Standard Admission

Current UW-Seattle students should submit the Foster Application before the deadline below.

All other applicants must submit two applications: one to Foster and one to the UW Office of Admissions. Check the UW Admissions website for application deadlines and requirements.

UW-Bothell and UW-Tacoma students are considered transfer applicants. Please see the “Transfer & Running Start Freshman Applicants” section below.

Please note that UW Admissions operates on a different timeline than Foster.

To be eligible to apply to the Foster School of Business, a student must, at the time of application, have:

• • a total of at least 60 numerically graded college credits from UW and/or other accredited colleges and universities. (Examples of credits that are not numerically graded include AP, IB, and A-Level credits)

• • a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA for all college credits, including transfer credits. Because UW does not allow forgiveness for repeated courses, GPAs are recalculated with repeated courses included.

• • a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA for all of the following:
    • all business course credits, including transfer credits
    • all UW credits
    • all UW business course (prefix courses include: ACCTG, BA, BCMU, MGMT, MKTG, QMETH, etc.) credits
  • Take the Writing Skills Assessment (WSA) prior to the application deadline.
    • Minimum score to have application considered: 3
    • Highest valid score is automatically paired to your application.

• • Completed the required prerequisite courses.

Reporting your Grade Point Average
Convert letter grades to numeric grades using the following chart (For AP, A-Level, or IB courses, do not submit a grade):

COVID-19 Notice / S Grades

Due to the impact on COVID-19 on higher education institutions, UW has designated the following Extraordinary Circumstances Quarters (ECQ): Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Autumn 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, and Winter 2022.

The Foster School of Business has adapted its undergraduate admissions policy for pre-application and pre-admission courses where an S grade was earned at the University of Washington during an EQC. The list of pre-application and pre-admission courses is available in the “Prerequisite Courses & Admission Criteria” dropdown section below.

Pre-application courses: At least two (2) of your pre-application courses must have a numerical grade (4.0 scale). Other pre-application courses that were taken during an ECQ with S grades will not negatively affect an applicant’s admission to Foster.

Pre-admission courses: Pre-admission courses that were taken during an ECQ with S grades are acceptable for admission to Foster. Any pre-admission courses that are taken during an ECQ with S grades will not negatively affect an applicant’s admission to Foster.

Non-ECQ quarters: NS grades will not be sufficient for admission to Foster. S grades from non-ECQ quarters will not be accepted for pre-application, pre-admission or BA degree requirements.

Transfer students who have questions about a course’s grade during a similar designation at their institution should contact [email protected].

If you have any other questions, please email [email protected].

To create your online application profile, click the “Apply to the Undergraduate Program” button at the bottom of this page.

Current UW-Seattle, UW-Bothell, UW-Tacoma students, and Returning Applicants: Log in with your UW NetID authentication.

All other applicants must submit two applications: one to Foster and one to the UW Office of Admissions. Check the UW Admissions website for application deadlines and requirements. If you do not already have a UW NetID, you will be able to create one after completing your UW-Seattle Admissions application.

UW-Bothell and UW-Tacoma students are considered transfer applicants. Transfer and Running Start applicants must submit two applications. Please see the “Transfer & Running Start Freshman Applicants” section below for more info.

*You will receive communication via the UW email system. Make sure emails from [email protected] will not get sent to your spam/junkmail folder.

Completion Deadlines for Prerequisite Courses

The chart below presents a quick picture of the courses required before application and, if admitted, those required before entering the program. Course numbers are for courses offered at UW Seattle, but equivalent courses will be considered.

Pre-application courses must be completed and graded before the application deadline. (April 5 for autumn/summer or October 5 for winter.)

Pre-admission courses can be in progress while you’re applying, but must be completed by the last day of spring quarter for autumn admission and by the last day of the autumn quarter for winter admission.

1. We will also accept MATH 125, MATH 126, MATH 134, or Q SCI 291 for calculus.
2. We will accept any UW designated “C” course. The UW does not accept AP credit to satisfy the English Composition requirement, even if your transfer institution did.
3. If transferring from a college where the fundamentals of accounting are taught in a 3-part series, you must complete the first two courses before the application deadline and the third course by the pre-admission deadline.
4. Applicants may take either micro- or macroeconomics before applying, but they must complete both by the pre-admission deadline.
5. If you attend a school where an equivalent course is not taught, contact our office for advice.
6. We will also accept STAT 311, STAT 390, PSYCH 317 & PSYCH 318, Q SCI 381, MATH 390, IND E 315. Statistics courses from other institutions with a pre-calculus pre-requisite will be evaluated on a case by case basis at the time of application.
   Note: STAT 220 (or other previously accepted statistics course that does not meet the above requirements) no longer accepted for admission unless course was completed prior to winter 2018. Transfer applicants please see the “Notes for Transfer and Freshman Applicants” section below.

Application Review Criteria

Our goal is to admit a student body that is diverse, contains multiple perspectives and experiences, and is academically rigorous. Consideration is given to such factors as cultural experiences, significantly higher recent grades, exceptional extracurricular activities or leadership experience and the effect of personal disadvantage on earlier education.

Each year, approximately 30-50% of applicants—between 550 and 650—are admitted. For all applicants, index scores are created from three admissions factors: Combined GPA, Pre-application GPA, and Writing Skills Assessment. These factors are standardized and assigned the following weights.

We review all applicants together (current and returning UW, transfer, international transfer, and running start) and only use current standing for post-admission demographic data.

All standard admissions applicants to the Foster School must take the Writing Skills Assessment (WSA) administered through the Foster School.

In the assessment session, students are given 90 minutes to plan and respond to two prompts. One prompt is based on a short workplace scenario (the persuasion task) and one is based on an assertion (the position task). The WSA must be completed prior to the application deadline and we only allow one assessment per cycle.

A University of Washington NetID is required to register for the WSA. You should only have a single UW NetID.

If you don’t already have a UW NetID and…

• You’re taking the WSA soon (one quarter or less before applying to Foster): You will be able to create a NetID after completing your UW-Seattle Admissions application.
• You’re taking the WSA early (multiple quarters before applying to UW/Foster): You can request a sponsored NetID to take the assessment. The same NetID will be used for your UW-Seattle Admissions application.

Register for the WSA
Information about the WSA

Your personal statement provides you the opportunity to discuss aspects of your life that may not be apparent in the rest of your application materials. You’ll have three boxes and space for 6,000 total characters, including spaces. A common misconception is that you must answer all three prompts. You are not required to answer all prompts; you may choose to focus on the prompts you have the most to talk about or you could choose to answer all three prompts. The most important thing to understand about the personal statement prompts is that they cannot hurt you in any way, they can only help.

Prompt Tips:

• Be specific; when providing examples of when, how long, and what you learned/gained from your experience.
• Be concise, direct and truthful.
• Avoid broad statements such as “I’ve always wanted to attend the Foster School because I want a business degree.” It is a legitimate comment but does not tell us anything distinctive about you.
• When describing your experiences, don’t assume the reader has had your same experiences or shares your perspective. Keep in mind that what you write in the application is used for admission purposes only.
• Be thoughtful about your response.
• Give yourself ample time to write and rewrite your responses. Ensure you are properly using the word limit to effectively express what you are trying to convey.
• It is not necessary to have two spaces after each period, since extra spacing counts towards your allotted word count. Copying and pasting from a Word document can detract from your total word count. We recommend writing directly into the application itself, however it is wise to save a copy of each essay before hitting submit.

Essay 1:
The Foster School’s goal is to admit students who are prepared to be academically successful. We understand that students sometimes face challenges in achieving their academic goals. Please describe any extenuating circumstances that have impacted your higher education experience.

• Please only address time periods in which you received college credit – this may include times in which you received college credit while in high school (i.e., dual enrollment, running start).
• This is your opportunity to explain why you didn’t do well in a particular class or over a particular period of time.
• Examples could include but are not limited to being a first generation student*, health issues, financial challenges, cultural barriers, and/or community resistance to education.

Essay 2:
The Purpose of the Foster School is to develop leaders who strive to better humanity through business. How do you plan to leverage your experiences to advance Foster’s Purpose?

• Include how your own cultural awareness has shaped your desire to have an impact as a future business leader.
• Please focus on your own experiences and perspective.

Essay 3:
Please describe any significant additional responsibilities you have had (or continue to have) outside the classroom. Explain what you learned about yourself as a result of the responsibilities.

• Please do not use examples from high school unless you have completed high school within the past 18 months or your responsibilities from high school continue today.
• Significant additional responsibilities might include, but are not limited to: employment, substantial volunteer roles, community engagement, student organization leadership, significant family responsibilities.

• You must submit a separate unofficial transcript from each college-level institution; even if you took college-level courses in high school and/or the courses appear on your UW transcript.
• If you have had grade changes, they must be reflected on the transcripts you submit with your application. We will not accept grade changes after the application deadline.
• In order for transfer credits to be added to your UW record, you must also request official transcripts be sent to the Office of Admissions.

Required Format for All Transcripts
The online application will require that you submit PDF copies of your unofficial transcripts from all collegiate institutions you have attended. In most cases, the easiest way to access a PDF version is to print to PDF. In some cases, you may need to get hard copies and scan them as a PDF. This may take extra time. So again, don’t wait until the last minute. Transfer Students: Please wait to submit your transcripts until grades for winter (for April 5 deadline) or spring/ summer (for October 5 deadline) are posted, unless grades post after the deadline

The following information must be on all transcripts:

• Full name of applicant (former names are acceptable if indicated on application)
• Name of degree-granting institution
• Dates of enrollment
• Names of individual courses
• Grades, marks, or ratings of individual courses
• International transcripts must include official English translations
• Both marks sheets and degree statements are required, if applicable

Please note: While official transcripts sent directly from institutions to the Office of Admission are required for the general admissions application, unofficial copies are still required for the Foster application.

Applicants who have over 150 quarter credits, are planning to pursue a double degree, or Certificate of International Studies in Business (CISB) are required to submit a degree plan along with the application. The degree plan the degree planning sheet is a fillable PDF available to download below. Once completed, you will upload the degree plan directly to your application.

For those planning on a double degree, you must have your degree plan signed by the departmental adviser in the second major. The signature from the Foster School of Business adviser is not required.

Download degree plan here.

Admission to the Foster School is contingent upon admission to the UW. We recommend applying to the UW and the Foster School simultaneously. Check the UW Admissions website for application deadlines, requirements, and instructions. Please note that UW Admissions operates on a different timeline than Foster:

Application Deadlines

*Students admitted for the autumn quarter have the option to enroll for summer quarter.

**Winter quarter is open to U.S. transfer students only. International transfer applicants (those who require an F-1 visa to study in the United States) can only apply to the UW for summer/autumn quarter enrollment.

Online Application & WSA Access

Read the “Apply Online” and “Writing Skills Assessment (WSA)” sections above for more information about registering with your UW NetID, starting your applications, and preparing for the WSA.

Foster Prerequisite Requirements

• Accounting: If transferring from a college where the fundamentals of accounting are taught in a 3-part series, you must complete the first two courses before the application deadline and the third course by the pre-admission deadline.
• English Composition: The UW does not accept AP credit to satisfy the English Composition requirement, even if your transfer institution did. And, for international applicants, the 3-5 credit course must be completed in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States, or taken at an international school where English is the language of instruction.
• Statistics: Only QMETH 201 or STAT 311 equivalents will be accepted. STAT 220 equivalents will no longer be accepted for admission after the winter 2020 admission cycle (i.e. after completion of autumn quarter 2019). If you are at a college outside of Washington State and wish to have your course evaluated prior to applying to Foster, please submit syllabi to the Foster School early.
• Law: If you attend a school where an equivalent course to MGMT 200 is not taught, contact our office for advice. Please note, our MGMT 200 course covers the American legal system and most international law courses are not equivalent.

Course Reporting

You will need to provide PDF copies of syllabi or proof of AP/IB/A-Level scores for ALL pre-admission and pre-application coursework, unless the course appears on the UW/Community College Transfer Equivalency Guide or you have already had the course evaluated by UW and it appears on your UW transcript as the appropriate course.

• AP/IB/A-Level Scores: If your AP/IB/A-Level courses are not articulated on your UW transcript, you must upload your AP/IB/A-Level scores for review. Scores must contain your legal name.
• Syllabi: Submitted syllabi must include the name of the institution, weekly/daily breakdown of topics covered, and list of all course materials (e.g. textbooks and course readers) used. Failure to submit a complete and accurate syllabus may result in denial of admission to the Foster School of Business.

Credit Restrictions and UW Residence Requirement

We only count credits from non-UW institutions that are transferable to UW. If you have questions, please consult with an academic adviser at the Foster School.

The UW Foster School of Business honors the Associate Degree Agreement for those students who have an approved associate degree from a Washington community college.

Courses taught at the freshman and sophomore levels at other colleges usually cannot be used to satisfy the School’s upper-division business requirements for graduation.

A transfer student is allowed a maximum of 90 transferable community college credit hours toward the 180 credits needed for the UW bachelor’s degree. Up to 90 credit hours of correspondence or other extension coursework may also apply to the bachelor’s degree.

• Every student must complete 45 of the final 60 credit hours in residence at the UW. To meet the upper-division requirement for a BABA, a student must complete six of the nine upper-division core classes (including a capstone course), and 40 of the 53 required upper-division business credit hours at UW Seattle.
• Students who have taken more than three of the nine upper-division core business courses at another institution, including UW Bothell and UW Tacoma, are generally not admitted to the UW Foster School of Business. Contact a business adviser if you have questions.

Visit the Transfer Student Information and Resources page for more about transferring, applying to Foster, resources specifically for transfer students, and how to connect with the Foster community.

Useful Tools

• UW Transfer Equivalency Guide: Find out how courses taken at Washington state community or technical colleges will transfer to the UW.
• MyPlan: Washington Community College students can use MyPlan to create and manage your academic plan. After signing into MyPlan, use your community college student ID number and date of birth to pull your community college courses into MyPlan.
• UW Transfer Credit Policies: For courses offered by any other institution, read UW’s transfer credit policies.