washington Mathematics Department is one of the major research mathematics departments in the United States. It has an excellent research reputation, a strong, demanding program of graduate study in mathematics, and a full range of excellent undergraduate course offerings. The department consists of approximately 60 permanent faculty with research interests in virtually every area of mathematics. Students, faculty, and numerous visitors are encouraged to interact through a variety of courses, seminars, colloquia, and in other less formal ways. The faculty have been supported in their research by the Sloan Foundation, National Science Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, National Security Agency, and other organizations. Graduate students are supported by numerous teaching assistantships and fellowships, including several Sloan Foundation fellowships awarded in recent years. Visits by distinguished mathematicians from all over the world are supported by the Milliman Fund, a University of Washington Mathematics Department endowment.

Students and faculty have their offices in Padelford Hall overlooking Lake Washington, with a view of Mount Rainier to the south. The mathematics lounge, where afternoon tea is served daily, makes a convenient meeting place for faculty and students. The Mathematics Research Library, located in the same building, has an outstanding collection of over 48,000 volumes and subscribes to more than 500 serials. The department has over 100 full-time students in the graduate program and over 800 undergraduate majors, including 600 in the undergraduate program and 200 in the joint ACMS program.