Ph.D. Admissions Contact

First-time users must create an applicant profile. If you decide to apply to more than one program, your applicant profile will be used for each program.

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Login to use the same profile. No need to resubmit valid test scores. You will need new LoR, SoP, and any updated transcripts. Grad App Login

The online application process for the Allen School’s Computer Science & Engineering Ph.D. program opens annually on September 1. Applications are accepted for admission for autumn quarter only. The deadline for both international and U.S. students is Dec 15, or the next following business day, if the 15th falls on a weekend.

Admission decisions are announced by mid-February. Students must accept or decline offers by Apr 15.

Overview

Admission to the Allen School's Ph.D. program in Computer Science & Engineering is competitive. Each year, we receive applications from approximately 2,500 prospective graduate students, from around the globe, with the goal of starting approximately 50-60 students each year. Applications are accepted once per year for an autumn start in the program. 

Underrepresented Communities

The University of Washington and the Allen School reaffirm their policy of equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam era veteran in accordance with University policy and applicable federal and state statutes and regulations. We encourage applications from women, students with disabilities and minority candidates. Learn more about the Paul G. Allen School's commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

The Allen School welcomes, and is committed to working with, undocumented students. You are welcome to reach out to us if you have questions or concerns. Leadership Without Borders is a division of UW focused on the UW undocumented community. They are eager to offer whatever assistance with or without a collaboration with our program.

Admission Highlights

The University of Washington's Graduate School provides graduate application support on their Application FAQs page. If you can't find an answer to your question here, then that would be the next place to check. If you are still unable to find an answer to your questions, please reach out to us at grad-admissions (at) cs (dot) washington (dot) edu. We will do our best to answer your question or help point you in the right direction.

The UW Graduate School offers application fee waivers to U.S. residents who demonstrate financial need. The process for requesting a fee waiver from the UW Graduate School is available on their application page. Additionally, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering offers to pre-pay the application fee of applicants who participate in approved programs which focus on outreach as it relates to preparing students for computer science research careers. The list below outlines some of these programs. Contact grad-admissions@cs for inquiries about any additional programs which may qualify.

In order to request pre-payment of the application fee, the applicant must first complete all required components of the application. Prior to submitting, email grad-admissions (at) cs (dot) washington (dot) edu with the following information at least seven (7) calendar days ahead of the application deadline (approximately December 6th):

Full Name
UW Graduate School Application ID Number
Proof of Program Participation
A PDF document using the following syntax for the file name: "Your name-date of application-conference or program name" (Les Sessoms-Nov 17 2020-GraceHopperConference). You may use your registration confirmation email, conference check-in confirmation, or other official document.

Application Pre-payment Approved Organizations + Conferences

The Allen School provides every student accepted to our Ph.D. program with full financial support in the form of teaching and research assistantships or fellowships, from program inception to degree.

Assistantships

In exchange for 20 hours of work per week, Research/Teaching Assistants receive:

  • Tuition waiver of all but approximately $250 per quarter in fees
  • Monthly stipend to cover living expenses
  • Health insurance (100% of premium for student, 65% of premium for dependents)

Fellowships

There are two major categories of fellowships: those that students can apply for directly, and those to which students must be nominated by faculty. Most students will be more interested in the first category, since these are the fellowships that they can actively seek for themselves. The Graduate School Fellowships Page

Prospective students are welcome to review our Research & Innovation page. Each research area has its own information page which is updated with the faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff involved in research. The Allen School does not expect applicants to have previous interactions with our faculty, nor do they need to know who they want to spend their Ph.D.-life working with. All new students are assigned a temporary faculty advisor based on availability, potential, funding, and several other factors.

The University of Washington offers several benefits and leave options to graduate students in research, teaching, and graduate assistantship positions. Academic student employees (ASE) positions have work benefits defined by the ASE Contract. This contract is the result of a collective bargaining process between the Union of Academic Student Employees (UAW Local 4121), and the University of Washington.

Graduate Appointee Insurance Program (GAIP): ASEs receive health insurance coverage that covers medical, vision, and dental. You can read the UW HR summary here.

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML): ASEs are eligible for paid medical and family leave after completing four calendar quarters of employment at the standard 50% appointment. PFML requests need to be the result of a “qualifying event.” You can read more about UW HR’s policy here.

Leave of Absence: The UW Graduate School has additional policies that allow graduate students to officially enter On-Leave status.. Students often use this option if they need a break for reasons not covered by the PFML policy. Students are eligible for this option after completing their first quarter of instruction. You can read more about the Graduate School’s On-Leave Policy here.

There may be additional policies for students using F-1 and J-1 visas so please contact the International Student Services office if you use one of these. There are also potential implications for your funding packages, so always consult your primary investigator (PI) and academic advisors before requesting On-Leave status.