CSS Registration & Waitlists
This page contains information on how to request registration for “CSS” courses offered by the Division of Computing & Software Systems (CSS), which includes courses for Applied Computing, Computer Science & Software Engineering (CSSE), Computer Engineering, and several other undergraduate majors and minors.
- How do I register?
- When do I register?
- Resolving registration issues
- Course is full / needs add code
- Prerequisite errors
- Repeating courses
- Special registrations
- CSS 496 (Applied Computing Capstone)
- CSS 198, 199, 397, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499 (courses arranged with faculty)
- Registration request form
- When to use this form
- List of waitlist courses
- Program-restricted courses
- What to expect
- Access the form
How do I register?
- Meet with your academic advisor early to plan and ensure courses will count for your requirements.
- Visit the time schedule or search on MyPlan to plan which specific course offerings you will take.
- Complete your pre-registration steps before your registration date.
- Know your registration date. Registration begins at 6:00 AM PST.
- Register for your classes with MyPlan or the MyUW Registration Screen.
- Resolve registration issues if you are having trouble signing up.
- Audit your degree(s) after registering to make sure everything is counting correctly. Click “Refresh Audit”.
When do I register?
Winter 2024 registration timeline
- All Periods (November 3rd – January 9th):
- Registration Period I (November 3rd – 19th):
- Students in CSS majors (Applied Computing, CSSE, or Computer Engineering) can register for most CSS courses.
- Students in other majors that require CSS courses can register for those specific courses.
- Registration Period II (November 20th – January 2nd):
- CSS 301, 340, 342, 350, and 360 become waitlist only until new student orientations are complete. After orientations, remaining seats in waitlisted courses will be offered to students in CSS minors and premajor students who are on the waitlists. These offers will be sent out on January 2nd and you will have until 8:00 AM on January 3rd to respond.
- Students in any major or CSS minor (not premajor or nonmatriculated students) can register for most other CSS courses, as long as there is space.
- Registration Period III (January 3rd – 9th):
- All students can register themselves for most CSS courses if there is still space (including premajor and non-matriculated students.
- Important note for CSS 301 (Technical Writing): Attendance to the first class session is mandatory. After this, we cannot register you even if seats become vacant.
Resolving registration issues
Course is full / needs add code
- Waitlist courses: Use the Registration Request Form. View list of waitlist courses.
- Capstone, internship, independent study, or research courses: Read about special registrations.
- All other courses: Use the Seat Availability Notification.
- We strongly recommend signing up for backup courses while you are waiting for your preferred ones.
Prerequisite errors
If it is your registration period and there is space available in the course, but you are encountering prerequisite errors, contact cssadv@uw.edu. We have a limited number of reserve seats to help students in this situation. Please include:
- Your full name
- Your 7-digit student ID number
- The 5-digit SLN (registration code) of the course
- The course prefix, number, and section (Example: “CSS 301 A”). You can these on the time schedule or through a MyPlan search
- A short description and/or screenshot of the issue preventing your registration
Repeating courses
If you cannot register due to repeating the course, use the Registration Request Form.
We do not de-prioritize your registration based on repeats, but use this as an opportunity to provide you with extra information and resources to help you succeed.
Special registrations
CSS 496 (Applied Computing Capstone)
- To take this course, you must have completed CSS 301, 360, 421, and at least 3 courses from your Second Discipline of study.
- If you have completed the prerequisites, fill out the Registration Request Form. Be ready to provide a list of what courses you have already taken for your Second Discipline.
Courses arranged with faculty
These are experiences like internships, independent study, research, and the CSSE capstone; and includes all of the following courses: CSS 198, 199, 397, 495, 497, 498, and 499.
Instead of having a regular meeting time and place with a group of other students, these courses are specially arranged between you and a faculty member.
The number of credits can vary from 1 credit or more, and in many cases you can choose between graded (4.0-scale) or ungraded (CR/NC; Credit/No Credit) credit. Unlike ‘S’ (Satisfactory) grades, ‘CR’ grades can always fulfill degree requirements the same way that graded credit can. Read more about undergraduate grading.
Follow these steps to get registered for variable-credit courses:
- Visit our forms page to download and read the appropriate “contract” form.
- Visit our faculty page and reach out to a few faculty that you have either worked with before (recommended) or that you share academic/research/professional interests with. You can click on their name to view their profile or personal website for more information.
- Complete the contract form with your faculty member’s help and send it to:
- CSS 497 (CSSE Capstone): Capstone Coordinator Janet McDaniel at macdee@uw.edu
- All other variable-credit courses: CSS advising inbox at cssadv@uw.edu
Registration Request Form
When to use this form
- Requesting to repeat any CSS course (even if it is not a waitlist course)
- Requesting a waitlist course
- It is not yet your registration period for that course
- It is your registration period, but the course is full or needs an add code
List of waitlist courses
- CSS 301, 340, 342, 350, 360. Newly admitted CSS majors need to take these courses, so we create waitlists to ensure there is enough space for them before offering seats to other students.
- CSS 133, 143, 295, 320, 337, 343, 452. Students with transfer coursework may encounter prerequisite issues with these courses. When these courses run out of seats we create waitlists to better assist these students.
- CSS 496. We create a waitlist to ensure completion of this course’s prerequisites. Be prepared with a list of at least three courses you will have completed from your Second Discipline of study.
- Courses not on this list. Other courses usually do not require waitlists. Use the Seat Availability Notification instead.
Program-restricted courses
The following courses are only for students in specific majors and minors, even if you meet the prerequisite and there is space in the course. If you are a premajor student, or a student not in a major or minor that needs it, then your request will be denied:
- No premajor students, CSSE or IT minor students OK
- No premajor students or students in CSS minors
What to expect
- This form is a REQUEST only. We cannot guarantee registration for full courses.
- Registration prioritization is HOLISTIC (not first-come, first-serve), so your place on a waitlist may CHANGE as other students make requests. Access the form for details on the prioritization criteria.
- If we discover incorrect information, we may EDIT or DELETE your request without notice.
- We will periodically send update messages to your UW email address. Thes messages will indicate one of the following:
- A. That you have been registered for a course. If you indicated more-preferred sections of the course, then your request will still remain ACTIVE for those sections.
- B. That there is a seat available for you, but you need to confirm or resolve an issue. You must respond to the offer by the date indicated, or we will set your request as INACTIVE and move on to the next person. You can contact us at cssadv@uw.edu anytime to set your request back to ACTIVE and be considered for open seats in the future.
- C. That there is not yet a seat available for you, but we are updating you on your place in line.