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BSECE Admissions Requirements

Transfer Admissions Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): 

Who is this program a good fit for? 

The BSECE program is a good fit for:  

  • Students who want to focus on the physical side of computing and/or electrical engineering, including areas such as hardware-software integration, digital systems design, electromagnetics, photonics, and power systems. 
  • In-person and full-time (12 or more credits per quarter) students. The program is not designed to be taken part-time, and all EE classes are offered in person. 
  • Students who have not already earned a bachelor’s degree in EE or ECE.

How can I determine equivalency for the courses I take at my transfer institution? 

Please be sure to review the UW ECE admissions requirements to ensure you understand the courses needed for eligibility of admission to the ECE major. 

  • For students transferring from a WA State community college or technical college: 
  • For students transferring from an institution besides a Washington State community college or technical college: 
    • Review the course syllabus for the course you took outside of UW and compare it to the course syllabus you believe it is equivalent to at UW, looking for overlap in content covered in the course you took. 
    • You may find a syllabus for most UW courses via Google search or on the department’s website. If you cannot find the syllabus, you can use the course catalog to compare a description of the UW course (here are some common course catalogs you can reference: Math, Physics, Computer Science & Engineering, English). 
    • Please do not reach out directly to the UW Office of Admissions or specific UW departments for assistance as they do not have the capacity to review equivalency for prospective transfer courses. 

If you have utilized the resources above and are still concerned about your eligibility to apply for the UW ECE program based on the pre-requisites needed for admissions, please attend prospective student drop-ins to discuss your situation with an adviser.

Can I apply to ECE if I have already completed a bachelor’s degree? 

  • Yes. Students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree are considered postbaccalaureate (postbac) students. Postbac students can apply to the ECE program by following the same admissions process and admissions requirements as a transfer student. More information on how to apply to UW as a postbac student can be found here on the UW Office of Admissions’ website. 
  • Note that ECE is a capacity constrained major and we may prioritize admission for applicants who have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree.  
  • If your first bachelor’s degree was in a STEM field relevant to ECE, we would encourage you to instead consider applying to graduate studies in ECE.  
  • Often postbac students will have classes from their first bachelor’s degree that will count towards their second bachelor’s, such as general education requirements. We recommend postbac applicants come to prospective student drop-ins to learn more/ask questions.

What is the difference between a prerequisite and a pre-enrollment requirement? 

  • A prerequisite is a course that is required to be completed (with a grade of 2.0 or higher) prior to the April 5th ECE application deadline. We cannot consider applicants who have not completed all of the following prerequisite courses by the application deadline, even if the courses are in-progress at the time of application: 
    • MATH 124, 125, and 126 
    • CSE 122 (or CSE 123 or CSE 142 or CSE 143)  
    • PHYS 121 and 122 
    • ENGL 131 or other composition course  
  • A pre-enrollment requirement is a course that is required to be completed (with a grade of 2.0 or higher) before the start of Autumn Quarter if admitted to the ECE major. These courses are pre-enrollment requirements for the ECE program: 
    • CSE 123 (or CSE 143 ) 
    • MATH 207 or AMATH 351, unless MATH 135 was completed  
    • Two courses from the following list: 
      • BIOL 130 
      • BIOL 220 
      • CHEM 142 (or CHEM 143 or CHEM 145) 
      • MATH 208 (or AMATH 352) 
      • MATH 224 
      • PHYS 123

What are some other recommendations or tips ahead of applying for ECE? 

  • Save all past course syllabi. We recommend transfer students save all course syllabi from your courses at prior institutions, as you may need to send them to UW personnel during the UW or ECE application review processes, or as transfer credit is being evaluated.  
  • Write a strong and relevant personal statement. When working on your ECE application, please spend some time writing a unique personal statement for ECE that answers all parts of the prompt. Please include reflection or experience that is directly relevant to ECE.  
  • Attend drop-in hours or info sessions. Please attend our prospective student drop-ins and/or prospective student information sessions! During prospective drop-ins, you will be able to meet with an ECE adviser for about 10 minutes to ask questions and discuss the ECE program and/or its application process. During the prospective information sessions, an ECE adviser presents on the ECE program for about 45 minutes, with time for some quick questions after the presentation. The drop-ins and information sessions are held via Zoom on Thursdays from 2:30pm to 3:30pm.  You can find the dates/times and Zoom info here on our calendar.

What is the admissions review process? 

  • Following the April 5th application deadline, ECE Advising first completes a coursework verification process. This entails double-checking that all prerequisite requirements have been completed, that pre-enrollment requirements have either been completed or marked as in-progress or planned for a future quarter, that the minimum grades and GPA requirements have been met, and that a personal statement has been submitted. 
  • All verified applications are then reviewed by members of the undergraduate admissions committee and assigned scores along a rubric, rating each applicant on aspects of their application, including: 
    • Academic achievements (such as the prerequisite GPA, academic trends, coursework rigor, and consistency or irregularities in their academic performance)  
    • Personal statement (how well the statement answers the prompt, reflects on the applicant’s experiences, and how it describes their interest and goals in ECE) 
    • Extracurricular activities or employment experiences.  

Based on the combined score from the application reviews and capacity in the major, final admission decisions are made in discussion with the ECE undergraduate admissions committee.  

  • Once this process has been completed, admissions decisions are sent to all applicants – typically in the beginning of May. 

Notes on Prerequisite Coursework: 

Computer Science: University of Washington’s introductory computing sequences (CSE 121, 122, 123 or CSE 142 and CSE 143) are taught in Java and therefore ECE looks for transfer coursework in the Java programming language when determining potential equivalencies to the prerequisite and pre-enrollment requirements. CSE 123/143 (or an approved equivalent to either CSE 123 or CSE 143) will fulfill ECE’s computer programming prerequisite requirement. If you have taken CSE 123 or 143, you do not need to go back and take CSE 122 or 142.

English Composition: In order to transfer English composition to the University of Washington, the course must be from a university located in an English speaking country. Students who transfer credit from a university outside of the US that is located in a non-English speaking country do not meet the prerequisite for English Composition.  English speaking countries include: U.S., UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland.  

Math: Taking two semesters of Calculus is often considered equivalent to taking three quarters of Calculus. Additionally, some Washington State Community Colleges teach Calculus in a 4-part sequence – please be aware that you may need both Calculus III and Calculus IV to be eligible for ECE transfer admissions.

Information Sessions: 

UW ECE holds monthly information sessions for prospective students where advisers provide information on admissions, curriculum, electrical and computer engineering as a profession and more. Information sessions are open to anyone interested in pursuing a bachelors degree in electrical and computer engineering.

When and Where

Second Thursday of every month:

Prospective Student Drop-ins: 

We also have drop-in hours set aside for prospective UW ECE students. Drop-ins take place over Zoom every Thursday (except on dates with information sessions). Available times, along with the Zoom links, are posted here: Drop-In Hours.