CSSE Admissions

This page contains information on admission to UW Bothell’s Bachelor of Science in Computer Science & Software Engineering (CSSE), both the general option and the Information Assurance & Cybersecurity (IAC) option.

  1. Admissions process
  2. Prerequisite courses
  3. Personal statement
  4. Questions?

Admissions process

Timeline

The CSSE major admits students for entry in autumn, winter, and spring quarters. Visit the UW Bothell Application Dates & Deadlines page for information on application deadlines.

Please expect to receive your admissions decision approximately eight weeks before the start of the quarter for which you applied.

Materials needed

When you apply, you will need to submit the following:

  1. Transcripts. All applicants must submit unofficial or official transcripts with their application. Once admitted, transfer applicants must also submit up-to-date official transcripts with their final grades if they have not already.
  2. Personal statement
  3. (optional) Resume or CV

How to apply

If applying for both Applied Computing and CSSE (Computer Science & Software Engineering), you must submit a separate application for each. Your personal statement must be different for each major, because they are different programs with different educational goals. Do not use the same personal statement for both majors.

Submit an internal application if you are already a student at UW Bothell:

  • Pre-Major student at UW Bothell
  • Already in a major at UW Bothell and you want to switch majors
  • Already in a major at UW Bothell and you want a double major or double degree

Submit a transfer application if you are coming from another institution:

  • Current student at UW Seattle or UW Tacoma
  • Transferring from another college or university outside of the UW system

If you are a post-baccalaureate student:

  • We prioritize first-time degree seekers for our undergraduate degrees. Because of the high demand for these majors, students who have already earned an undergraduate degree generally cannot be considered for admission.
  • Instead, we encourage post-baccalaureate students to join our Graduate Certificate in Software Design & Development, which covers the same core concepts as our undergraduate majors.
Submit an online application

Review

The CSSE major is currently a “capacity constrained” program with a limit on the number of students admitted, so meeting the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee admission.

If you meet the minimum admissions requirements, then your application will be reviewed by a committee of Computing & Software Systems (CSS) division faculty. The committee uses a holistic approach when reviewing applications, evaluating each on its individual merit and making decisions on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to admit students who will benefit from the program, contribute to our community of learning, and move on to make positive impacts after graduation. In making its decision, the committee considers the following:

  • Completion of prerequisite courses. Decisions are not made until the committee receives final grades for all prerequisite courses.
  • Academic performance, including overall GPA and improvements over time, grades in prerequisites and other relevant courses (such as mathematics and other quantitative areas), and the number of repeated courses.
  • Personal statement, which can highlight:
    • Your specific interest in this program at the University of Washington Bothell.
    • Your long-term goals and the steps you have already taken to achieve them.
    • Your unique experiences and skills that will help you succeed in the program and beyond.
    • Any challenges or hardships you have faced, and how you approached and learned from them.
  • Optional resume or CV. You may submit a resume or CV to provide additional context for your application.

Prerequisite courses

Minimum grades. To be considered for admission, complete the courses below with a minimum grade of 2.0 or higher in all courses. The grades must be recorded on your unofficial or official transcript(s).

No in-progress prerequisites. All prerequisite courses must be completed before applying, except if you are applying for autumn quarter entry and are finishing prerequisites in the previous spring quarter. The committee will finish reviewing your autumn application once your spring grades are submitted.

Transfer courses. View a compilation of equivalent courses at other UW campuses and Washington state colleges, as well as important notes on transferring courses.

  1. English Composition I and II (2 quarters or 2 semesters)
  2. Calculus I and II (2 quarters or 2 semesters)
  3. Computer Programming I and II (2 quarters or 2 semesters)
    • Must cover content equivalent to one of UW Bothell’s series:
    • Required UW Bothell Computer Science skills labs. If you are taking these courses at UW Bothell, you must also enroll in the corequisite skills labs (CSSSKL 142 and 143) in the same quarter. The skills labs are not prerequisites for admission, but they are important for your learning and will be considered along with the rest of your coursework.
    • Programming language. Any programming language is acceptable for the Computer Programming prerequisite, but both courses must be taught in the same language. Common languages include object-oriented languages such as Java, C++, other C family languages, and Python.

Personal statement

Visit our Personal Statement Guidelines page for advice on writing an exceptional personal statement.

Prompt

Write a one-to-two-page single-spaced personal statement — please no more than two pages. Please write the statement as a cohesive essay, and not as a series of short answers. At a minimum, your essay should answer the following questions:

  1. What specifically interests you about UW Bothell’s CSSE major, and what long-term goals will the major help you achieve?
  2. Do you have any experience in software or hardware development outside of the classroom? If so, please describe.
  3. The computing field relies on communication and collaboration. Further, we believe diverse collaborations create better solutions. How do you plan to work with a diverse group of students, and what diverse perspectives will you bring?
  4. Please elaborate on repeated prerequisite coursework, previous applications to the program, or anything else you want to tell the admissions committee.

Questions?

Internal applicants

If you are a pre-major student or already in a different major at UW Bothell, start by visiting the academic advising website or contacting your current academic advisor directly.

First-year and transfer applicants

If you are a student coming from high school or another institution, including UW Seattle or Tacoma, start by visiting the transfer admissions website or contacting the admissions advising team at uwbinfo@uw.edu.