All applicants must complete a minimum level of preparation in six subject areas. This requirement ensures that students entering the University have an appreciation for the liberal arts and are adequately prepared to succeed in college.
Almost all applicants will have satisfied these requirements through high school course work, which is generally defined as that completed in grades 9-12. However, there are several ways to satisfy core requirements at the college level. In general, five quarter credits (or three semester credits) at the college level equals one year of high-school study. If you completed a portion of the core requirements in high school, you can pick up in college where you left off in high school. For example, if you completed three years of English in high school, you can use one college English composition or literature course to bring your total to four years.
If taken in high school:
4 years of study are required, at least three of which must be in college-preparatory composition or literature.
NOTE: English courses are considered equivalent to ESL unless taken in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the U.S.
If made up through college course work:*
College course work must be at the 100 level or higher. For the composition/literature component, generally any course with an English or Writing is prefix acceptable.
NOTE: English courses are considered equivalent to ESL unless taken in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the U.S.
If taken in high school:
3 years of study are required, at least at the level of algebra, geometry, and second-year algebra.
If made up through college course work:*
If your high school preparation in mathematics was insufficient, you must complete one of the courses listed below:
If taken in high school:
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).
If made up through college course work:
*Courses in the social sciences-e.g., anthropology, economics, ethnic studies, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology-will count toward the requirement.
If taken in high school:
2 years of study 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 principles of technology course taught in Washington state high schools may also satisfy the laboratory science requirement. The second year of science may be completed in any course that satisfies your high school's graduation requirement in science.
If made up through college course work:
*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.
If taken in high school:
2 years of study are required. The two years must be completed in the same language.
Any natural language that has been formally studied may be used to satisfy this requirement, including American Sign Language (AMESLAN, 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 AMESLAN 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
If made up through college course work:
*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 5 quarter credits (e.g., FREN 102) or the second 3 semester credits of a first-year language sequence. Of course, you may prefer to begin with 101 to refresh your memory.
If taken in high school:
1/2 (one-half) 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, dramatics 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, & yearbook
If made up through college course work:*
Two quarter credits (or 2 semester credits) chosen from any of the following subjects will satisfy the requirement:
Courses in architecture are generally not acceptable, except for those in architectural history.
If taken in high school:
1/2 (one half) year of study is required. Academic electives are courses in any of the six subject areas (defined above) beyond the minimum number of years specified above.
If made up through college course work:
*Three quarter credits (2 semester credits) chosen from the six subject areas described above count toward this requirement.
*In general, five quarter credits (or three semester credits) in a college-level course equal one year of high school study. If you completed a portion of the core requirements via high school course work, you can complete the balance of the requirement via college course work. A college course may be used to satisfy both an admission core requirement and a UWB graduation requirement.
In general, you must attain at minimum a passing grade (including 'D') to satisfy a core subject requirement. Also acceptable is a grade of 'Pass' in a course taken on a 'Pass/Not Pass' basis. However, if you are completing core subjects through college course work you are strongly encouraged to choose a letter or numerical grade, because you may later want to apply core courses towards requirements for your major or University or college graduation requirements, for which grading restrictions pertain.
Applicants using a college course to satisfy the mathematics requirement, must complete one of the courses listed below:
