Undergraduate Education

One of the most important things to know about the CSE registration process is how to get advice and help from Allen School advisers. CSE advisers can help you plan your courses, connect with resources, and provide general advice.

Our most common advice for CSE majors is:

1. Plan a balanced schedule. Prepare yourself for a good academic experience and strong grades by planning a manageable schedule with a good mix of courses. We recommend two math/science/CSE courses per quarter, plus one non-math/science/CSE course, such as a VLPA or I&S requirement. If you hope to take on heavier schedules, such as three CSE courses or four total courses, build up to this heavy workload after a strong quarter in lighter schedule. Remember that it’s easier to ramp up your workload over time than to recover from a quarter in which you’ve taken on too much.
2. Plan for the amount of work in a course, not the number of credits. Most CSE majors take 12-15 credits per quarter, occasionally more. The number of credits does not always reflect the workload: A 4-credit CSE course or a 3-credit Math course will often require more work than many 5-credit courses.
3. Plan ahead. Use MyPlan (available on MyUW) to draft a 2-, 3-, or 4-year plan, then send it to a CSE adviser for feedback. We can note any missing requirements, mixed-up prereqs, or other scheduling issues, and we can discuss how to fit in extra-curricular activities — TAing, research, study abroad, etc. Planning ahead will help you form a better picture of your goals an opportunities, and avoid issues.
4. Study resourcefully. UW and CSE provide lots of academic aids. Get help before you need it. Visit your professors and TAs during Office Hours. Collaborate with classmates in the undergrad labs. Email the CSE advisers about tutoring groups if you want extra study help in 300- and 400-level CSE classes. For introductory courses, the Intro Programming Labs (IPL), the Math Study Center, and CLUE are all great resources.

CSE Pre-majors

If you plan to apply to CSE, your first goal is to complete the prerequisites while working on general requirements and exploring related majors. Review our full degree requirements and our admissions application guidelines.

New CSE Majors

Welcome to the Allen School! You can register for CSE major courses after you are coded as a CS or CE major (instructions on the new majors orientation page). We do not require new students to take a CSE course their first quarter in the major; however, beginning your second quarter, our CSE Continuation Policy requires at least one (1) Math, CSE or Science degree-required course per qurater. Consider the following classes for your first quarters:

• CSE 311: Foundations I: This is a discrete math/logic course with little coding. 311 is a prerequisite for 332 (Data Abstractions) and 312 (Foundations of Computing II). All new students should take 311 in their first quarter if possible.
• CSE 331: Software Design and Implementation: A coding-oriented class, required for CS and recommended for CE.  This is a fine class to take your first, second or third quarter in the class. It’s valuable before internships.
• CSE 351: Hardware/Software Interface:  A coding-oriented class. CE majors should take it in their first quarter, and many CS majors should consider it for their first quarter. CSE 351 focuses on how computer programs actually run on CPUs. You should take CSE 391 (a 1-cr class) concurrently.
• CSE 391: System and Software Tools:  A 1-credit seminar introducing important tools for future CSE courses. You should take this with or before CSE 351. Since this is only a 1-credit seminar, most people take this in addition to two “real” CSE courses.
• CSE 340: Interactive Systems: An exciting new elective that counts toward the CSE core courses. 
• CSE 341: Programming Languages: An elective that counts toward the CSE core courses. Most CSE majors take this! Not offered every quarter.

Computer Engineering majors may also consider:

• EE 205: Introduction to Signal Conditioning:  CE majors can take 215 instead if the timing of 205 does not fit your schedule, but 205 is strongly preferred.

CSE Majors

Links for planning your CSE curriculum:

• CSE Teaching Schedule for long-term planning
• Full CSE Degree Requirements, including links to curriculum and electives lists
• Suggested Course Pathways to prepare for industry and graduate school
• CSE Satisfactory Progress Policy to understand expectations

Registering for full CSE courses:

Please do not contact faculty directly unless instructed by an adviser for special permissions. If you are interested in taking a 300-level or 400-level course that is full, please note that we will no longer be maintaining overload lists for these courses. Here are some actions you can take if desired classes are full:

1. Register on NotifyUW to get an alert if space opens in the course and attend the first week to try and keep up in the course in case you do get a spot. We will monitor demand on NotifyUW and try to add more space when needed.
2. Register for back-up courses in case you can’t get into your first choice.
3. If you are a senior, file for graduation to get Graduating Senior Priority during your registration. After filing, you will get two quarters of priority registration which will allow you to register before anyone else (including other seniors who have not yet filed for graduation).
4. If you have trouble registering due to prerequisites, contact an adviser for assistance.
5. If you think you will not be able to graduate due to scheduling issues, contact an adviser.

Some students choose to pursue a double major or double degree. There are a few known substitutions that we’ll list here:

Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering: There are no double majors/double degrees between Computer Science and Computer Engineering

Applied Computational Mathematical Science: Note: starting in spring 2024, no double majors/degrees with Computer Science or Computer Engineering

Engineering: While double majors are not allowed between Computer Engineering and any other Engineering degree, occassionally, on rare exceptions, a student may pursue a Computer Science degree along with another Engineering degree. Please note however, there are no double degrees with any Allen School major and the Electrical and Computer Engineering degree.

Stat/CSE Double Majors: STAT 435 can count as a CSE core-course in place of CSE 446 (no credit for both toward the CSE degree) In the Data Science option, STAT 303 can replace SOC 225

Allen School Petitions Process – Guidelines for Students

In general students should plan to take the required degree requirements. In some cases, a student may petition to take a different course in place of a stated degree requirement. This usually requires either a conversation with your assigned adviser in the Allen School, or sometimes it requires further approval with an official petition that would then be reviewed by the Director of Student Services and the Faculty Undergraduate Program Chair.

Below we articulate a few known exceptions or common responses regarding requests to petition. Please review this list in its entirety before requesting an exception.

CSE 311 Petitions

Sometimes a student will enter the Allen School with a significant number of MATH and STAT courses completed. If this is the case, you may try petitioning to waive CSE 311 via a substitution from a math course. Generally asking for just MATH 300 or just MATH/STAT 394 is not enough for a substitution. If you have not taken a significant number of MATH or STAT courses that cover this material, then generally you should plan to take CSE 311. A few known exceptions to this outcome follow:

• MATH 134, 135 and 136: honors math track students have two options:
  You can take MATH 136 and CSE 311 at the same time (typically in the Spring) as the CSE 311 prereq is MATH 126 or MATH 135
  You can take CSE 311 and CSE 332 at the same time AFTER completing MATH 136. Note that you will need help from an Adviser when registering for CSE 332 as it generally requires CSE 311 to be completed. Your Allen School adviser can help you get registered for both courses.
  1. If you have MATH 300 completed, you can take CSE 311 and CSE 332 at the same time. Your Allen School adviser can help you register since you won’t have CSE 311 pre-req credit yet.

CSE 331 Petitions

Students sometimes decide to delay taking CSE 331 until the end of their time in the Allen School with the intention to waive the course based on prior internship/industry experience. These petition requests are always denied. If you are petitioning a waiver for any course, you typically need to prove how you have acquired the academic knowledge covered in the course. Simply having internship experience has been determined to not be a viable substitute for this course. Ideally students would complete 331 early in their academic career and before embarking on a software internship to get the most benefit from the course.

CSE 500 Level Course Petitions

Generally speaking, most students should plan to take the 400 level courses in the Allen School. There are exceptions however for students who have advanced understanding to occassionally take CSE 500 level courses. Typically a PhD Breadth 500 level course where a student has not previously taken the undergraduate version of the course can be allowed to count as a Core course. Note that this is only for PhD breadth courses. If a course is listed on our breadth requirements for PhD students they are often (not always) allowed as a Core Course substitution. Sometimes there are restrictions however on whether or not a student has taken the 400 level version of the course. An example would be that you are allowed to take 421 and 521 because they differ enough to both count. However there are other courses where you are NOT allowed to receive credit for both, i.e. 446 and 546 for example. It’s best to check with an adviser about your long term plans before requesting an exception. We hope to have an explicit list in the future, but for now, you should check with an adviser.

ECE Course Petitions:

• If a student completes EE 215 that can use that to replace EE 205, however EE 205 is strongly encouraged for our CE majors
• If a student completes EE 271, they can use that to replace CSE 369
• There are a host of other joinly listed courses between ECE and CSE

To graduate with honors, you must:

1. Maintain the minimum UW and departmental GPA required for honors (listed above).
2. Take nine credits of graded research in honors section 496. If you are uncertain whether your research will lead to an honors project when you start, you may take the first three credits in CSE 498. However, the last six credits of honors work must be in 496.
3. Your faculty advisor must be a CSE faculty member. If you are working on a research project in another department, you must have a CSE faculty member approve your project and sign off on your thesis and presentation.
4. Give an oral presentation, arranged by you and your faculty advisor, on the honors project. You should also arrange for at least five additional people (e.g., other students, family, etc.) to attend your presentation.
5. Submit a Senior Thesis that meets the following requirements:

• It should be a well-written, clearly presented document, typically 15-25 pages long.
• It should reflect work done independently under the supervision of a faculty member.
• The work should be original and demonstrate creative thinking, as judged by your faculty supervisor.
• An approved copy of the thesis, with the faculty advisor’s signature on the cover page, must be submitted electronically through CSE’s Google Form for honors thesis submissions.
• In order to ensure the honors designation will be marked on your diploma, thesis submission is due no later than the last day of finals during the quarter in which you plan to graduate.  Earlier submissions are encouraged.