Admission to the Applied and Computational Mathematical Sciences (ACMS) program at UW is competitive and takes place twice a year, in Autumn and Spring. Applications open the first day of the quarter and are due by the second Friday at 5 pm. Admission decisions are released before registration for the following quarter. Admitted students are placed in a specific ACMS option and cannot switch without reapplying.

 

Minimum Admissions Prerequisites

GPA & Grades: Minimum 2.5 GPA in the following five courses, each with at least a grade of 2.0:

  • CSE 143 or CSE 123*
  • MATH 124, 125, 126
  • One of MATH 207, MATH 208, AMATH 351, or AMATH 352

(MATH 134, 135, 136 sequence may substitute for MATH courses)

*Take the CSE guided self-placement to determine which of CSE 121, CSE 122 or CSE 123 you should begin with: https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/ugrad/nonmajor-options/cse12x

AP/IB Exams: Course equivalencies earned with AP / IB exams can be used to meet the course requirements.

WA CTC Transfers: If you're transferring from a Washington state community or technical college, use the WA CC Equivalency Guide (https://admit.washington.edu/apply/transfer/equivalency-guide/) to see what CTC courses are transferable and equivalent to UW coursework.

No courses may be in progress at the time of application. Completion of the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.  Any ACMS-eligible degree courses cannot be taken Satisfactory/Non-Satisfactory.

As a public institution, the UW is dedicated to first-time degree-seeking students. Coupled with high demand for ACMS degrees among undergraduates means ACMS degrees are not available for Post-bac students through the UW Seattle.

 

When and How to Apply

Current UW students apply via our online application.  Prospective freshmen must first be admitted to UW before applying to ACMS.

Quarter of Admission to Major Application Opens Application Deadline Admission Decision Notification
Winter

First day of Autumn Quarter, 8am Pacific Time

 2nd Friday of Autumn Quarter, 5pm Pacific Time Late October
Autumn First day of Spring Quarter, 8am Pacific Time 2nd Friday of Spring Quarter, 5pm Pacific Time Mid/Late April

 

Transfer Students: 

Apply to UW for autumn quarter and submit a separate ACMS application. 

   >  Submit a UW Transfer application by Feb. 15: https://admit.washington.edu/apply/. 
   >  Apply to ACMS between mid-February and April 5.

Admissions decisions are released in late May or early June.

If admitted to UW but not directly to ACMS, you will be placed in pre-major status.  Appeals for direct admission are not accepted.

What if required courses needed to apply to the ACMS Major are not completed before the Transfer Application deadline, but in-progress or projected for a future quarter?  Apply as a Transfer Applicant to the University of Washington for the quarter you would like to begin your enrollment.  If admitted to UW as declared major in another program or as a premajor, plan to take applicable ACMS courses at UW and once minimum requirements have been met, apply during the next ACMS application cycle. Because ACMS is a highly competitive major, premajor students should be prepared to apply to their backup major.

 

Personal statement:

The purpose of the prompts is for the admissions committee to gain insight into your thinking and interest in ACMS.  There are no right or wrong answers.  

Students may find it helpful to utilize one of the UW writing centers as they work on the prompts: 

https://depts.washington.edu/owrc/

http://academicsupport.uw.edu/clue/subjects/writing-center/ 

REQUIRED PROMPT FOR ALL ACMS APPLICANTS (2,000 characters)

Why are you interested in ACMS and in your chosen option?  How does it impact your career goals and what do you hope to achieve with this course of study?  If you are planning to change your major or do a double major, explain why you wish to do so.   (2,000 character limit.)


DMA/DSS/MEQF ADDITIONAL REQUIRED PROMPT (2,000 characters)

In addition to the above, DMA, DSS and MEQF applicants are required to answer the following additional prompt. 2,000 character limit.

DMA: Describe an academic concept or challenge from your college classes that has contributed to your decision to choose discrete mathematics and algorithms.  Be specific.

DSS: Describe an academic concept or challenge from your college classes that has contributed to  your decision to choose data sciences and statistics.  Be specific.

MEQF:  Mutual fund prospectuses typically include the statement “past performance is no indicator of the future” and yet we often choose investments based on their past performance. How do you resolve the contradiction between these two?

 

OPTIONAL PROMPT FOR ALL ACMS APPLICANTS (1,000 characters)

ACMS actively seeks and welcomes students with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If you wish to describe such things, as they relate to your interest in ACMS, please do so in this paragraph. You may also use this statement to address elements of your record that might misrepresent your potential as an ACMS major. (1,000 character limit.)

 

Admissions Decision for Current UW students

 

Decisions are sent via UW email.  If admitted, you must be registered for the quarter for which you were admitted or your offer is forfeited. 

If denied, you must meet with an adviser to discuss options for possible appeals.  Appeals will only be accepted for two weeks after decisions are released, and only in exceptional cases where relevant information was unintentionally omitted in the original application.

To meet with an advisor, please join us for drop-in advising: https://acms.washington.edu/advising-and-applying  

 

How Many We Admit

ACMS admits approximately 50-75 students each application cycle across all option areas.  In particular, the greatest number of applicants apply for ACMS: Data Science and Statistics which results in this option being the most competitive.  Students interest in DSS, as well as a second ACMS option, are encouraged to apply for the latter if they would be satisfied completing the non-DSS option.

Because the UW admits more than 400 students per year who wish to study ACMS, admissions is competitive.