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 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

Current UW students: senior year course schedule example

* 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

Transfer students: senior year course schedule example

* 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

• Approved electives
• Capstone details