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President Robert J. Jones greets the new cohort during the New Student Convocation. (Photo: Sara Coulsey)
The University of Washington’s fresh cohorts received a warm welcome on Sunday at the institution’s 42nd annual New Student Convocation held at Alaska Airlines Arena within the Hec Edmundson Pavilion. The event saw participation from thousands of students, relatives, and friends.
Greetings, Huskies! Countless incoming @uofwa.bsky.social students convened for the yearly ‘W’ formation today after initiating the academic year with a convocation event. #newhuskies2025 #uwdawgdaze Media resources: drive.google.com/drive/folder…
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Download ‘W’ timelapse, audio clips and B-roll from the 2025 Convocation event
Preliminary estimates indicate the incoming first-year class will comprise approximately 7,175 students, with around 4,550 hailing from Washington. An additional 1,650 transfer scholars are anticipated this autumn, including 1,375 who will come from Washington community colleges, according to initial university statistics. All numbers are approximate. Official census data will be revealed later in the quarter.
New Student Convocation is one of two significant events where the University president, the Board of Regents, school and college deans, as well as faculty members assemble for an academic celebration centered on students. The other prominent occasion is, of course, the graduation ceremony, Commencement. These two events represent the pivotal “bookend” experiences of a college journey.
After the early morning event, new students congregated to form an enormous block “W” on the field inside Husky Stadium.
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