Admissions

Applicant profile, contact information, and academic history

Create an account in the UW Graduate School’s online application portal. We recommend using a personal email address rather than a school or work email (this is to ensure that you have an active secondary contact email address on file throughout your association with UW).

With your applicant account created, you can provide some basic profile information and begin your application to the PMP:

Profile Information
Take care to ensure this information is accurate, with particular attention to the questions regarding citizenship and residency and whether you are a native English speaker.

Contact Information
Enter your local address (where you currently reside) and your permanent address. Note: applicants must physically reside in the Seattle/Puget Sound area at the time of application in order to be considered for admission.

Academic history
Applicants should carefully review the UW Graduate School’s minimum admission requirements for baccalaureate degrees. In general, applicants must hold a 4-year degree or its foreign equivalent.

Report each higher education institution you have attended and your dates of attendance.

• For each, upload unofficial copies of your transcript and report your cumulative GPA.
For support converting an international GPA to the 4-point scale, you may use Scholaro’s free calculator.
• For the school(s) where you have previously earned a degree, your documents must indicate the degree and when it was awarded.
  Transcripts and mark sheets often indicate this information. If your transcript and degree statement were issued separately, then please combine your unofficial copies into one file before uploading.

Official transcripts are not required during the application process; you will only have to submit official documents to the UW Graduate School if you accept an admission offer. At that time, you should provide your documents according to the Graduate School’s official transcript requirements.

Program selection

To start your application to the PMP, select ‘Graduate’ for your application type.
For program, select Computer Science & Engineering – Evening PMP.

Indicate your desired entry quarter and year

Select the quarter and year you wish to enter the PMP and take note of that term’s application deadline. In general, applications open one year in advance of the deadline.

Review Program Requirements
IMPORTANT: Review program requirements and prerequisites carefully before proceeding with your application. Questions about your eligibility or any program requirements should be directed to PMP staff at masters [at] cs.washington.edu.

Academic and professional interests

Use the drop-down menus to select and rank your top three academic and/or professional interest areas. This is collected for informational purposes only; your selections do not affect your degree requirements or opportunities for course selection.

Application materials

Upload your personal statement, resume or curriculum vitae, and academic background form. When possible, please upload documents in PDF format.

Personal statement
The purpose of the personal statement (sometimes referred to as a statement of purpose, or “the essay”) is to provide a narrative of your approach to the PMP. This is also where applicants can share particular strengths that might not appear in their other application materials, or where they can provide context for any aspects of their academic or professional backgrounds that they feel might be of concern.

Your statement should be ~one page in length, or ~750 words. Please craft your statement around the following prompt:

Please describe your academic and professional backgrounds and qualifications, the areas of study that most interest you, and how the PMP will help you reach your professional goals.

Resume or CV
Upload a current copy of your resume or CV that provides detailed descriptions of your job tasks and technical skills. There are no requirements for length or formatting; you may be as descriptive as you would like and may utilize more than one page.

Academic background form
The purpose of the academic background form is to provide broader context about your academic preparation beyond what appears on your transcript(s); specifically, it is meant to describe where and how you acquired your proficiency in four areas of computer science knowledge. There are no particular requirements for formatting.

To create your academic background form: Create a new document and for each area of knowledge below, list relevant higher education coursework (institution, course number, title, textbook if possible) or other education such as boot camps, certificates, MOOCS, etc. We prefer academic information be listed on this document, but applicable non-academic information can be used as a second choice as long as it is accompanied by relevant description.

• HARDWARE (e.g. computer architecture, digital circuit design, digital systems, embedded systems)


• SOFTWARE (e.g. compilers, computer networks, operating systems, programming systems, software engineering)


• THEORY & ALGORITHMS (e.g. data structures and algorithms, discrete structures, theory of computation)


• APPLICATIONS (e.g. AI, computer graphics, database systems)

The academic background form should be a new document that you have created. Please do not upload your transcript, resume, degree certificate, etc. in this section.

Recommendation letters

Two letters are required from all applicants, however applicants may designate a third recommender if they wish (this is optional and the presence of a third letter does not affect the admission decision).

Letters should be from current or former supervisors, leads or project managers, or others who are familiar with the technical specifics of your work projects and can provide specific descriptions and examples of your hands-on computing preparation; technical skills, qualities, and abilities; and how those elements will contribute to your success in the PMP.

When you designate someone as a recommender, the application system will automatically send them an email with a link to follow to upload their letter. The email will indicate the application deadline of your desired entry quarter and specify that letters need to be received by that date.

Proof of English proficiency

All applicants who are non-native speakers of English must enclose proof of their English proficiency in their applications. For official policy information, please review Graduate Policy 3.2: English Language Proficiency Requirements. Admission offers cannot be sent without proof of English proficiency being enclosed in the application.

The PMP accepts the methods below by which an applicant may demonstrate their proficiency:

1. Having earned a degree in the United States in which English was the language of instruction; or, having earned a degree in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, or certain other countries specified in Policy 3.2 and where English was the language of instruction.


2. Medium of instruction document: Documentation from a prior degree-granting institution, if outside the US or one of the countries specified in Policy 3.2, verifying that all instruction is in English (for example, transcript notation or attested document issued by the institution). A minimum of three years of enrollment at the institution is required.


3. Official, valid English language proficiency test scores sent electronically to UW through your testing center showing that a minimum score was earned. Scores are valid for two years from test date. The PMP accepts the following:

   TOEFL scores showing a minimum total score or MyBest score of 92 or higher. UW’s ETS institution code is 4854.

   Academic IELTS scores showing a total score of 7.0 or higher. Applicants using IELTS test scores must submit official scores electronically via the IELTS system (E-TRF), using the University of Washington’s organization ID 365.

   Duolingo English Test scores showing a minimum total score of 125 or higher. Duolingo scores must be sent to “University of Washington Graduate Admissions (Bothell, Seattle, Tacoma)” through the applicant’s Duolingo English Test account. See: How do I send my Duolingo English Test results to institutions?
   

Review and submit your application

Ensure your application is complete and ready to be submitted– that is, you have accurately entered all required information and uploaded copies of all required documents. When you are ready, click to submit your application.

Pay application fee

Immediately after clicking to submit your application you are taken to the TouchNet payment portal to pay the $90, non-refundable application fee (this fee is retained by the UW Graduate School and is collected for all graduate program applications at UW). Pay the fee to finalize your application and make it available to the PMP for review.

Application fee waivers are available from the UW Graduate School to some domestic students who demonstrate financial need. The PMP does not offer fee waivers at the program/department level.