To be considered for admission, you must complete a minimum level of preparation in six core subject areas. A majority of applicants have completed all or most of these requirements in high school. However, if a core subject requirement was not completed in high school, it must be completed at a college level before enrolling.
An academic associate degree does not automatically satisfy the core subject requirements.
University Core Subject Requirements| Subject | If completed in high school | If completed in college |
|---|
| English | 4 years | 5 credits of English Composition
with minimum GPA of 2.0 |
|---|
| Mathematics | 3 years - completion of Intermediate Algebra | Completion of Intermediate Algebra with minimum GPA of 2.0 |
|---|
| Social Science | 3 years | 15 credits |
|---|
| Foreign Language | 2 years of the same language | 10 credits of same language or
through 102 level with passing grade |
|---|
| Science | 2 years | 10 credits |
|---|
| Art | 0.5 years | 2 credits |
|---|
College minimum cumulative GPA = 2.0
How to Complete the Core Subject Requirements
English
Through high school course work...
4 Years of study are required, at least three of which must be in college-preparatory composition or literature.
- One of the four years may be satisfied by courses in drama as literature, public speaking, debate, journalistic writing, business English, or English as a Second Language (ESL).
- Courses that are generally not acceptable include those identified as remedial or applied (e.g., acting, basic English skills, developmental reading, library, newspaper staff, remedial English, review English, vocabulary, yearbook/annual).
Through college course work...
5 credits with gpa of 2.0 or higher. College course work must be at the 100 level or higher. For the composition/literature component, generally any course with an English or Writing prefix is acceptable.
- Courses such as developmental or speed reading, vocabulary, or remedial English are not acceptable.
Mathematics
Through high school course work...
3 Years of study are required, at least at the level of algebra, geometry, and second-year algebra.
- An algebra course completed in the last year of junior high school may partially satisfy the requirement if the second-year algebra is completed in secondary school.
- Arithmetic, pre-algebra, business math, and statistics will not count toward the requirement.
Through college course work...
If your high school preparation in mathematics was insufficient, you must complete one of the courses listed below:
- A course in intermediate algebra - At UW Extension, as well as at many community colleges in Washington, MATH 098 is the necessary course. The course must be completed with a grade of 'C' (2.0) or better, even though it does not transfer to the UW as college credit and the grade earned in the course is not used in computing the transfer GPA.
- MATH 104 (Trigonometry) or its equivalent - The course must be completed with a grade of 'C' (2.0) or better.
- MATH 107 (Mathematics: A Practical Art) or its equivalent - The course must be completed with a grade of 'C' (2.0) or better.
Mathematics courses with intermediate algebra as a prerequisite (except statistics courses) - This includes any higher-level math courses such as elementary functions, calculus, and beyond.
Social Science
Through high school course work...
3 Years of study are required in history or in any of the social sciences, e.g., anthropology, contemporary world problems, economics, geography, government, political science, psychology, sociology.
Credit for religion courses, consumer economics, student government, or community service will not count towards the requirement.
Through college course work...
15 credits. Courses in the social sciences-e.g., anthropology, economics, ethnic studies, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology-will count toward the requirement.
Foreign language
Through high school course work...
2 Years of study are required. The two years must be completed in the same language.
- The foreign language requirement will be considered satisfied for applicants who complete their education through the seventh grade in school(s) a) where English was not the language of instruction and b) in countries other than Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S.
- International applicants who entered the U.S. education system prior to the 8th grade must satisfy the foreign language requirement.
Any natural language that has been formally studied may be used to satisfy this requirement, including American Sign Language (ASL, the language of the deaf community), and languages no longer spoken, such as Latin and ancient Greek. However, neither computer ‘languages' nor forms of deaf signing aside from ASL are acceptable.
A foreign language course taken in the eighth grade may satisfy one year of the requirement if the second-year course is completed in high school.
Through college course work...
10 college credits of a single language or through 102 level with a passing grade. For purposes of admission, each quarter of language in college is considered equivalent to one year in high school. Applicants who have never studied a foreign language will need to complete ten quarter credits of a single foreign language. However, an applicant who studied French for one year in high school needs to complete only the second quarter (e.g., FREN 102) or the second semester of a first-year language sequence. Of course, you may prefer to begin with 101 to refresh your memory.
Science
Through high school course work...
2 Years of science are required.
- Applicants must complete one full year- both semesters in the same field-of the basic principles of biology, chemistry, or physics, with a laboratory experience. The second year of science may be completed in any course that satisfies your high school's graduation requirement in science. Two years of agricultural science are equivalent to one year of science.
Through college course work...
10 credits. College science courses with a lab will count toward the laboratory science portion of the requirement. Any course in astronomy, atmospheric science, biological structure, biology, botany, chemistry, environmental science (but not environmental studies), genetics, geology, oceanography, physical anthropology, physical geography, physics, or zoology will count toward the second-year requirement, as will introductory courses in biological or physical science.
Art
Through high school course work...
0.5 year or one trimester of study is required in the fine, visual, or performing arts, to be chosen from art appreciation, band, ceramics, choir, dance, dramatic performance and production, drawing, fiber arts, graphic arts, metal design, music appreciation, music theory, orchestra, painting, photography, print making, or sculpture.
Courses generally not acceptable include architecture, color guard, creative writing, drafting, drill team, fashion design, foreign languages, interior design, sewing, speech, web design or graphics, woodworking, and yearbook.
Through college course work...
2 credits.Courses chosen from any of the following subjects will satisfy the requirement:
- Art, art history, cinema/filmmaking, dance, music, or photography
- Any course in drama except drama as literature courses. Courses in architecture are generally not acceptable, except for those in architectural history.