How to apply

Admission to the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences depends on your application type:

Graduate students should refer to the graduate admissions page.


Pre-major student applicants

If you are currently enrolled at the University of Washington Bothell as a Pre-major student, you can submit the IAS major Declaration Form to enter into any IAS major. Some majors are open admission majors and have no specific prerequisite courses. Some majors are minimum requirement majors and will require prerequisite courses with at least a 2.0 grade. Check with your Pre-Major Academic Advisor to determine steps needed to declare an IAS Major.

Once ready to submit a declaration form follow this link to the IAS Major Declaration Form.

If you are currently a student in the School of IAS or another UW Bothell School and would like to add a second (or third) major in the School of IAS. Please follow this link to the  IAS Major Declaration Form.


First-year student applicants

Apply as a First-year student if any of the following statements describe you:

  • I plan to enter UW Bothell in the summer or fall after graduating from high school.
  • I have earned college credits during my time in high school (ex: Running Start), and I plan to enter UW Bothell right after graduating from high school. Note: It does not matter how many college credits you have earned or will earn.
  • I have never attended college since leaving high school, regardless of my age or whether I ever graduated from high school.
  • You should apply as a Transfer Student only if you have earned college credits after the summer you graduated from high school.

How to apply

Please visit the UW Bothell Admission Office webpage to apply to the University of Washington Bothell as a First-year student. UW Bothell Admission Application


Transfer student applicants

You are considered a transfer applicant if you have completed (or will complete) college coursework from a regionally accredited college or university following the summer after high school graduation, but have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree.

How to apply

If you are currently enrolled or have previously been enrolled at a community college or university, and are not currently taking courses from UW Bothell, please review the transfer student admissions page and admissions planning worksheets.

If you have questions about IAS majors, major requirements, admission process and application status, please email the Admissions advisors.


Returning student applicants

If you are an IAS student and have not been enrolled for more than one quarter (excluding summer quarter), then you must re-apply to the IAS major using the returning student application. If you have questions about registration and graduation dates, please email IAS academic advisors to check your degree progress. For IAS major admission requirements and prerequisites review the major planning worksheets.

How to apply


Tips for completing your IAS major application

  • Don’t declare for more than one IAS major. If you declare more than one major and are admissible to both, you will only be admitted to the first major you declared. If you want to add a second major, you can do so the following quarter once your new major has become official by submitting the declaration form again.
  • Only use your UW email to sign into the application.
  • Run your degree audit for the major you are applying for before starting your application. Reference your audit when completing the application. This is very important for the minimum requirement majors.
  • S/NS Grades during COVID-19: For any quarter designated as having extenuating circumstances, IAS will consider a S (satisfactory) grade as fulfilling admission requirements, meaning a S grade will not negatively impact your application to the School of IAS. An earned S grade will not be compared against a numeric grade earned by another applicant.
  • If you have any technical issues with the application please contact the IAS Academic Operations Team via email at IASAPPLY@uw.edu.

Frequently asked questions about IAS admissions

I am a Pre-Major student admitted to the IAS major, what is the next step?

After you have been admitted to an IAS major there are a few things you should do:

  • Complete the online New Student Orientation. This orientation is located on Canvas and the link to access it will be included in your acceptance letter. If you have any issues accessing the link after you have been admitted email the IAS advisors.
  • Register for BIS 300. IAS requires that all majors complete BIS 300 in their first quarter of admission.

I am a transfer student admitted to the IAS program, what is the next step? And when can I register?

To be able to register, you must confirm your enrollment, verify Measles Immunization and attend a new student orientation. Then, you should be able to register the orientation. Newly admitted IAS students may register during Registration Period 2. Please visit the following pages for detailed information:

I was dropped for low scholarship. How do I apply to be reinstated to IAS?

Students who have been dropped for low scholarship can apply to be reinstated to IAS. To begin this process, email the IAS advisors, and they will provide you with the prompt for your Reinstatement Letter as well as the required Reinstatement Form. Once those have been submitted, the IAS Admissions Committee will review those documents and issue a reinstatement decision.

I am interested in applying for Summer quarter. Is that a possibility?

Due to the limited number of course offerings, IAS does not admit new students for Summer quarter.