Congratulations on your admission to the University of Washington!

The UW offers many outstanding technology-related majors, including the Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

There are multiple admission pathways for both Computer Science and Computer Engineering. It is important that you refer to information for your current admission status. Admitted UW freshmen who requested Computer Science or Computer Engineering as their first choice major were offered one of the following:

Students who requested the Computer Engineering major, some of whom will have been offered Direct to College admission to Engineering: Please refer to the Direct to College information on the College of Engineering website. (Students who requested the Computer Engineering major and were admitted as Pre-Majors but not offered Direct to College admission should also refer to the page above.)

Direct Admission to the Computer Science major: Please refer to the Direct Admission information you will receive from the Allen School.

Pre-Science Admission: Please read the rest of this page for information on your major and admission options.

Information for prospective Computer Science students offered Pre-Science Admission

This remainder of this page has information for prospective freshmen who are interested in majoring in Computer Science but who did not receive Direct Admission to the major. Students who hope to study Computer Engineering should refer to the Direct to College information on the College of Engineering website.

Interest in Computer Science is growing rapidly nationwide, including at the University of Washington. The Washington State Legislature has funded dramatic enrollment growth in the Paul G. Allen School in recent years, and support from the Legislature, UW, corporations, and individuals has funded construction of a second building that was completed in December 2018. Despite these significant strides, however, student demand for the Allen School continues to exceed capacity.

Admission to the Computer Science major takes place through three pathways: Direct Admission from high school, Transfer Admission, and Current UW Student Admissions.

Currently, the majority of our majors enter via Direct Admission, and 15-20% of our majors enter via Transfer Admission. While this leaves roughly 30% of our slots for Current UW students, we have significantly more applicants than we have student spaces, so admission to the Computer Science major is not assured. Current Student Admission is primarily intended for students who discover an interest in Computer Science after enrolling at UW.

Students who are admitted to the University of Washington but not offered Direct Admission to the Computer Science major need to weigh their options. Because the University of Washington is outstanding across-the-board, we encourage such students to consider choosing UW and pursuing a variety of relevant majors: Informatics, Applied & Computational Mathematical Sciences, Geographical Information Systems and others. Students who are 100% certain that they want to major in Computer Science and who are guaranteed a position in the major at a program elsewhere should consider whether that might be a better option for them.

Please review this page before contacting us with questions. When you contact us, please note that we have a strong preference for communicating directly with students, although parents are welcome to be CC'ed on emails, be on the phone line with their student, etc.

Why wasn't I offered Direct Admission?

If you were not offered Direct Admission, it is not an indication of your ability to excel in this discipline. Instead, it is an indication of the small number of students to whom we currently are able to offer Direct Admission. For 2019, we will offer admission to approximately 280 WA Residents out of roughly 1000 WA resident applicants who listed Computer Science as their first-choice major were offered Direct Admission. These students had incredibly high grades, took the most rigorous curricula offered in their schools, showed meaningful extracurricular experiences, and submitted strong personal statements. There are many highly qualified students to whom we were unable to offer Direct Admission. (We make a small number of DA offers to out-of-state students, but the vast majority of DA offers go to Washington residents.)

I did not gain Direct Admission. What now?

As noted above, the majority of CS majors enter through Direct Admission, and 15-20% of our majors enter via Transfer Admission. This means that students coming to UW without a Direct Admission offer should design an academic program that prepares you for other majors. One option is to pair any other major with our non-major courses.

We have worked hard in recent years to increase the number of undergraduates that we are able to accommodate - an effort that has been successful, thanks in large part to investments by the Washington State Legislature and strong support from the University to expand our program. However, even as we grow, we will have to contend with capacity limitations for the foreseeable future. Our Current Studet Admission pathway is currently at a 20-25% acceptance rate and that will likely go down again in the future.

Related majors

Many students' plans change in their first year or two of college. For example, students often discover a new academic passion during their first year - they indicate preference for one major on their UW application, but an exciting introductory course in another field causes them to reconsider the best fit for their strengths and goals. Or, due to capacity constraints, students who initially intended to study one major will not be admitted to their top program of choice. Students in majors outside the Allen School can still enjoy access to our non-major courses, can serve as Allen School teaching assistants, and can participate in Allen School research.

Below is a sampling of other UW majors you may want to explore, based on your interest in our program. Please note that most of these majors are also capacity-constrained and some students may not be admitted to these alternative options. We encourage students to consider open or minimum-requirement majors among their options (see here for a list of all UW majors).

Should I come to UW if I want to study CS and was not Direct Admitted to the Allen School?

Only if you are willing to pursue a concentration in CS through our non-major courses. There may be rare exceptions to consider (perhaps you have family commitments locally, or are tied to medical facilities here) If you feel you have extraordinary reasons for attending UW as a non-DA freshman intending on applying to CS you should speak with an Allen School adviser before committing to UW.

Traits of successful UW students

It is impossible to predict whether a prospective UW student will be admitted through our regular admission process (we get this question a lot). We can offer some general observations about students who are likely to succeed at UW, whether they gain entry to their top-choice major or pursue a different path:

Strong ability to manage time, self-regulate, and self-motivate

Ability to advocate for themselves

Personal initiative to ask for help and seek out resources

An openness to exploring alternative pathways to reach their goals

Ability to get along with people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives

A humble attitude (a 4.0 high school GPA does not typically predict a 4.0 UW GPA)

Willingness to listen to advice and feedback (Example: If an adviser tells you your planned fall quarter schedule is too intensive, please believe it!)

Highlights of the Allen School undergraduate program

World-class faculty who prioritize research and teaching

A supportive and inclusive learning environment (for example, we are a national leader in granting degrees to women)

Flexible degree requirements, allowing students time to pursue a double major or a minor

Meaningful and high-paying internship and full-time employment opportunities through our Industry Affiliates program, which hosts two recruiting fairs per year featuring startup and established companies seeking Allen School candidates

Extra support for students including: tutoring, résumé review sessions, technical interview coaching, Ph.D. admission prep, daily drop-in advising

Challenging and exciting courses in areas such as: virtual reality, machine learning, and data visualization

Paid opportunities for undergraduates to serve as teaching and research assistants

Other UW opportunities and resources Students in the Allen School and other units on campus have many avenues for pursuing their interests in computer science and computer engineering outside of major coursework. Examples include: The Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship provides several programs for budding entrepreneurs. One class even gives students thousands of dollars to create their own company! In addition, Startup Hall helps students brings their ideas to fruition through a unique public-private partnership.

DubHacks is a 24-hour hackathon open to students of all backgrounds that takes place on campus each fall.

UW's Career & Internship Center hosts several huge career fairs and lots of career prep workshops. Most of the major tech companies are on campus frequently.

The eScience Institute is an interdisciplinary effort across campus dedicated to developing and applying advanced computational methods and tools to real-world problems in data-intensive discovery.

Many campus clubs are open to all majors and have a tech/engineering focus. For example, here are some clubs offered through the College of Engineering.

UW provides hundreds of study abroad programs, impactful service-learning opportunities, and cutting edge research positions.

Can I appeal to be reconsidered for CS Direct Admission?

If you believe that important information was missing from your application, students may appeal to be reconsidered with this new information. Please read UW appeal guidelines here. Admitted UW freshmen are eligible to appeal if they requested CS as their first choice of major. . If you appeal, we encourage you to continue planning as if your appeal will be denied while you wait for the decision.

Need more information?

You can also reach us by email at: ugrad-advisor@cs.washington.edu.