University of Washington

Cost of living in Seattle, WA

City-median rent is a city-level figure, not a near-campus price; university graduate housing lines are the university's own published rates. Each line is labeled with its own source.

• Rent, 1-bedroom (university graduate housing, single occupant) $1,917/mo Official Studio. 2026-27, 12-month. Whether these units are open to graduate students is implied but not confirmed. Source: UW Housing & Food Services: Housing and Dining Rates · Verified 2026-09-29
• Rent, 1-bedroom (city median) $1,930/mo Estimated City median 1BR Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
• Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (university graduate housing, shared, per person) $1,662 to $1,712/mo Official Cedar/Mercer single in a 4-bedroom $1,662; in a 2-bedroom $1,712. 2026-27 (Regents, Mar 2026), 12-month. Whether these units are open to graduate students is implied but not confirmed. Radford Court is privately managed and excluded. Source: UW Housing & Food Services: Housing and Dining Rates · Verified 2026-09-29
• Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (city median) $1,360/mo Estimated City median 2BR, split two ways Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
• Utilities $305/mo Crowdsourced Basic utilities (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage). 85 m2 apartment, excludes internet; overstates a studio. Source: Numbeo (Americas table, Sept 27 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
• Public transit $108/mo Official ORCA PugetPass ($3.00 fare level) Source: King County Metro fares · Verified 2026-09-27
• Public transit Free with student ID Official UW U-PASS ($73/quarter, 2025-26), included in TA/RA tuition waiver. Effectively zero out-of-pocket for TAs and RAs. Source: UW degree registration fees page · Verified 2026-09-27
• Parking Not yet available
• Groceries Not yet available

About this department

Summaries are paraphrased from the department's own pages. Individual faculty are not listed here; use the official directory.

Confirm deadlines on the department's own page before applying.

• Department Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• Degrees offered
  • PhD (integrated master's earned along the way)
  Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• Overview Research-focused full-time PhD program in the Allen School; the program page reports roughly 300 full-time graduate students and about 60 new PhD students admitted per year. Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• Research areas
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computing + Biology
  • Human-Centered Computing
  • Interaction with the Physical World
  • Software & Hardware Systems
  • Theory & Models of Computation
  Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• Faculty Faculty directory (official) Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• PhD funding (department statement) Not yet available
• PhD application deadline December 15 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend) Official Deadlines vary by department. This date is for Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. Confirm on the official admissions page. The pages do not state the cycle year. The admissions page says decisions come in mid-February; the how-to-apply page says late February. Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• GRE policy The GRE is not required and scores received are not used for evaluation (per the how-to-apply page). Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16
• Application requirements
  • Online application via UW Graduate School portal
  • academic history and unofficial transcripts
  • up to three research interest areas and ranked faculty list
  • supplemental short summaries
  • three recommendation letters (not via Interfolio)
  • CV
  • personal statement
  • English proficiency proof for non-native speakers
  • $90 non-refundable fee (program has no own fee waiver).
  Official Source: cs.washington.edu · Verified 2026-10-16

Master's tuition

Published tuition (before any aid). PhD students usually have tuition waived; their offer letter confirms. This is not part of the stipend-versus-cost-of-living comparison.

• Graduate Tier I (in-state) $19,011/yr Estimated 2026-2027. autumn+winter+spring. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: UW 2026-27 Tuition and Fees (Annual Academic Year) · Verified 2026-09-30
• Graduate Tier I (out-of-state) $33,312/yr Estimated 2026-2027. 3 quarters. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: UW 2026-27 Tuition and Fees (Annual Academic Year) · Verified 2026-09-30
• Graduate Tier II (in-state) $20,703/yr Estimated 2026-2027. 3 quarters. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: UW 2026-27 Tuition and Fees (Annual Academic Year) · Verified 2026-09-30
• Graduate Tier II (out-of-state) $36,204/yr Estimated 2026-2027. 3 quarters. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: UW 2026-27 Tuition and Fees (Annual Academic Year) · Verified 2026-09-30
• Graduate Tier III (in-state) $23,022/yr Estimated 2026-2027. 3 quarters. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: UW 2026-27 Tuition and Fees (Annual Academic Year) · Verified 2026-09-30
• Graduate Tier III (out-of-state) $40,281/yr Estimated 2026-2027. 3 quarters. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: UW 2026-27 Tuition and Fees (Annual Academic Year) · Verified 2026-09-30