Transfer Student Admissions

Direct-to-Major Transfer Admission Pathway

Students applying to transfer to the UW for Autumn quarter start may submit an additional application to the Economics major and, if admitted, start at UW with the ECON major declared. During the application process, students are asked about their intended major. This does not constitute application to the major and is for information purposes only. This page has instructions about how to submit your Economics application.

Direct-to-Major applications are accepted in Spring quarter only, for students who have applied to start at the UW the following Autumn quarter.  This is because our Winter application closes well before the transfer application deadline. Additionally, the later application means students have longer to complete prerequisites and are notified of decisions from UW Admissions and Economics at the same time. Students admitted during the Spring start as Economics majors the following fall.

2026 Transfer Application Checklist

  • Submit your general UW transfer application by February 15.
  • Verify that you will have completed all prerequisite courses by the end of March 2026. If needed, submit prerequisite syllabi for review 
          Note: Syllabi can also be submitted on the application form, but still must be reviewed at some point unless exempted by Washington community college equivalency or AP/IB credit
  • Sign up for email notifications about the application process and informational updates
  • Mark deadlines on your calendar: The online RTW Assessment will be 4-5 PM (Seattle time) on Friday April 3, and the application form will close Friday April 10.
  • Attend a transfer admissions info session (OPTIONAL)
    • Wednesday, March 18, 4:30-5:30 PM (Zoom)
      Friday, March 20, 10-11AM (Zoom)
  • Contact ECON advising at econadv@uw.edu with any questions
               

Admission to both the BA and BS majors in Economics is capacity-constrained based on the following criteria: 

Prerequisite Note: Equivalents to STAT 311 are uncommon, so it can be challenging 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 offer an approved equivalent, MATH 211. 
       **Please note that MATH& 146 and BA 240 from WA community colleges do not meet this prerequisite.
       ** Non-WA Applicants: To be approved, a statistics course must have a significant computational/ programming element using R (preferred) or Python. Courses using only Excel, Stata, etc will not be approved.

 

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. If offered admission to UW, the student can work to complete any missing requirements and then apply to the Department of Economics through its general admission process for UW students.

For example, a common situation is that a student's current school does not offer an equivalent course to UW's ECON 200/ 201, STAT 311, or MATH 124-126. This student can still pursue the UW's General Transfer Admission process, enroll at the UW, and then plan to apply to the Department of Economics during a future cycle. 

The admission pathway a student takes (direct transfer or general admission) has no impact on how applications are reviewed.

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 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 assessment, 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.  

 

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