Admissions

Questions about our undergraduate program? Contact our Recruitment Team at
outreach@cs.washington.edu

Questions about the UW first-year application? Contact the UW Office of Admissions at
askuwadm@uw.edu

Additional support through Multicultural Outreach & Recruitment is available for all applicants, but may be particularly supportive for students who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian (includes, but is not limited to Bhutanese, Burmese, Cambodian, Cham, Hmong, Laotian, Mien, and Vietnamese), first-generation, low-income, undocumented, or foster care youth. Contact the UW Multicultural Outreach & Recruitment Team at reach@uw.edu

DTM offers many benefits to selected students including (but not limited to):

• Guaranteed to study Computer Science or Computer Engineering at the UW’s Seattle campus (no competitive application process later)
  
• Participation in Allen School events and activities from your first day on campus
  
• More flexibility in planning your Allen School coursework over four years of college
  
• More time to do internships and participate in research
  
• Access to Allen School labs, facilities, and events
  
• Connection to other Allen School students who share your academic interests

No, there is no minimum GPA to apply for DTM admission. The Office of Admissions uses a holistic review process that considers both academic preparation & performance and personal achievements & characteristics to make DTM decisions. On the academic side, there are multiple factors considered including strength of schedule, course rigor, and grades. Applicants with academic inconsistencies will have the opportunity to explain any circumstances that may have impacted their academic performance in their essays. Also note that hundreds of students with high grades are not offered DTM admission; no GPA guarantees admission.

We recommend that you choose whichever major you are currently most interested in as your first-choice major on your application. You can learn more about the differences between the two majors on the Undergraduate Admissions page. If you are admitted to the Allen School, it is relatively easy to switch between our two majors as long as it does not delay graduation.

You have the exact same chance of being admitted to the Allen School if you list Computer Science or Computer Engineering as your first choice. Students are considered for admission into the Allen School in one pool, regardless of which Allen School major they have listed as their first choice. You cannot be considered for the Allen School twice or admitted directly into a second choice major, so your second choice major should not be an Allen School major.

No, we do not expect DTM applicants to have any programming experience. We anticipate that students will enter with a variety of experience levels and our introductory curriculum is set up to meet students at their current level. Students will have the opportunity to self-select into the appropriate introductory course that meets their experience with computing. Our first course in the series, CSE 121, is designed for entering students with no experience at all!

The UW Office of Admissions looks for well-rounded students who receive strong grades across all of their core subject areas. Competitive applicants will go beyond the College Academic Distribution Requirements in most subject areas. The best academic preparation for Computer Science or Computer Engineering is taking the most rigorous curriculum offered at your high school. This includes advanced classes if available (Running Start, Honors, AP, IB, etc.), especially in English, math, and science. If you do not have access to these opportunities, you should include a note about that in your application.

Running Start students can use the UW Equivalency Guide and MyPlan to determine which courses at UW are equivalent to their Running Start courses. Running Start students should prioritize ensuring that they complete well-rounded coursework in all core subject areas (English, math, science, social studies), exceeding the College Academic Distribution Requirements when possible.

However, Running Start students may also be interested in pursuing courses that would help meet degree requirements to accelerate their time to degree. The degree requirements for both the Computer Science and Computer Engineering majors are available on our website. Note that there are no prerequisite courses needed to apply to the Allen School as a first-year student.

Allen School DTM admissions decisions are sent at the same time as UW first-year admission decisions, between March 1 – 15. If you are admitted to UW, your major will be listed on your acceptance materials. Students offered DTM admission will see Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or PIE – A (Pathways for Inclusive Excellence) listed as their major. Students who have been admitted to the UW without an offer of DTM admission into the Allen School will see ‘pre-major’ or ‘pre-sciences’ listed as their major.

Many applicants who select Computer Science or Computer Engineering on their UW application will be admitted to the UW but not offered DTM admission to the Allen School. These students will see a listed major of ‘pre-major’ or ‘pre-sciences’. We encourage students to be open-minded. Many students enter the UW thinking they want to pursue one major, but develop a passion for another major during their first year. The UW offers more than 180 majors, including a number of technology-related majors other than Computer Science and Computer Engineering, which are popular choices for many students and can be a great fit for your future plans. You can find related majors by visiting the UW Majors page and searching for “Computing” as an area of interest!

However, if you are absolutely certain that you want to major in Computer Science or Computer Engineering and do not receive an offer of DTM admission, you should strongly consider attending another university.

Yes! One of the advantages of a large institution like the UW is the enormous number of academic options and we encourage Allen School students to also explore subjects outside the Allen School. Many of our undergraduates pursue more than one major or degree and seek minors in other disciplines. Because Allen School DTM admits can start our curriculum early, they often have more flexibility to plan for a second major or minor. Please note that, due to the overlap in requirements, students cannot double major in Computer Science and Computer Engineering.

You can drop your Allen School major at any time if you decide it’s not the right fit. We anticipate that DTM admits, like all students at the University, will spend their first year or two exploring many options.