Visit the Petitions and Forms webpage to review important information about the following: 

• Major/Minor Petition 

• Diversity Requirement Petition 

• Interdisciplinary Practice & Reflection (IPR) Petition 

• Cross-Campus Registration Petition 

• Graduation Petition 

• Reinstatement Petition 

Students are strongly encouraged to meet with an Academic Advisor to discuss petitions before submitting an online form.  

The School of IAS may limit registration in some courses to allow students who have already declared an IAS major to register for classes first. See additional details in MyPlan or the Time Schedule for more information about restrictions and when non-IAS majors may register for the course. 

Did you declare an IAS minor? If there is a registration period restriction on a class that counts toward your IAS minor, please send an email to IASapply@uw.edu to request an Add Code.  

Follow the reinstatement process if you were academically dismissed for low scholarship/academic warning and wish to return to IAS. 

The School of IAS requires students to earn a specific number of credits in upper division courses to satisfy graduation requirements. Upper division courses are numbered at the 300-level or higher. 

The number of upper division credits required varies by major. See your major website for more information.

A minimum of 30 credits within your IAS major must be completed in residence at UW Bothell. Students may earn residence credits in any UW Bothell course, regardless of teaching modality (in-person, distance-learning, and hybrid courses all apply). 

The School of IAS requires a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA in all courses taken for the major. See your major website for a list of required courses. 

IAS students must also earn a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA in all courses taken in residence at UW (including general education and elective credits) to graduate with a baccalaureate degree. 

Each IAS major requires students to complete at least one Interdisciplinary Practice & Reflection (IPR) course before they graduate. IPR course options can count as elective credits or may satisfy credits required for the major. Visit the IPR webpage to learn more about approved courses options.

All UW Bothell students, including students in all majors in the School of IAS, are required to complete General Education requirements to graduate with a UW degree.  

• English Composition (C)  

• 10 credits required 

• English Composition courses emphasize how to organize and express your ideas effectively. In composition courses, you will refine your skills by rewriting your papers after receiving feedback on them.  

• B WRIT 133, B WRIT 134, and B WRIT 135 are Composition courses at UW Bothell 

• Writing (W) 

• 5 credits required 

• This requirement is intended to ensure that you have the opportunity to practice and use writing, broadly conceived, to deepen your learning, to think critically, and to solve problems.  

• Various IAS courses count toward your “W” credit, including BIS 290 and BIS 490.  

• Reasoning (RSN)  

• 5 credits required; can overlap with other AOIs 

• This requirement is intended for students to develop an understanding of the ways in which numeric and/or symbolic data and methods are used to assess the relationships and the validity of ideas.  

• Various courses at UW Bothell count toward your “RSN” credit, including BIS 140, BIS 200, BIS 201, BIS 203, BIS 215 and more!  

• Diversity (DIV) 

• 5 credits required; can overlap with other AOIs 

• Courses that meet the Diversity requirement focus on the sociocultural, political, and/or economic diversity of the human experience at local, regional, or global levels. This requirement is intended to help students develop an understanding of the complexities of living in increasingly diverse and interconnected societies 

• Over 45 courses in the School of IAS have the “DIV” general education requirement  

Areas of Inquiry (AOI)  

• Arts and Humanities (A&H) 

• 15 credits of A&H required 

• Courses that meet the A&H requirement introduce students to the theories, methodologies, and practices employed by artists or humanists and/or the topics, issues, and content knowledge with which they commonly engage.  

• Social Sciences (SSc) 

• 15 credits of SSc required 

• Courses that meet the SSc requirement introduce students to the theories, methodologies, and methods employed by social scientists and/or topics, issues, and content knowledge with which they commonly engage.  

• Natural Sciences (NSc) 

• 15 credits of NSc required 

• Courses that meet the NSc requirement introduce students to the theories, methodologies, and methods employed by natural scientists and/or the topics, issues, and content knowledge with which they commonly engage.  

Petitioning General Education or Areas of Inquiry (AOI) requirements 

• IAS major students cannot petition courses taken at the UW for a General Education or Area of Inquiry requirement. UW courses are approved at a faculty-curriculum level for meeting these requirements.  

• IAS major students who have taken a transfer course that did not have a UW equivalent (UW 1xx, etc) can petition the course for a General Education or Area of Inquiry requirement. Email IASAPPLY@uw.edu for more information.  

The following requirements only apply to students who declared an IAS major prior to the Autumn 2024 quarter. Students may contact their academic advisor if they wish to apply updated major requirements (as outlined on the current IAS major webpage). 

BIS 300 and BIS 499 requirements: 

• BIS 300 Interdisciplinary Inquiry is a required first quarter course for students admitted to majors in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences prior to Autumn 2024. IAS students who did not register for BIS 300 in their first quarter will receive a hold preventing registration for the future term. Students who did not complete or pass BIS 300 will also receive a BIS 300 Hold. 

• BIS 499 Portfolio Capstone is required within the last three quarters of a student’s intended graduation. BIS 499 is a writing-intensive (W) course. Students must receive a minimum course grade of 2.5 in the portfolio capstone to graduate. Contact iasapply@uw.edu for help enrolling in BIS 499. 

Interdisciplinary Practice & Reflection (IPR) requirement:

Each IAS major requires students to complete at least one Interdisciplinary Practice & Reflection (IPR) course before they graduate. IPR course options can count as elective credits or may satisfy credits required for the major. Visit the IPR webpage to learn more about approved courses options.

Areas of Inquiry requirement:

• At least 25 credits must be completed in each Area of Inquiry.  

• The Areas of Inquiry are: Arts and Humanities (A&H), Social Sciences (SSc), and Natural Sciences (NSc). 

• Multiply-designated courses may not be double-counted as fulfilling two Areas of Knowledge.  

• Courses may apply to both an Area of Knowledge requirement and a major requirement. 

Upper Division Credit Policy requirement:

Of the credits applying to major requirements, a minimum of 48 credits must be completed at the Upper Division (300-400) level. 

Matriculated Status requirement:

Courses taken to satisfy IAS major requirements must be completed in matriculated status.