Apply to the Economics Major

Updates & Announcements

Winter 2025 Admission Cycle (for 2025 Spring Quarter Admission to ECON) Updates:

The departmental application and RTW exam registration for Winter 2025 are not yet open. If you would like to be notified via email when application cycle updates are available, sign up via Microsoft Forms.

Have questions about the application process? Consider attending a workshop/info session! Winter quarter sessions will be held via Zoom. If you plan to attend a session, please RSVP via Microsoft Forms. Registration is not required, but is appreciated so we can best plan to support each event.

December 11, 3-4 pm
December 13, 11am-12pm
January 6, 3-3:30 pm (RTW info only)
January 7, 11am-12pm
January 15, 3-3:30pm (personal statement/application process info only)

Application Requirements

The following materials and criteria are required for a complete application to the Department of Economics:

Admission to the University of Washington
- Eligible applicants must be accepted and be currently-enrolled UW students with 45 credits completed. For more information about admission to the UW as a first-year student or transfer student, see here.
- Prospective Transfer Students: Please see our website detailing the Direct-to-Major Transfer Admission Pathway. Keep in mind that a numerical grade in each prerequisite course is required before applying to the Economics major. In addition, general resources regarding transferring to the UW can be found at the university's Transfer Planning Resources page.
Completion of the Prerequisite Courses
- Please check the prerequisite course requirements for each major:
  - Bachelor of Arts
  - Bachelor of Science
- These courses must be completed with a standard/numerical grade. Credits earned through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Advanced Level (A-Level) exam scores are acceptable.
- Prerequisite courses may not be in-progress. Courses must be completed before applying.
- Each course may only be repeated one time each. Applicants may enter the higher of the two grades earned in a repeated course for consideration.
- "Extraordinary Circumstances Quarters" Note: As UW students have been uniquely impacted by the current global pandemic, certain academic quarters have been deemed “Extraordinary Circumstances Quarters” by the Office of the University Registrar. As a result, UW students have the option to change their original/numerical grade to the “S/NS Grading Option” for these quarters, and “S” grade designations can be counted toward degree requirements. Applicants to the Department of Economics may enter-in “S” as their grade for the “prerequisite” courses, when prompted on the application form. For details on this updated policy, see here.
A completed Undergraduate Program Application
- Incomplete forms will not be considered.
- Link to Application
Updated UW Transcript
- Unofficial Transcripts may be saved as a PDF from the Academics tab of your MyUW. (See an example!)
- Official Transcripts are not required.
- Cumulative UW GPA must be above 2.5 to be eligible for application
- If you need additional help accessing your UW Unofficial Transcript, click here for detailed instructions.
Transcripts from Transfer Institutions/Colleges/Universities (for Transfer & Running Start Students)
- Please include a transcript from your other institution(s) in PDF format. Unofficial Transcripts are acceptable. Official transcripts are not required.
Personal Statement
- See the personal statement prompt below.
Completion of the ECON Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, & Writing Skills Exam (RTW Exam).
- Please see RTW Exam website for details.
- We advise students to take the RTW in the same admission cycle that they are applying.
- Students applying to switch from the Bachelor of Arts to the Bachelor of Science do not need to retake the RTW, and may have their previous RTW score considered, if preferred.
- RTW scores will be reported directly to the Department of Economics. Students do not need to supply their RTW score on their applications.
- Students receiving scores below 3 will not be admitted except in very rare/unique situations.
Academic Course Planning Worksheet or Printer-Friendly Version of MyPlan
- For those planning to pursue a double major or double degree, please submit a PDF of your MyPlan, showing your quarterly plans from the quarter you are applying through graduation as accurately as possible. We understand that plans are not permanent and can change, but we want all applicants to be well-aware of their academic plans, especially in regard to the UW's Satisfactory Progress Policies.
- See here for instructions on how to create a PDF of your MyPlan.

When to Apply?

Admission Cycle	Deadline	For admission to ECON starting...
Autumn	2nd Friday, Autumn Quarter	Subsequent Winter Quarter
Winter	2nd Friday, Winter Quarter	Subsequent Spring Quarter
Spring	2nd Friday, Spring Quarter	Subsequent Summer or Autumn Quarter
There is NO Summer Admission Cycle available during the Summer Quarter.

Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. on the second Friday of the quarter.

Applicants will be notified of their results by the end of the 6th week of that quarter/cycle, in time to register for the subsequent quarter.

You may refer to the UW Academic Calendar to identify when each quarter begins and when each "Second Friday" application deadline will be.

Admissions: By the Numbers

The Department of Economics is a capacity-constrained major. Meeting the basic criteria does not guarantee admission to the major.

Admission Cycle	Number of Applications Received	Number of Admitted Applicants	Percentage of Applicants Admitted	Average Prerequisite* GPA for Admits	Average Overall GPA** for Admits	Average RTW Score for Admits (1-6 scale)
Autumn 2022	149	105	70%	3.64	3.71	3.40
Winter 2023	126	94	75%	3.60	3.68	2.81
Spring 2023	132	97	73%	3.56	3.68	3.04
Autumn 2023	146	106	73%	3.60	3.68	3.25
Winter 2024	126	99	79%	3.54	3.65	3.38
Spring 2024	147	116	79%	3.58	3.67	3.24
Autumn 2024	116	93	80%	3.58	3.61	3.57

(These GPAs are averages, not cutoffs; roughly half of the students accepted to the major in Autumn 2024, for example, had prerequisite and overall GPAs lower than 3.58 and 3.61, respectively. The admissions considerations are holistic. Please be aware that the admissions committee considers many factors when making its decisions, including cumulative GPA, prerequisite GPA, RTW score, the overall strength of the applicant’s academic background/transcript, and the quality of the applicant’s personal statement.)

*Prerequisite coursework included in this average are ECON 200, ECON 201, Statistics, and MATH 124 coursework. English Composition is omitted from this average.

**Average Overall GPA included in this average is a combined calculation of student applicants' UW GPA and any GPAs from transferred coursework.

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’ Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science program? 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 the causes for the recent “extraordinary circumstances” quarters (Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Autumn 2020, & Winter 2021) 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?

Maximum parameters:

1 single-sided page
typed & double-spaced
12pt. Times New Roman font
0.5” margins

See an example!

There is no word limit, but the above parameters are required. Applicants will be prompted to upload a PDF file of their Personal Statement in the Undergraduate Application Form.

The Personal Statement is an important piece of your application. Please be sure to address the prompt(s), and adhere to the parameters.

UW has plenty of resources that can help you write a great personal statement:

The Holistic Review (i.e. How will my application be considered?)

In reviewing each application, a broad range of factors are taken into consideration. All aspects of the application are highly-considered -- Prerequisite course grades, overall academic performance, RTW exam results, and the personal statement. 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.

For students with credits and transcripts from other institutions, it's important for us to see a student's progress through each academic term. This is why we request for each applicant to submit a transcript for each college-level institution attended. We are aware that a "transfer credits summary" typically appears on your UW transcript. However, this does not provide us with complete information about the transfer courses taken.

This holistic approach in reviewing applications to the Department of Economics allows our program to focus beyond just a few factors, and consider the applicant as a whole.

Tutoring Resources

There are a number a tutoring resources available at the UW for courses such as ECON 200, ECON 201, introductory statistics and calculus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have some questions? Please be sure to check out Frequently Asked Questions page.

Information Sessions

Interested students are also highly-encouraged to attend a Prospective Student Information Session for an in-depth look at the application & admissions process.

The University of Washington, as a standing policy, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or Vietnam era veteran. Any discriminatory action can be a cause for disciplinary action. This policy applies to all University programs and facilities including, but not limited to, admissions, educational programs, and employment. Such discrimination is prohibited by Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Age discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1978, Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, other federal and state statutes and regulations, and university policy. Inquiries regarding the application of these laws and regulations to the University may be directed to the University’s Equal Employment Officer; to the director; Seattle Regional Office, Office for Civil Rights, US. Department of Education; or to the director, Seattle Area Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Department of Labor.

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