Transfer Students

Interested in transferring?

Use this page to help you prepare for transfer admission to the University of Washington and the Allen School!

How to Apply

Minimum Academic Requirements

Transfer Application Review

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!

Information for Prospective Transfer Students

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!

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 opportunity is available for all transfer applicants including 4-year and out-of-state transfers.

Meet with a 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!

Schedule 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		Autumn 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		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 121 if Computer Science major (choose one): PHYS 121, BIOL 180, or CHEM 142 or a course from the approved list

Determining Course Equivalency▼

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.

Credit By Exam▼

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.

Prerequisite Exception Requests▼

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.

Allen School Transfer Application Checklist

• Review the information on the Transfer Students Webpage
• Use the Determining Course Equivalency section (above) to find out the best way to identify equivalent courses at your current institution and the University of Washington. Then, make a plan to complete all Allen School prerequisite courses before the Allen School departmental application deadline (January 15 for spring; April 5 for autumn)
• Apply to the UW - Seattle using the UW transfer application (by December 15 for spring or February 15 for autumn) and list CS or CE as your first or second choice major. Learn about how to apply to the UW as a transfer student. You are not done applying, the Allen School requires a departmental application
• Begin reviewing the departmental application essay prompt (always available); please note that the rubric is closely based on the prompt so you should plan to answer all questions and follow the formatting guidelines. Check to make sure you included relevant information from your UW application in your departmental application. The Allen School does not have access to your UW application when reviewing the departmental application
• Create a list of all post high-school employment, research, volunteer work, extracurricular activities and clubs that you’ve been involved in since high school; you will put these in the activities section of your departmental application
• Complete and submit your departmental application. Please note that the application is only open for about 2 weeks so you should plan to prepare in advance. If you will have additional comments not included elsewhere, you may add them to the “Additional Comments” section of the departmental application. This application requires unofficial copies of your transcripts from all higher education institutions that you attended including grades from your most recent quarter
• Wait for your admission decisions from the Allen School and the UW! Ensure that you are checking the email address that you provided on your application in case we need to contact you!

Download the Transfer Application Checklist

Download the CS Transfer Planning Worksheet

Download the CE Transfer Planning Worksheet

Transfer Application Review

Holistic Review Process

The Allen School admission uses a holistic review process, which considers academic achievement, personal characteristics, socioeconomic disadvantage, higher education institution(s) attended, and residency. We recognize that transfer students often have complex academic histories. Our academic review will primarily focus on a student's most recent grades and grades in prerequisite subject areas. Applicants are encouraged to give context to any academic inconsistencies including grading irregularities (e.g. repeats, drops, S/NS grades, etc.) on their transcript by explaining any circumstances that may have affected their academic performance in their application essay. Most transfer students enter with around two years of coursework and a GPA of 3.75 or better. Personal characteristics are evaluated through the personal statement and Work History/Activities sections of the departmental application. Transfer applicants are encourage to fully answer all portions of the personal statement; the departmental application is reviewed separately from the UW transfer application so applicants should feel free to repeat any relevant information in both personal statements. No computing experience beyond the minimum academic requirements is needed!

The University of Washington is a public institution which means that funding for the university comes partially from Washington State. For this reason, priority in admissions is offered to Washington State residents and Washington State Community College students. In fact, over 90% of transfer applicants admitted to the Allen School in recent years have been transferring directly from a Washington State Community College.

Transfer Admissions Statistics

Data from the Allen School departmental application

Allen School Transfer Applicant FAQ

Program Eligibility Questions

• Is there a minimum GPA required for admission to the Allen School? ▼

  No. Due to the Allen School’s holistic admission review process, there is no minimum GPA required for admission. However, it is important to note that admission to the Allen School is competitive. The average incoming GPA for Washington state resident transfer admits is 3.75 or higher. The average incoming GPA for domestic non-resident and international transfer admits is 3.9 or higher. We understand that each transfer applicant has a unique story behind their transcript, and encourage students to share their academic journey in the departmental application’s personal statement.

• Does the Allen School offer undergraduate evening or weekend classes? Does the Allen School offer a remote bachelor’s degree program? ▼

  No. The Allen School does not offer undergraduate evening or weekend classes or a remote bachelor’s degree program. Transfer students admitted to the Allen School can expect to attend a full-time undergraduate program that offers a wide variety of classes that use theory, exploratory labs, and course projects to teach computing concepts.

• Do I need to complete an associate’s degree before transferring? ▼

  No. The completion of an associate’s degree is not required for admission to the University of Washington or the Allen School. However, applicants are encouraged to review UW’s transfer credit policies regarding the Washington community and technical college Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) for additional information about how an associate’s degree may impact your transfer credit if accepted - https://admit.washington.edu/apply/transfer/policies/#wa-ctct.

• Can I apply before I’ve completed two years at a community college or university? ▼

  Yes. If you have met the Allen School's academic requirements for transfer admission, you are welcome to before you have completed two years of coursework. However, please keep in mind that the Allen School gives priority admission to applicants who have about two years of coursework (90 quarter credits) completed.

• Do AP or IB Courses count toward the 30 graded quarter credit minimum to apply? ▼

  Unfortunately, no. Exams for credit do not count toward as graded credits.

• Can I apply if I have more than two years of community college or university coursework completed? ▼

  Yes. As long as you do not have a prior bachelor’s degree and have met UW’s minimum admission requirements and will fulfill the Allen School’s prerequisite requirements in time, you are welcome to apply for transfer admission. Please note that the University of Washington has transfer credit policies that determine how prior transfer credit can apply towards an undergraduate degree at UW - https://admit.washington.edu/apply/transfer/policies/#restrictions.

• If I have a prior bachelor’s degree, can I still apply as a transfer applicant? ▼

  No. Due to extremely high demand for our program from first-time bachelor's students, the Allen School is not currently accepting applications from students looking for a second bachelor's degree (i.e., post-baccalaureate applications for a bachelor's degree) - https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/ugrad/admissions/postbac.

• Can I reapply to the Allen School as a transfer applicant if I have been denied before? ▼

  Yes. The Allen School does not have a limit on the number of times a transfer applicant can apply for admission. However, we strongly encourage all applicants denied admission to the Allen School to consider alternative undergraduate computing programs at other institutions or alternative computing-related majors at UW given how competitive admission is to the Allen School.

Applicant Questions

• Can someone review my transcript to see what classes will transfer to the UW's Seattle campus? How will I know if my credits will transfer? ▼

  Transfer credit evaluations are completed by the UW Office of Admissions after students are admitted. Please use the "Determining Course Equivalency" section on this website to find the best way to identify how your coursework might transfer. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer transfer credit reviews until after a student has been admitted.

  With that said, our recruitment team is happy to connect with you via email (outreach@cs.washington.edu) if you have remaining questions about whether or not you are eligible to apply. Please note that receiving permission to apply is not a guarantee that all of your prerequisite coursework will transfer as expected through the transfer credit review. Please keep in mind that our Allen School transfer team is unable to provide individualized academic plans for transfer applicants.

• Can someone at the Allen School review my personal statement for the departmental application? ▼

  No. The Allen School is unable to provide personal statement review for transfer applicants seeking admission. For support in writing your personal statement, please use writing and transfer resources at your current institution. All transfer applicants can make an appointment with someone on our transfer recruitment team to speak broadly about the application process but we are unable to read your personal statement as we serve on the admission committee. Historically underrepresented students of color (African American, Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian) can reach out to the UW’s Multicultural Outreach and Recruitment team for additional support.

• Can I have the Allen School’s prerequisites for admission in-progress or planned at the time of application as a transfer student? ▼

  Prerequisite courses may be in progress when you apply to the UW, but they should be completed by the departmental application deadline. For example, if you are applying for spring quarter, they must be completed by January 15. They can still be in progress when you apply to the UW before December 15. At most institutions, this means that autumn is the last quarter that they can take a prerequisite course for spring admission.

• Do I need to provide all college/university transcripts if it's been years since I last attended or if I no longer want the transfer credit? Do academic credits expire? ▼

  All transfer applicants, U.S. and international, are required to submit unofficial college/university transcripts from each institution attended for their Allen School departmental transfer application. Academic credits do not expire and an applicant’s entire academic record will be considered in the transfer departmental application admission review process. The University of Washington does not practice grade forgiveness. Failure to disclose and submit unofficial transcripts from all colleges/universities attended, even if no credit was earned, may result in denial of admission or dismissal from the UW. The Allen School transfer admission committee recognizes that students may have academic inconsistencies in their academic record. Since the Allen School practices a holistic admission review process, transfer applicants are encouraged to discuss any academic inconsistencies or provide additional context to their academic history in their personal statement.

• Can I use the same personal statement for both the UW transfer admission application and the departmental application? ▼

  No. Transfer applicants should write their essay answering the specific questions in the departmental application personal statement prompt. Keep in mind that the Allen School transfer admission committee will not be reviewing your UW transfer admission personal statement, so please repeat any relevant information you would like to have considered.

• Does the Allen School accept supplementary materials for the transfer departmental application such as letters of recommendation? ▼

  No, the Allen School does not accept supplementary materials such as letters of recommendation, applicant portfolios, or interviews from transfer applicants in the departmental application review process.

Admission Questions

• How is the departmental application reviewed? ▼

  Allen School applications are reviewed by a committee of Allen School faculty and staff. We have a rubric that our faculty and staff are trained to follow to ensure that we are reviewing all applications consistently. Generally speaking, we evaluate two pieces of an application: the academic record (grades in prerequisite subject areas and overall grade trends) and the answers to the essay questions. While the rubric provides general guidelines for reviewers, we do have a method for flagging applications that don’t fit the rubric or have other information that needs to be captured during our discussion.

  We know that students are curious about how we evaluate applications. Therefore we provide the rubric here for past cycles. You should, however, take note that using this to prepare for an upcoming cycle may not be in your best interest as this rubric is changed and updated every year. The new essay questions or evaluation materials are posted by Nov 15th each year.

  Although we post the rubric publicly, please note that we do not conduct any pre-evaluations of a student's application. The best way to prepare an upcoming application is to (1) address all the essay questions thoughtfully, carefully, and substantively and (2) do your best academically in all your coursework. We also highly recommend that all prospective students attend an information session to learn more about the Allen School and our evaluation process. These information sessions are free and open to the public. You can find more about our information sessions online.

• Does the Allen School transfer admission committee review my UW transfer admission application and personal statement? ▼

  No. The UW transfer admission application process is separate from the Allen School’s transfer departmental application process. Applicants should include any relevant information from the UW transfer admission application in the departmental application that they would like to have considered by the Allen School’s transfer admission committee.

• Where can I find my admission decision? ▼

  Your admission decision will be sent to the email address that you provided in your application.

• When will I find out my admission decision from the Allen School? ▼

  Transfer applicants that submit a departmental application to the Allen School are notified of their admission decision via the email address provided in their application. For spring applicants, departmental admission decisions are sent in early February. For autumn applicants, departmental admission decisions are sent in mid-May. The Allen School does not send hard copy letters for admission decisions.

• If I am accepted to the Allen School as a transfer applicant, can I defer my offer of admission? ▼

  No. You may not defer your offer of admission to another entry term. The offer of admission is valid only for the quarter indicated on your offer letter. If you are unable to attend the UW at this time but wish to enroll for a future quarter, you will need to file a new application to UW and submit a new Allen School departmental application and meet all requirements and deadlines.

• What if I am admitted to UW but not admitted as a transfer student to the Allen School for autumn admission? ▼

  Transfer students who are admitted to UW as pre-majors should consider whether or not there is another major on campus that they are interested in. Students who enroll at UW as pre-majors and want to apply to the Allen School will need to apply through our Current UW student pathway. This pathway is highly competitive and there is no guarantee of admission for students who pursue this option. It is only recommended that students enroll at UW as a pre-major if they have other interests outside of the Allen School. Additionally, coming to UW as a pre-major transfer student often extends the amount of time until a student can graduate. For this reason, we highly recommend that students that are not offered direct transfer admission to the Allen School plan for another major at UW or consider similar computing programs at other institutions. For assistance with academic planning as a pre-major student, please connect with an academic adviser in Undergraduate Academic Advising at UW to discuss your options - https://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/. It is not possible to be admitted to UW as a pre-major student for spring admission.

• Can I appeal my Allen School transfer admission decision? ▼

  The Allen School does not offer admission decision appeals. If you were not admitted to the Allen School, you would need to reapply to be considered for admission into the Allen School again.

• Are transfer students eligible for UW scholarships and financial aid? ▼

  Transfer students that are accepted to the University of Washington and accept the offer of admission are eligible for scholarships and financial aid. The Allen School offers departmental scholarships for undergraduate students including incoming transfer students - https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/ugrad/current-students/resources. For questions about financial aid, please refer to the UW Office of Student Financial Aid’s website - https://www.washington.edu/financialaid/.

Other Computing Related Degree Programs

Other Programs in Washington State ▼

Questions?

Please email the Allen School transfer recruitment team at outreach@cs.washington.edu. We encourage all prospective transfer applicants to the Allen School to attend an information session. We are happy to answer your questions!