Informatics is a capacity constrained major and we want to offer students interested in the field the opportunity to be part of the Information School community from their first day as a Husky. Direct Admission gives high school students with a strong interest in studying Informatics the chance to apply to the iSchool while filling out their UW application. By simply selecting “Informatics” as your first-choice major on your UW application, you will automatically be considered for Direct Admission.

Application deadline

November 15 is the application deadline for freshman to the UW — this includes Running Start students. Check UW Office of Admissions’ website for details. Note that for Direct Admission, we only consider applicants for autumn admission.

Preparation

The best high school preparation for pursuing Informatics is to take advanced high school classes (Honors, AP, IB, etc.) in English, math and science. It is not a requirement to have had computer programming courses in high school, or computer-related work experience, to gain admission to our program. However, courses such as AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A are good preparation for many of the courses required by the degree.

How to be considered for freshman direct admission

All freshman applicants who meet UW admissions criteria and who list Informatics as their first-choice major on their application will be automatically considered for freshman direct admission. The UW Office of Admissions will offer freshman direct admission based on a holistic review that includes established criteria and selection guidelines developed in partnership with the Informatics program.

See the UW Admissions website for more information about general admission requirements and how to apply to the UW.

Timeline

If you are not accepted to the Informatics program

Freshman who are accepted to the UW, but not accepted directly to the Informatics major are encouraged to apply to the program again in subsequent years. Previous denials have no bearing on the admissions committee’s decisions.

FAQs

Q: How does the selection process for direct admission work?

A: The UW Undergraduate Admissions Office reviews applications and assigns scores based on its rubric and scoring system. After they have made admissions decisions, the Informatics admission team receives a list of students who listed Informatics as their first choice major and that the Undergraduate Admissions Office has already selected for admission to UW. The Informatics admissions team uses the scores that were assigned by UW Undergraduate Admissions Office to select some applicants for direct admission into the Informatics program. (Note, the Informatics team has no access to the application that was submitted to the Undergraduate Admissions Office.)

Q: How can a student improve their chances of being selected for direct admission?

A: Other than listing Informatics as their first choice major in the undergraduate application, there is nothing specific that a student can do to improve their chances of being selected for direct admission. Since the first step in the process is being admitted to the UW, students should just focus on preparing a strong freshman application. For advice about that process, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office directly: https://admit.washington.edu/contact/.

Q: How many students are admitted through direct admission?

A: For Autumn 2018, we received 64 applicants, 22 were admitted and 14 accepted the offer of admission.

Q: How many applicants for direct admission are you expecting in the future?

A: While it is difficult to predict exact numbers, the number of applicants for direct admission has increased over the last few years. For 2017 we received 54, and in 2016 we received 23.