Graduation Requirements
Graduation requirements vary slightly depending on the your degree level.
On this page
- Requirements for a Baccalaureate Degree
- Requirements for a Graduate Degree
Requirements for a baccalaureate degree
To graduate, you must meet University requirements; school, or campus requirements; and department or program requirements. This section contains only University requirements. The graduation requirements for particular programs at the UW Bothell campus are explained in the general catalog sections devoted to the academic programs.
Scholastic standards required
To be eligible for the baccalaureate degree, you must earn a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.00 for all work done in residence at the University. The graduation grade-point average is computed when you have completed all work for the degree and includes only credits earned while in residence at the University.
Credits required
To be eligible for graduation from the University, with the baccalaureate degree, a student must offer a minimum of 180 academic credits and satisfy all other specific requirements. The University of Washington Bothell has established minimum general education requirements for baccalaureate degrees. These minimum requirements are:
- English Composition – 5 credits (A grade of 2.0 is required)
- Additional Writing – 10 credits
- Reasoning (RSN) – 5 credits
- Natural Sciences (NSc) – 15 credits
- Arts and Humanities (A&H) – 15 credits
- Social Sciences (SSc) – 15 credits
- Diversity- 3 credits (can overlap with general education requirements above)*
- *Diversity Requirement- courses which focus on the sociocultural, political, and economic diversity of human experience and help students develop an understanding of the complexities of living in increasingly diverse and interconnected societies.
Each University of Washington Bothell program has established requirements that meet or exceed these minimum requirements.
High school duplication
If, after your admission, you start over again in the foreign language you took for two or more years in high school and used for admission, the first college quarter is considered a duplication and you are not awarded college credit. The course and grade will appear on your college transcript, but will not count toward your credit total or your GPA. You will receive credit for all language courses from the second quarter on.
Even when the first quarter of the language is considered high school duplication, the course is counted in your credit total when tuition is assessed, and is also counted for the purposes of quarterly financial aid, veterans benefits, or a student visa. (Note, however, that it will not count toward the 36 credits per year required by financial aid.)
Limitation on ROTC credits
Credits earned in first- and second-year military training courses cannot be counted in the basic 180 credits required for graduation.
Limitations on physical education activity credits
No more than three physical education activity credits can apply toward a degree.
Final-year residence requirement
To be recommended for a first, or subsequent, baccalaureate degree, you must complete 45 of your final 60 credits as a matriculated student in residence at the campus of the University where the degree is being earned. The granting of exceptions to this rule is the responsibility of the the school awarding the degree. If an exception is granted, you still must present a minimum of 45 credits taken in residence as a matriculated student to be awarded a University of Washington degree.
Catalog for graduation requirements
In general, you graduate under the requirements of the current catalog. However, you may fulfill graduation requirements noted in the catalog in effect at the time you entered the school from which you are to graduate, provided that (1) not more than ten years have elapsed since you entered, and (2) the school agrees that you may graduate under the earlier requirements.
If you graduate more than 10 years after enrolling in the school, the current catalog must be used for graduation purposes. Exceptions to this rule cannot be made without official University approval.
Waiver of graduation requirements
A request for waiver of Bothell campus or University graduation requirements must be petitioned to the school and the Office of the Registrar at the University of Washington Bothell. Petition forms are available at the program advising office and should be filed with the application for the degree or as soon as possible after the need arises. You should see your academic adviser to initiate a petition. Petitions involving University requirements should be filed early in the quarter.
An exemption from an all-University graduation requirement, that is granted by the Office of the Registrar, becomes void at the end of two calendar years from the date such exemption is granted, if all degree requirements have not been completed within that period.
Two Majors or Two Degrees
Second Baccalaureate Degree
A second baccalaureate degree may be granted, but you must earn a minimum of 45 credits beyond the number required for the first degree. These credits usually must be earned in residence, with the granting of exceptions to the residency rule being the responsibility of the college awarding the degree. You must achieve no less than a 2.00 cumulative grade-point average in the credits required for the second degree.
Degrees with Two Majors
If you are completing a baccalaureate degree with two majors at the University of Washington Bothell, both majors must be approved by the academic advisers of both schools or programs. Both majors appear on your transcript.
Two Baccalaureate Degrees Concurrently
Two baccalaureate degrees, associated with different majors at the University of Washington Bothell, may be granted at the same time. The total number of academic credits earned must reach a minimum of 45 credits in excess of the number required for the first baccalaureate degree.
Requirements for a Graduate Degree
It is the responsibility of each master’s candidate to meet the following Graduate School minimum requirements (plus any additional requirements specified by the program in which the master’s degree is being earned, see item 7):
- Under a thesis program, a minimum of 36 quarter credits (27 course credits and a minimum of nine thesis credits) must be presented. Under a non-thesis program, a minimum of 36 quarter credits of course work is required.
- At least 18 of the minimum 36 quarter credits for the master’s degree must be for work in courses numbered 500 and above. (In a thesis program, nine of the 18 must be course credits and nine may be for 700, master’s thesis.)
- Numerical grades must be received in at least 18 quarter credits of coursework taken at the University of Washington. The Graduate School accepts numerical grades (a) in approved 400-level courses accepted as part of the major, and (b) in all 500-level courses. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required for a graduate degree at the University.
- The residence requirement for the master’s degree is one year (three full-time quarters). Students registered for fewer than nine credits per quarter may add part-time quarters together to achieve the equivalent of one full-time quarter (nine or more credits) to be applied toward fulfilling residence requirements. However, excess credits beyond nine may not be subtracted from one quarter and added to another. Once a student is admitted to a graduate degree program, a full quarter of residence is granted for any quarter in which at least nine credits in approved courses, research, thesis, or internship are satisfactorily completed.
- In a thesis degree program, a thesis, approved by the supervisory committee, must be submitted to the Graduate School. A student must register for a minimum of nine credits of thesis (700). With the exception of summer, students are limited to a maximum of nine credits per quarter of thesis (700).
- A final oral or written master’s examination, as determined by the student’s supervisory committee, must be passed.
- Any additional requirements imposed by the graduate program coordinator in the student’s major department, or by the student’s supervisory committee, must be satisfied. A master’s degree student usually takes some work outside the major department. The graduate program coordinator in the major department, or the student’s supervisory committee, determines the requirements for the minor or supporting courses.
- The graduate student must apply for the master’s degree at the Graduate School within the first two weeks of the quarter in which he or she expects the degree to be conferred.
- The graduate student must maintain registration as a full- or part-time student at the University for the quarter in which the degree is conferred. A student who does not complete all degree requirements by the last day of the quarter must be registered for the following quarter.
- All work for the master’s degree must be completed within six years. This includes quarters spent on leave or out of status and applicable work transferred from other institutions.
- A student must satisfy the requirements for the degree that are in force at the time the degree is to be awarded.