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University of Washington

University of Washington Information School

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Informatics

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Degree Planning

  1. Programs
  2. Informatics
  3. Academics
  4. Degree Planning
  5. Degree Planning

Steps to completing your degree

Once students have been admitted to the major, they typically follow the steps below to complete their degree:

  • Attend iWelcome Week and Informatics New Student Orientation in September
  • Take junior level core courses: CSE 123, 143 or CSE 163; choose one of CSE 373, INFO 442 or INFO 443; INFO 300; INFO 330; INFO 340; INFO 360; INFO 380; and INFO 350
  • Begin applying for internships in autumn quarter (recommended)
  • Declare your major option by spring of junior year (recommended)
  • Begin taking major electives/degree option classes spring of junior year
  • Complete a summer internship (recommended)
  • Apply to graduate in autumn of senior year
  • Take the Capstone course sequence: INFO 490 & INFO 491 and present at spring Capstone event. Alternatively, you can complete a research Capstone. See the Informatics Capstone page for details.
  • Sign up for graduation ceremonies (iSchool Convocation and UW Commencement) and order graduation materials

Students must earn a numerical grade of 2.0 or above in each class used to meet major requirements.

Declaring and completing an option

Students can specialize their expertise by completing 4-5 courses in an option beyond the prerequisites and core. An option is an area of study recognized by the UW that appears on the transcript. The Informatics major allows students to choose one of the following options:

  • Biomedical & Health Informatics
  • Data Science
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Information architecture
  • Information assurance and cybersecurity

Choosing a degree option is not required. Students may change their degree option at any time but typically file the necessary change of major forms after their spring quarter, so that they are correctly listed in the system prior to applying for graduation the following autumn.

Sample course plans

The curriculum plans below can be used to help you plan the remainder of your time in the major. The course schedule reflected on this page is typical of the path students will follow to complete their degree, but individuals may choose to pursue their own path to degree completion.

Current UW Students: Junior year course schedule example

Autumn Winter Spring
INFO 300
Research Methods in Informatics (5 credits)
INFO 330
Databases & Data Modeling (5 cr)
INFO 350
Information Ethics & Policy (5 cr)
INFO 201
Technical Foundations of Informatics (5 cr)
Choose between CSE 123: Introduction to Computer Programming III (4 cr), CSE 143:
Computer Programming II (5 cr) and CSE 163: Intermediate Data Programming (4 cr)
INFO 340
Client-Side Development (5 cr)
INFO 360
Design Methods (4 cr)

INFO 380
Information Systems Analysis & Design (5 cr)  

INFO Elective

Current UW students: senior year course schedule example

Autumn Winter Spring
Choose between CSE 373, INFO 442 or INFO 443 (4-5 cr) **

INFO 490 *
Capstone (4 cr)

INFO 491 *
Capstone (4 cr)

INFO Elective INFO Elective INFO Elective
Elective Elective Elective

* These courses are only offered during the quarters noted above.

** Choose one of these three options:

  • CSE 373: Data Structures & Algorithms (4 credits)
  • INFO 442: Cooperative Software Development (5 credits), not offered every quarter
  • INFO 443: Software Architecture (5 credits), not offered every quarter

Transfer students: junior year course schedule example

Autumn Winter Spring
INFO 200
Intellectual Foundations of Informatics (5 cr)
INFO 300
Research Methods in Informatics (5 cr)
INFO 350
Information Ethics & Policy (5 cr)
INFO 201
Technical Foundations of Informatics (5 cr)
INFO 330
Databases & Data Modeling (5 cr)
INFO 340
Client-Side Development (5 cr)
INFO 360
Design Methods (4 cr)
Choose between CSE 123: Introduction to Computer Programming III (4 cr), CSE 143
Computer Programming II (5 cr) and CSE 163: Intermediate Data Programming (4 cr)
INFO Elective

Transfer students: senior year course schedule example

Autumn Winter Spring
INFO 380 *
Information Systems Analysis & Design (5 cr)

INFO 490 *

Capstone (4 cr)

INFO 491 *

Capstone (4 cr)

Choose between CSE 373, INFO 442 or INFO 443 (4-5 cr) ** INFO Elective INFO Elective
INFO Elective Elective Elective

* These courses are only offered during the quarters noted above.

** Choose one of these three options:

  • CSE 373: Data Structures & Algorithms (4 credits)
  • INFO 442: Cooperative Software Development (5 credits), not offered every quarter
  • INFO 443: Software Architecture (5 credits), not offered every quarter

More info

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News

Akshita Gundavarapu, Emily Smokoff, Erica Gordy, Audrey Dennis, Meghan Munagala.

Informatics students make climate data easier to visualize

Thursday, June 1, 2023
Climate change is a complex problem, and it's hard to grasp exactly how much carbon people are putting into the atmosphere. Policymakers who are trying to cut carbon emissions, however, need a good understanding of the current situation to...
Read more
Pournami Varma (left) presents a poster on “Using Family Health Informatics to Improve Asthma.”

Informatics students show their work at research symposium

Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Fifteen Information School students presented their research at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium on May 19. They were among more than 1,000 students participating from across the University of Washington.  One of the...
Read more

Events

Jun 7
 
4:00-5:00PM

Informatics Program Overview for Future UW Seattle Freshman and Current High School Students

Zoom / Online
Jun 7
 
6:00-7:00PM

MSIM Program Overview

Virtual / Zoom
Jun 9
 
9:00-11:00AM

Dissertation Proposal Defense - Justin Petelka

Zoom
Jun 9
 
3:00-4:00PM

MLIS Law Librarianship Information Session

Zoom / Online
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