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General Education Requirements of UW's Schools & Colleges

This chart allows you to compare the general education requirements of the different schools and colleges of the University. If you have not yet decided on a major, it is recommended that you work toward the requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences since the majority of UW majors fall within that College.

Arts and Sciences, College of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Required through third quarter 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
15 additional

Built Environments, College of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
Architectural Studies 5 credits 7 credits MATH 112, 124, or 145 Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
5 additional
No ARCH except 150, 151, 250, 251 may count toward AoK; NW incl calculus
Community, Environment & Planning 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list; MATH 112 or 124 recommended Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
CEP 200 (I&S) recommended; Areas of Knowledge must include an approved Diversity course
Construction Management 5 credits 7 credits MATH 112, 124, or 145, or Q SCI 291 Not required1 10 VLPA
15 I&S
34 NW
VLPA incl COM 220; I&S incl ECON; CM 250 recommended
Landscape Architecture 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
No L ARCH except 300 may count toward AoK; NW includes ESS 101 and BIOL 113; drawing class recommended
Business, Michael G. Foster School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 2 courses (see dept) MATH 112, 124, or 145 Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
I&S incl ECON; NW incl calculus and statistics
Education, College of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Required through 3rd quarter 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
15 additional
No more than 15 credits ECFS courses can count toward Areas of Knowledge
Engineering, College of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits HCDE 231 & 333 (or dept-approved alternatives) MATH 124 + Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
4-10 VLPA
or I&S
40+ NW
Foreign language below 3rd quarter may not count as VLPA; for HCDE major, see dept.
Environment, College of the
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits 10 credits Not required1 10 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
10 additional
10 credits of I&S and 10 credits of NW must be outside the major (i.e., not a major prefix and no overlap with major)
The Information School
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits STAT 311 or QMETH 201 Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
I&S includes INFO 200; no more than 15 credits of INFO courses can count toward Areas of Knowledge
Medicine, School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
Medical Technology 5 credits 7 credits 1 from a list of STAT classes Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
40 + NW

Nursing, School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 5 credits + additional in the major STAT + 1 course from dept list Not required1 15 VLPA
15 I&S
26 + NW
I&S incl NURS 201
Public Health, School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
20 NW
25 additional
SPH students are encouraged use first-year language courses for the VLPA by completing the third quarter course
Social Work, School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list required through 3rd quarter 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
15 additional

1 Foreign language "not required" means that no college coursework is required if the UW undergraduate admission requirement (two high school years or two college quarters of one foreign language) has been met.

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