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University of Washington Seattle

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 		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 120 (I&S) recommended
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
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; ESS 101, BIOL 116, 117, or 317 recommended for NW; NW incl calculus
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
Engineering, College of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits HCDE 231 & 333 (some depts allow other options) MATH 124 + (24 credits of MATH required) 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

Note: The College of the Environment is in the process of developing its general education requirements; until new requirements are in place, those below will remain in effect.
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
Atmospheric Sciences 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Required through third quarter 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
15 additional
Earth and Space Sciences 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Required through third quarter 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
15 additional
Environmental Science & Resource Management 5 credits HCDE 231 + 5 additional within the major Q SCI 291, 292, & ESRM 250 Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
24+ NW 		VLPA includes COM 220; I&S and NW are fulfilled by ESRM courses
Environmental Studies 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Required through third quarter 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
15 additional
Paper Science & Engineering 5 credits PSE courses MATH 124 + Not required1 Generally:
10 VLPA
10 I&S
30+ NW 		I&S incl ECON 200
The Information School
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 10 credits STAT 311 Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
20 NW
Medicine, School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
MEDEX
(Physician's Assistant)		 5 credits 7 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
10 NW
10 additional
Medical Technology 5 credits 7 credits MATH 124, 144, or STAT 220 Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
38 NW

Prosthetics and Orthotics 5 credits 10 credits 1 course from the Q/SR list Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
24+ NW
I&S incl PSYCH 101
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
Ocean and Fishery Sciences, College of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
Aquatic and Fishery Sciences 5 credits 7 credits STAT + 2 quarters calculus Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
36+ NW 		I&S incl ECON & law/policy/ethics
Oceanography 5 credits 10 credits (8 in OCEAN) MATH 124 + additional MATH Not required1 20 VLPA
20 I&S
40+ NW

Public Health, School of
Major Eng. Comp. Add. Writing Q/SR Foreign Language Areas of Knowledge Comments
All Majors 5 credits 7 credits (incl HCDE 333) MATH 124, 144, or Q SCI 291; STAT Not required1 10 VLPA
10 I&S
61+ NW
I&S incl ENV H
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		 I&S incl PSYCH, SOC, & ECON; NW incl BIOL

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.

Undergraduate academic advising at the University of Washington is a core element of the University's focus on student learning.

As educators, advisers partner with faculty and the campus community to cultivate our students' intellectual development.

As guides and advocates, advisers collaborate with students to craft a transformative educational experience so that they may become informed, articulate and thoughtful students of the University and citizens of the world.

—Mission Statement for Academic Advising, adopted November 2007