Admissions

Please be aware that admission to the Psychology Department is competitive. Meeting the criteria listed below guarantees consideration, but not acceptance into the major. While the specific GPA cutoff may vary from quarter to quarter, a "competitive" cumulative psychology GPA generally ranges between 3.00 and 3.10 (GPA is for Psych 101, 202 and 209).

You must first be enrolled at the UW and have completed all departmental admissions requirements. Application forms are available in the Advising Office, Guthrie 119, and must be submitted by 4:00 PM the first Friday of the quarter in which you apply. Students must meet the following minimum criteria.

• Math 111, 112, 120, 124 or 144, or equivalent transfer course completed, or math placement into Math 124 or beyond (5 credits, minimum grade 2.0). PLEASE NOTE a change in the math requirement for students who enter the UW or to a Washington State community college in Winter Quarter 2005 or later, who plan to pursue the Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. These students must take the Math 120 & 124/144 series to fulfill degree requirements.
• Psych 101, Introductory Psychology (5 credits, minimum grade 2.0).
• Psych 202, Biopsychology (5 credits, minimum grade 2.0).
• Psych 209, Fundamentals of Psychological Research (5 credits, minimum grade 2.0. Minimum grade of 2.5 required for Bachelor of Science students).

• Minimum 2.5 cumulative Psychology GPA for all courses completed from those psychology courses listed above.
• Minimum 2.0 cumulative University of Washington GPA.

Admission is competitive. Meeting the above criteria does not guarantee admission to the department. The Admissions Committee reviews all applicants based on the following criteria:

1. Preparation for a major in Psychology as indicated by the grades earned in courses required for application.
2. Grade point average with an emphasis on psychology grades.

Departmental policy regarding repeating admission courses:

• Students may repeat each class required for admission only once.
• Effective Fall 2004, if a student repeats one (and only one) of the three Psychology courses required for admission (Psych 101 and 202 and 209), we will accept the better of the two grades for that course. If a student repeats more than one of the three courses, we will accept the better grade for ONE course and we will average the grades for the two attempts for other repeated courses.
• For example, suppose that a student submits the following record:

  Psych 101, taken twice, 0.0 and 3.0

  Psych 202, taken twice, 1.5 and 2.5

  Psych 209, taken once, 2.5

• Dropping one grade from Psych 101 helps the student most. The average Psychology admission GPA would be based on:

  Psych 101, 3.0

  Psych 202, 2.0 (average of 1.5 and 2.5 is 2.0)

  Psych 209, 2.5

• Please note that the above are Psychology Department policies with regard to admission to the major. Grades in repeated courses that are "dropped" for the purpose of calculating our admission GPA are not dropped from the student's UW record, and will continue to be calculated in the cumulative UW GPA.

Application process: Complete an application for admission (available in the Psychology Department Advising Office, 119A Guthrie Hall) and submit it along with unofficial transcripts from each institution attended to the departmental advisers. We do not require essays as part of the application.

Application deadline: Applications are due by 4:00 PM on the first Friday of Autumn, Winter, or Spring quarters. We will be accepting applications to the Psychology major for the summer quarter. Students should be aware we accept a limited number of students into the major during the summer quarter, therefore it is a more competitive time to apply to the major.

Students will receive a letter notifying them of their acceptance to the major by the fifth week of the quarter.

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