Full-time MBA Admissions

Create your online application profile on the UW Graduate Admissions website and follow the instructions. Select “Graduate” as your application type, and “Business Administration – Foster School of Business – Full-time MBA” as your graduate program.

You may save your information and return as often as you’d like until you submit your completed application. All aspects of your application, including the fulfillment of these requirements, are subject to verification.

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Two essays are required and must be uploaded to your online application. The first optional essay allows you to tell us more about yourself, or to explain an area of concern. The second optional essay allows you to share ways you have been involved with diversity, equity and inclusion in your professional or personal life, or within your community.

Essay 1: Post-MBA Plans (750 words maximum)
Tell us your ideas about what lies ahead in your career. What are the gaps or deficiencies currently preventing you from pursuing these potential career paths? How do you plan to use your time in the Foster MBA program to fill these gaps and advance your career?

Essay 2: Inspiring Experience Essay (500 words maximum)
Tell us about an experience that inspired or confirmed your decision to pursue the MBA.

Essay 3: Optional essay (500 words maximum)
Include this essay if you have additional information you believe would be helpful to the admissions committee in considering your application.

Essay 4: Optional Diversity, Equity & Inclusion essay (500 words maximum)
At the Foster School of Business, we embrace diversity as one of the foundations of both successful business strategy and a world-class educational experience. We share the University’s dedication to promoting the understanding and appreciation of human differences, and the constructive expression of ideas. We welcome you to share some of the ways you have practiced inclusion, promoted equity or supported the advancement of underrepresented groups.

*No separate scholarship application is required to be considered for Full-time MBA merit scholarships. However, we recommend that if you would like to be considered for the ROMBA Fellowship or Forté Fellowship, you indicate your qualifications and interest in these scholarships through this essay question.

Outline your work experience in reverse chronological order. Be sure to include company name, a brief description of the organization (or a web address), your job title, and detailed information about your responsibilities and achievements.

Feel free to use up to three pages for your resume, and include all significant work experience since graduating from high school. Include educational background as well as your activities and community involvement.

Two recommendation letters are required; however, you are permitted to submit up to three. Preferably, recommendations should be provided by professional contacts rather than academic or personal contacts. Your recommendations should be submitted by the application deadline for the round you are applying to. You may designate your recommenders at any time after starting you application. Designate your recommenders in your online application profile, recommenders will receive an email directing them to the online recommendation form.

Occasionally re-applicants choose to re-use letters of recommendation from a previous application. You should first ensure the prior recommendations are the most accurate and current letters of recommendation that you want included in your new application before proceeding. Please visit our FAQ for instructions on how to re-use letters of recommendation.

All MBA applicants are encouraged to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Applicants also have the option to apply with no test score. For Autumn 2023 entry, applicants can apply “Test Optional” to the Full-time MBA Program without a standardized test score.

Applying with a GMAT or GRE Score

For the GMAT and GRE, all sub-scores including the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) score are evaluated. Scores should indicate a strong aptitude for business studies. You can review score averages on our Class Profile.

GMAT and GRE exams are offered year-round and can be taken multiple times. Tests are available at in-person testing centers as well as online. Scores are valid for five years. There is no departmental preference for the GMAT or GRE exam.

Take the test as early as possible to allow time to re-test if necessary. The GMAT or GRE must be completed by the application deadline, and official scores should be reported by the deadline. If you have taken a test more than once, the admissions committee will use your highest overall total score to evaluate your application. Please note, we do not accept the Executive Assessment test for admission to the Full-time MBA Program.

Applying Test Optional

All applicants who choose to apply Test Optional agree to complete the “Test Optional Summary of Qualifications” and answer two short-answer questions in the place of submitting a GMAT or GRE score:

• Please detail the specific evidence in your academic experience that supports your analytical and quantitative preparedness for success in the MBA program. (75 words maximum)
• Please detail the specific evidence in your professional experience that supports your analytical and quantitative preparedness for success in the MBA program. (75 words maximum)

Please review the Test Optional FAQ section for a complete overview of the requirements for applying Test Optional and crafting a competitive application.

You must have completed the equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university to be considered for admission. Transcripts are required for all undergraduate and graduate-level institutions attended. You are not required to complete academic courses in any particular topics to be eligible for admission. An academic background in business is not required. Consistency in achievement is considered, but more weight is given to the last two years of study and courses within your academic area of focus.

Required Format for All Transcripts
Do not send official transcripts to our office via mail. Scan copies of your original transcripts in PDF file format and upload them to the online application. Make sure to include any transcript keys that describe the institution’s grading scale. These are typically found on the back side of most domestic transcripts.

Self-generated online grade reports or versions that have been cut and pasted into a Word document will not be accepted.

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
• Title(s) of academic degree(s) awarded
• Dates of enrollment, including date of graduation/degree conferral
• Names of individual courses
• Grades, marks, or ratings of individual courses
• International transcripts must include an official English translations
• Both marks sheets and degree statements are required, if applicable

Please note: Official transcripts sent directly from institutions are required only after an offer of admission is accepted by the applicant.

GPA Requirements
Applicants should review our Class Profile for GPA averages for admitted students. Although Foster does not have a minimum requirement, a GPA of 3.0 (B) or better is generally the standard we look for in a competitive candidate. We holistically review all aspects of your application when making an admissions decision. Should your GPA fall below a 3.0 average, we closely evaluate your performance on the GMAT or GRE, as well as other aspects of your application, to assess your ability to succeed academically in our program. If you have specific concerns related to your undergraduate GPA, please contact one of our admissions counselors to discuss.

Reporting your Grade Point Average
The Graduate School application asks applicants to report their Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 0.0 – 4.0 scale for the last 90 quarter or 60 semester graded credits. Specific instructions are provided on the Graduate School Application for converting and calculating your GPA if your university was not on such a system, and for converting from an international grading system to a 4.0 scale. Please read and follow the instructions carefully for converting your GPA to a 4.0 scale to complete this question. If you’d like to assess your GPA ahead of applying, the application refers applicants to the Foreign Credits website, and to use the GPA calculator for this process.

Please note, if you attended a university that does not grade courses or provide a GPA, check the “I do not have a GPA” box.

Proficiency in English is required for admission to a graduate program at the University of Washington. If your native language is not English, you are required to demonstrate English language proficiency in one of the following ways:

• Bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution in the United States or from an institution in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, or the United Kingdom.

OR

• Official documentation from the institution verifying that your undergraduate degree is from an institution (in a country other than those listed above) where all instruction is in English. The undergraduate degree must be equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Documentation must be presented to the University of Washington Graduate School. The Graduate School will determine grade equivalency and validate foreign transcripts.

OR

• Complete an English Language Proficiency Exam. Refer to the below table for accepted exams and score requirements.

Most test scores are valid for two years. Applicants with scores below the minimum score requirements are highly encouraged to retake the exam before submitting an application. Official test scores must be sent directly to the University of Washington Graduate School by the application deadline.

All applicants will be asked to submit a video interview, and will receive an email 3-5 business days after the application deadline to which they applied with instructions on recording the video interview. The video interview allows us to get to know you better and to assess your communication skills and your ability to think on your feet as we review your application and consider your candidacy.

Once applicants receive the video interview invitation via e-mail, they will have approximately 4-6 days to complete this requirement. Applicants can test their video and sound , answer practice video interview questions, and ask for technical support if needed within the video interview system before recording their video interview. The email instructions will include the deadline to submit the video interview, applicants must complete this requirement in order for their application to remain under review.

Applicants will be contacted if they are selected for an admissions interview later in the application review process.

A non-refundable application fee of $85 must be paid by credit card through the online application system.

As a partner school of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, Foster welcomes your application. If you plan to apply through The Consortium, please do not create a UW Online Application profile. Instead, proceed directly to the The Consortium website to start your Consortium application profile.

We look forward to reviewing your application once received from The Consortium and will communicate with all Consortium applicants via email while your application is under review by the Foster admissions committee.

Please review our Consortium FAQ for information on the application process and timeline, as well as answers to some of the most frequently asked questions from Consortium applicants. If you have any questions regarding your Consortium application, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].