Transfer Students
Transfer applicants are students who are currently or were previously enrolled at a college other than the University of Washington’s Seattle campus after high school.
Information for Prospective Transfer Students
Transfer applicants are students who are currently or were previously enrolled at a college other than the University of Washington’s Seattle campus after high school.
Running Start students who are currently in high school and/or did not continue with college after high school graduation are not considered transfer students. The Allen School does not accept undergraduate applications from students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree. This page focuses on the transfer application process. Learn more about our undergraduate majors!
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Attention Spring 2025 Applicants from Washington State Community or Technical Colleges!
The Allen School will be partnering with Mimi To from the UW’s Multicultural Outreach & Recruitment Team to present the Spring Transfer Application Workshop. Participants can expect an overview of the UW Transfer Application, the Allen School Departmental Application, and an extended time to ask questions to a panel of representatives from the admissions committee. The program focuses its resources on serving students at Washington State Community or Technical Colleges. Note: Participation is open to all students.
The Transfer Application Workshop for Spring 2025 applicants will take place on December 5, 2024 from 4:00 – 5:30 pm PT via Zoom.
Transfer Student Preview Day 2024
Transfer Student Preview Day (TSPD) is a one-day conference for prospective transfer students hosted by the UW Office of Admissions and Undergraduate Academic Affairs to help prospective transfer students learn more about UW programs & services and connect with departments. This year, it will be held on December 12! The Allen School sessions will help prospective students learn more about applying for Computer Science or Computer Engineering at the UW’s Seattle campus:
- Drop-In Advising | 1:00 – 2:00 pm PT | Sign-up by the Gates Center (CSE2) Front Desk
- Allen School Overview | 2:15 – 3:15 pm PT | Gates Center (CSE2) Room G01
- Departmental Admissions Presentation| 3:30 – 4:30 pm PT | Gates Center (CSE2) Room G01
- Tour of the Allen School Buildings| 4:30 – 5:00 pm PT | Leaving from Gates Center (CSE2) Room G01
Be sure to register with the UW Office of Admissions!
The Transfer Application Workshop for Spring 2025 applicants will take place on December 5, 2024 from 4:00 – 5:30 pm PT via Zoom.
Information Sessions
The Allen School offers a hybrid information session for prospective transfers on the second Thursday of every month from 3:30PM – 4:30PM PT immediately followed by a building tour for in-person attendees.
Transfer Thursday Drop-ins
Have a quick question? We offer drop-in advising for prospective transfer students every Thursday from 2:30 – 3:30 pm PT on Zoom! This is available for all transfer applicants including 4-year & out-of-state transfers.
Meet with Current Student
If you are interested in learning more about the student experience at the Allen School, you can schedule an appointment to chat with someone from our Student Recruitment Representatives team!
Schedual an Appointment
Prospective transfer students who are currently enrolled at a Washington State Community College can schedule a virtual appointment with someone from our diversity & access recruitment team.
How to Apply
Key Dates & Deadlines
The Allen School accepts applications for students to start in both spring and autumn quarters, we do not have winter or summer admission cycles. Please note: the Allen School departmental application is typically open for about 2 weeks prior to the application deadlines.
Spring Admissions
UW Transfer Application Opens: November 1
UW Transfer Application Closes: December 15
Allen School Departmental Application Opens: Early January
Allen School Departmental Application Closes: January 15
Admissions Decisions Released: Early February
Autumn Admissions
UW Transfer Application Opens: December 15
UW Transfer Application Closes: February 15
Allen School Departmental Application Opens: Mid March
Allen School Departmental Application Closes: April 5
Admissions Decisions Released: Mid May
Transfer Application Process
Below is a step-by-step outline of the process for applying to the Allen School as a transfer student. For more details, check out our Guide for Transfer Students (PDF).
The UW Transfer Application
- The first step in applying to the Allen School is to submit the UW transfer application for spring or autumn quarter.
- You should list either Computer Science or Computer Engineering as your first or second choice major.
- If there is another major on campus that interests you, you have the option to list two potential major choices. If you are listing a second major, please make sure you learn about their admission process since admission to majors varies by major. Since Allen School applicants are considered in one pool, you should not list an Allen School major as your second major. There are plenty of other computing-related majors at the UW.
If you miss the UW application deadline, you will not be able to apply to the Allen School as a transfer applicant. The UW Office of Admissions – Transfer Students and Spring Quarter UW Applicants websites may help you in planning for your UW transfer application.
The Allen School Departmental Application
- The next step for transfer applicants who want to be considered for direct transfer admission into the Allen School is to fill out an Allen School departmental application.
- In order to be eligible, students must have their prerequisites completed by the departmental application deadline for the quarter they intend to apply (see the Minimum Academic Requirements section for more details).
- Please note that the departmental application is completely separate from the UW transfer application and will generally be open for about two weeks before it is due.
You are welcome to begin working on your departmental application essay before the application opens. The departmental application essay prompt can be found here. If you are having trouble completing the application, there is a “help” tool that can be very useful for answering your questions. If you cannot find the answer using the “help” tool, you can email our transfer recruitment team at outreach@cs.washington.edu
Minimum Academic Requirements
In order to be eligible to apply for direct transfer admissions into Computer Science or Computer Engineering, applicants must complete all minimum academic requirements by the appropriate departmental application deadline. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the first available quarter of admissions after completing their minimum academic requirements. If any academic requirements are not satisfied, the applicant is not yet eligible for transfer admission.Transfer applicants must complete a minimum of 30 graded credits prior to applying. Credit by exam programs like AP and IB, while transferable, are not considered graded credit and cannot be counted toward this requirement.Transfer applicants must meet the Allen School’s prerequisite course requirements for transfer admissions (listed below using UW course numbers). These courses must be completed and graded prior to the departmental application deadline.
| Subject Area | Prerequisites |
|---|---|
| Math | MATH 124, 125, & 126 |
| Computer Science | CSE 143 (or CSE 123) |
| English | Five credits of English composition |
| Natural Science | if Computer Engineering major:PHYS 121if Computer Science major (choose one):PHYS 121, BIOL 180, or CHEM 142 or a course from the approved list |
If you are attending a Washington State Community College, you can also use our online Equivalency Guide to determine how your community college coursework might transfer to the University of Washington. Some Washington Community Colleges do not offer all of the Allen School prerequisite courses. If this is the case at your school, we recommend enrolling in the remaining prerequisite courses at another Washington State Community College. Many Washington State Community Colleges offer equivalents to the Allen School prerequisite courses completely online.
If your coursework is from another college or university, you can use our online UW course catalog to determine which courses at your institution are most closely related to our prerequisite courses. Unfortunately, the UW is unable to evaluate equivalency for transfer credit until after an applicant has been admitted. However, if you have a question about whether or not a specific course will meet the minimum academic requirement for the purpose of admissions, you can reach out to our recruitment team at outreach@cs.washington.edu to request a course pre-check; this is not an official evaluation and does not guarantee that your course will transfer to the UW if you are admitted. Please include the following information in your request:
- The exact course title & course number of the course in question at your current institution
- The UW course number of the Allen School prerequisite course that you anticipate it matching
- The link to your institution’s course catalog
Please note that taking two semesters of Calculus is considered equivalent to taking three quarters of Calculus. The Allen School’s introductory computing sequence is taught in Java and we strongly prefer that students have college level experience with Java before enrolling at the UW. If your introductory computing sequence is taught in a language other than Java and you are admitted but unable to take a course taught in Java prior to enrolling, you will need to take CSE 123 as a co-requisite course to CSE 311 after enrolling. Any college level English or writing course, including courses in other subject areas with a writing designation printed on your transcript, can count toward the English Composition requirement for the purpose of admissions.
If you have completed exams for credit such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or A Level & AS Level exams, please refer to the Office of Admissions – Exams for Credit website for information on how your credits would transfer to UW based on your exam score. Please note that English Language & Composition credit from the AP exam is not equivalent to the English Composition prerequisite for admission and does not meet the UW composition requirement.
All applicants to the Allen School are required to complete the Allen School prerequisite courses (shown above) by the departmental application deadline for the quarter that they are applying. The Allen School’s transfer pathway is designed to be completed within two years of full-time study. Prerequisite coursework is essential to ensure that applicants are prepared for upper division coursework upon entering our program so that they are able to graduate on time. Similarly, prerequisite coursework is necessary to ensure that our academic application review is fair to all applicants.
However, our admission process is not intended to cause large gaps in a student’s academic experience and we will consider requests to apply with one prerequisite in progress. Students can only be considered for a prerequisite exception if they:
- Will have 90 quarter credits completed by the time of enrollment at the University of Washington
- Meet all other academic requirements including a minimum of 30 graded credits
- Have the final prerequisite course in-progress at the departmental application deadline
Please note: if a prerequisite course is not offered at your current institution, you are still expected to have the course in-progress at the time of application. This does not apply to applicants studying at foreign universities who do not have access to an English Composition course. For students studying in the US, many WA Community Colleges offer online equivalents to the prerequisite coursework.
To submit a prerequisite exception request, applicants must fill out this form by 5:00 pm PT on January 13, 2025 for spring applicants or April 3, 2025 for autumn applicants. Please do not submit the form until you are able to demonstrate proof of enrollment in your final prerequisite course.