Non-Traditional Admission
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Upper-Division admission deadline is 1st of February for spring quarter admission and 1st of July for Fall admission.
As of Spring Quarter 2013, CSE no longer offers Accelerated Admission (AA). All applications to CSE will go through two processes: The majority of applicants should apply through our standard Upper-Division Admissions process, and a small number of applicants may be eligible for a new Non-Traditional Admissions process (NTA) that CSE is currently piloting. This page describes NTA requirements and guidelines. Please refer to our page on Upper-Division Admissions for information on our standard admissions process.
NTA is intended for students who discover CSE "late." Typically, NTA applicants will have already made progress towards another major before taking (and doing well in) CSE 142 and 143. NTA was created so that a small number of students may declare and complete a CSE major in a timely manner, rather than waiting to apply after completing all standard upper-division prerequisites..
Criteria
We expect well-qualified NTA applicants to have:
- Course requirements: CSE 142 or equivalent; Grade of 3.7+ in CSE 143; at least five additional credits toward the Computer Science Upper-Division Admission prerequisites (preferably in Math or Science).
- Other requirements: Completion of at least 4 full-time quarters at UW*; 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. Most importantly, applicants must present a compelling reason for being admitted before they complete the standard CSE Upper-Division prerequisites.
*Transfer students entering UW with at least one year of college may be eligible before having 4 quarters completed at UW.
If you believe you are a well-qualified applicant, you must meet with a CSE advisor to discuss your situation well before the application deadlines. Students will not be able to submit a NTA application without approval from CSE advising. Please note that the grade and GPA minimums listed above are expectations, but not strict minimums.
Required Admission Materials
NTA applicants should apply using the College of Engineering's online application. They will need a CSE advisor’s assistance in submitting the application.
Deadlines
NTA will follow the same admission deadlines as Upper-Division Admission:
To enter the program in the autumn quarter: July 1st
To enter the program in the spring quarter: February 1st
Visit our page detailing the application review process for more information on the admissions process and the personal statement.
Advice
Remember that Non-Traditional Admission benefits students who have not completed CSE prerequisites. If you have completed all prerequisites, or are able to finish your prerequisites in a reasonable amount of time, you should apply through Upper-Division Admission (in lieu of entering the more-selective NTA applicant pool).

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