The University of Washington is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle approximately a decade after the city’s founding to aid its economic development. Today, the university’s 703 acre main Seattle campus is in the University District, Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest. The university also has campuses in Tacoma and Bothell. Overall, UW encompasses over 500 buildings and over 20 million gross square footage of space, including one of the largest library systems in the world with more than 26 university libraries, as well as the UW Tower, lecture halls, art centers, museums, laboratories, stadiums, and conference centers. The university offers degrees through 140 departments in various colleges and schools, and functions on a quarter system.