Direct-to-Major Transfer Admission Pathway
Students who currently attend another college or university, and who plan to apply to transfer to the University of Washington to pursue Economics as their major staring in the 2025 Autumn Quarter can be considered through the direct-to-major (i.e., transfer-direct) admissions pathway. Prospective transfer students will be eligible to apply to the UW and the Department of Economics at the same time. When submitting the transfer application to the UW, students will be asked about their intended major as part of the application process. Applicants will be prompted to select an intended major -- either the Economics Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) -- and then will complete an application for consideration to the Department of Economics.
Admission to both the BA and BS majors in Economics is capacity-constrained based on the following criteria:
- Grades earned in each Bachelor of Arts -or- Bachelor of Science prerequisite course
- Prospective transfer students will need to submit syllabi for each prerequisite course taken at their current non-UW institution so equivalency to UW courses can be assessed
- Transfer direct applications are still required to meet all department prerequisites. If transfer credits do not satisfy all requirements, the student will need to wait to apply as a UW student in a later quarter once the prerequisite coursework is completed.
- The RTW Exam
- Personal Statement
- Department of Economics Application (see below for link!)
-Our Application Requirements, including the application form and personal statement prompt can be found on our website.
-Meeting the criteria does not guarantee admission.
**Since equivalents to STAT 311 are uncommon in WA State community and technical colleges, it can sometimes be a challenge to take the course prior to applying to UW. At this time, we know that Shoreline Community College, North Seattle College, Seattle Central College, and South Seattle College all offer the equivalent of STAT 311, listed as MATH 211.
***English Composition courses must be taken at a U.S. institution. Courses taken in countries where the primary language spoken is not English will not satisfy this requirement, even if the course is taught in English.
Application and RTW Registration Forms
The deadline for Autumn 2025 admission consideration is Friday, April 11th, 2025. The RTW Assessment should also be completed in Spring 2025. The exam will be held online (synchronously) on Friday, April 4th at 4pm Pacific (Seattle) time.
Spring 2025 Direct Transfer Application (Autumn 2025 start at UW)
You must be signed in to a Google account to access the form, but it does not need to be a UW email.
Timeline for Autumn 2025 Direct-to-Major Admission Pathway
December 15, 2024 - UW Transfer Application opens
February 15, 2025 - UW Transfer Application deadline
April 4, 2025 - Take the Economics RTW
April 11, 2025 - Department of Economics Transfer-Direct Application deadline
Late April - Review of Department of Economics Transfer-Direct Application occurs
Early May - Department of Economics notifies UW Office of Admissions of Transfer-Direct Application decision
May 1 - June 30, 2025 - UW Office of Admissions notifies applicants of admission to both the UW and to the Department of Economics
Summer 2025 - New admits attend UW Advising & Orientation session and register for 2025 Autumn Quarter courses
General Transfer Admission Pathway
For students who are unable to meet the specific requirements for the Direct-to-Major Pathway, it is still possible to pursue Economics as a major, but only if offered admission to the UW. Prospective transfer students can follow the instructions and timeline for UW's general transfer admission process. When offered admission and enrolled at the UW, the student can work to complete any missing requirements, and then aim to apply to the Department of Economics through its general admission process for UW students.
A common scenario that leads to pursuing the General Transfer Admission Pathway: A student's current school does not offer an equivalent course to UW's ECON 200/ 201, STAT 311, MATH 124-126, and/or English Composition. This student can still pursue the UW's General Transfer Admission process, gain admission, enroll at the UW, and then plan to apply to the Department of Economics during a future cycle.
Applying to the University of Washington
The University of Washington Admissions website has answers to most questions about application to the university. When you fill out an application to UW you will be asked about your intended major as part of the application process. You should list Economics as your intended major, but keep in mind that you will be applying to the major separately, after starting at the University of Washington as a student. It is also a good idea to talk in your UW application essay about the topics and ideas you want to study at UW and particularly in the Economics major. The strongest applicants to the UW are those who not only show evidence of previous academic success, but those who have also made the case in their personal statement for their interest in specific academic fields of study offered by UW.
Transcripts are evaluated officially by the UW Admissions Office only when a student applies to the university. If you are transferring from a Washington State community or technical college, you can check how your classes transfer to UW by using the Admission Office’s Transfer Equivalency Guide.
Information Sessions
We generally host Prospective Student Information Sessions on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month from 3:00-4:00pm. These sessions are led by an adviser and we cover topics such as the difference between the BA and BS programs, application requirements, the RTW exam, our holistic review of applications, course planning, and any other questions you may have regarding our admissions process. These sessions coincide with UW's Transfer Thursday sessions.
In addition, we now offer application workshops and RTW workshops. The schedule for these can be found on our department calendar.