The department follows a cohort model beginning in spring quarter. Transfer students, current UW students outside the College of Engineering, and current UW students with Engineering Undeclared status who are eligible to begin the chemical engineering core sequence of courses in their first spring quarter may apply. Admission is capacity constrained.
- Admission is for spring quarter only. Application deadline: January 15. The department has a single annual admission cycle focused on students starting the chemical engineering core sequence of courses in the spring quarter immediately following the deadline.
- Minimum course requirements: MATH 124, MATH 125, MATH 126 (or MATH 134, MATH 135, MATH 136); CHEM 142, CHEM 152 (or CHEM 143, CHEM 153; or CHEM 145, CHEM 155); PHYS 121 (or PHYS 141); 5 credits of English composition.
- Enrollment requirements: Students must be able to demonstrate they plan to complete the following spring quarter enrollment requirements and autumn quarter continuation requirements.
- Prior to the start of spring quarter: CHEM 162 (or CHEM 153 or CHEM 165); PHYS 122 (or PHYS 142); MATH 207 (or MATH 135 or AMATH 351)
- Prior to the start of autumn quarter: CHEM 237 (or CHEM 223 or CHEM 257), CHEM 238 (or CHEM 224 or CHEM 258); PHYS 123 (or PHYS 143); MATH 208 (or MATH 136 or AMATH 352); CHEM E 310; CHEM E 375
- Grade requirements: Minimum 2.0 grade for each course required for application; minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA in courses required for application. Current UW students must be in good standing with the university.
Factors evaluated for admission include performance in prerequisite courses, quality of overall academic record, demonstrated ability to handle rigorous course load, record of honors, content of personal statement, applicable work or extracurricular activities, and other special circumstances as disclosed by the applicant.
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Recent Admissions Statistics:
- For the most recent admission cycles, all students meeting the minimum requirements were admitted.
Worried about the 90 credit rule for transfer credits?
We frequently receive questions about how the 90 credit rule, which is that the UW allows a maximum of 90 credits of lower-division transfer coursework to be applied toward a UW degree. Students and advisors wonder if this means prerequisites will need to be retaken after coming to UW. This rule only impacts how many credits apply to the 180 credits required to graduate - every class that meets the requirements to transfer and is equivalent to a UW class will fulfill that individual requirement.
Major application
The major application opens two weeks before the application deadline. Even when the application is not open, you can read the list of requirements and see the personal statement prompts by visiting the online application website in order to prepare.
Factors included in the admissions decision include grades, especially in prerequisite courses, the personal statement, and considerations such as difficulty of completed courses, frequency of incomplete or withdrawal grades, number of repeated courses, applicable work experience and maturity of attitude, record of honors, a demonstrated ability to take at least 12 credits per quarter, and special circumstances as disclosed by the applicant.
Appeals of admissions decisions
Students may appeal the admissions decision made by the committee by writing a letter to the Department chair. The letter should describe any extenuating circumstances and may include any additional information in support of the appeal that the student believes is relevant. For more information about the appeals process, see the Appeals page.