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 Information Especially for Transfer Students
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Transferring to the CSE Department

This page is intended for transfer students who are considering a major in Computer Science or Computer Engineering.

One of the most important things to know is that there are separate applications for admission to the UW and the CSE department. You must apply both to the UW as well as to the CSE department before beginning study in our majors. At the left are links to the UW Transfer Admission page as well as a link to the CSE on-line application.

The CSE department admits students to the department twice a year - autumn and spring quarters. The deadlines for application to the CSE department are July 1 (for an autumn start) and February 1 (for a spring start). However, the deadlines for application to the UW are often up to 5-7 months earlier, so make sure to read the UW admissions information carefully.

If you have attended a Washington State community or technical college, some of your programming courses may transfer for credit. See the section on "Course Equivalence" below.

You should also check with your intended major department to make sure you are taking the appropriate course for your degree program. Some departments accept courses that transfer as CSE 1xx credit, while others require the equivalent of CSE 142.

Students transferring into the department from 4-year colleges and universities may satisfy some CSE departmental requirements based upon work completed at their previous institution. However, students must earn a MINIMUM of 24 graded credits of CSE majors courses at UW.

Our Introductory Courses

Our introductory sequence currently consists of two courses, CSE 142 ("Computer Programming I") and CSE 143 ("Computer Programming II").  The Java language is used. Extensive materials for these courses (e.g.., lecture transparencies, assignments, exams, solutions, etc.) are on the web. You're welcome to review them:

For the older, C/C++ versions of these courses, there are complete multimedia recordings, made as part of the CSE Tutored Video Project. There are also websites for the other courses offered in the department

Community College Course Equivalence

Your community college computing courses may transfer to the UW as generic university credits (called "UW 1xx" credits), as generic computer science credits (called "CSE 1xx" credits), or as CSE 142/143 (a specific UW course).

We maintain up-to-date lists of transfer credits awarded at UW for specific community and technical college courses in our discipline: List of courses transferring as CSE 142 and 143.  Additionally, the entire UW Transfer Equivalency Guide is available from the UW Admissions Office. All questions about how courses outside of computer programming will transfer to the UW should be directed to the UW Admissions Office.

Advanced Placement (AP) Test Credits

University of Washington students with AP scores of 4 or 5 on the Computer Science A Exam may receive credit for CSE 142. Students with AP scores of 3, or 4 on the Computer Science AB Exam may also receive credit for CSE 142. If a student receives a 5 on the Computer Science AB exam they receive credit for CSE 142 (4 cr) and 143 (5 cr).


CSE logo Computer Science & Engineering
University of Washington
Box 352350
Seattle, WA  98195-2350
(206) 543-1695 voice, (206) 543-2969 FAX
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