Admissions

Apply to the Economics Major

On This Page:
Updates & Announcements
Application Requirements
The Personal Statement
Application Review Criteria

Updates & Announcements

Autumn 2025 Admission Cycle (for 2026 Winter Quarter Admission) Updates:

Registration for the Autumn quarter RTW assessment is now closed. The Economics Major Application is open and will close at 11:59pm on Friday, October 3. Login with a UW email is required to access the form. Students will receive admissions decisions via email by October 29, in time for Winter quarter registration.

Info Sessions

Have questions about the Economics major application and/or RTW assessment? At each session, you will get a chance to hear from an advisor about the specifics of the process as well as ask your own questions.

September 24, 1:30 - 2:30 PM (Zoom link)
October 1, 1:30 - 2 PM (Zoom link)
(NOTE: Application preparation only takes place after RTW) 

Application Requirements

Applications are opened each Fall, Winter, and Spring quarter and will always be due at 11:59pm on the second Friday of the quarter. Applicants will be notified of their results by the end of Week 6, before registration opens for the following quarter.

To be considered for admission to the major, applicants must:

1. Be a currently-enrolled UW Seattle student with at least 45 college credits completed (includes AP/IB/transfer)
   * Prospective transfer students: Direct-to-major transfer applications are accepted in spring quarter only, for students who have applied to transfer to the UW for the following autumn quarter.
2. Complete all prerequisite courses. Credit from AP/IB/A-level exams or transfer credit is acceptable if equivalent to the appropriate UW course. Prerequisites may not be in-progress.
3. Complete the Department of Economics RTW Assessment in the same quarter they apply, unless re-applying with a score from a previous application cycle. Students may not take the RTW early for their first application.
4. Submit all required application materials as listed below

Prerequisite Courses

1. ECON 200 and ECON 201
2. MATH 124 (note: B.S. applicants must also have MATH 125 and MATH 126)
3. STAT 311
   • Accepted alternatives: Q SCI 381, STAT 340, STAT 341, STAT 390
   • PSYCH 318 or CSE 312 are accepted for double majors in Psychology or Computer Science
   • Not accepted: Q METH 201, STAT 220/221, STAT 290
4. Prerequisite courses must have a minimum 2.5 GPA, with no less than 2.0 in any course
   • AP/IB/A-Level credit is accepted; UW does not assign grades to these credits.
5. Prerequisite courses may be repeated once each and we will consider the higher of the two grades.

Required Materials for Application

1. Completed Economics Major Application Form, posted to our website each quarter
2. Current unofficial UW transcript (How to access unofficial transcript)
3. Unofficial transcripts for all transfer credits, including Running Start/dual enrollment courses. Transcripts are required even if the credit appears on your UW transcript.
4. Personal statement (see prompt below)
5. Double-Major & Double-Degree applicants: Please include a detailed course plan showing from the current quarter through graduation as accurately as possible.
   • Plans can and often do change, but we want all applicants to be aware of their academic plans, especially with regard to UW's Satisfactory Progress Policies.
   • Strongly recommended: Add planned courses to MyPlan, and see here for instructions on how to create a PDF of your plan to submit.
   • Course planning worksheets are also accepted and may be required by your current major

Applying to a Major Option

NEW for Autumn 2025! We are excited to launch four new Economics major options! If admitted to the general Economics BA or BS, students may declare an option of the same degree (BA or BS) without an additional application. For example, in order to declare Economics: Data Science, a student must be eligible for and admitted to the general Economics Bachelor of Science.

 Applicants may choose an option on the application form and, if admitted, we will declare that option as the student's new major.  Students may also declare an option any time after admission by contacting Economics advisors. See our Majors page for more information about ECON major options and requirements. 

The Personal Statement

Please submit a personal statement with your completed application. You may discuss some or all of the following that pertains to you:

• Why are you interested in applying to the Department of Economics? What are your personal, educational, and/or career goals and how do you expect to further those by studying economics?
  • Describe an experience where your background, identity, or interests have helped to shape your educational goals.
  • If you have faced a hardship, setback, or challenge, how did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? If these challenges impacted your ability to succeed, please briefly describe.
  • If you are pursuing a double major or double degree, why are both academic programs important to you?
  • If you have previously applied to this program, what has improved since your previous application?
• In other words: Tell us a little more about the reason(s) you decided to apply to Economics. What would you like to share that may not appear on your transcripts or test scores?

There is no word limit, but personal statements must be no longer than one double-spaced, 12pt font page with standard margins.

How Are Applications Reviewed?

We review all applications holistically, which means we consider a broad range of factors. No one element of the application is prioritized -- Prerequisite course grades, overall academic performance, RTW results, and the personal statement are all carefully reviewed. 

Each component of the application should complement each other, and showcase a student's interests and abilities toward studying economics as they earn their UW degree. For example, if a student mentions high enthusiasm in learning economics, then that enthusiasm should also be reflected in the student's grades in economics-related coursework, as well as their result on their RTW exam, etc.

While we consider all applications holistically, we know it can be helpful to have some facts and figures. The table below lists statistics for recent application cycles.  All averages listed are for students admitted to the major in that quarter. Please note that these are only averages; for example, approximately half of students admitted in Spring 2025 had an overall GPA below 3.63.