Both the Communication (COM) and Journalism and Public Interest Communication (JPIC) majors are capacity-constrained. Students must complete all minimum requirements to apply and must then compete with the entire applicant pool for a limited number of spaces. This includes completing the application form by the noted deadline. We recommend that all applicants meet with their general adviser before applying to figure out other major options as well.

To be eligible to apply to the COM or JPIC major, students must meet the following prerequisite criteria, including minimum grades and the successful completion of prerequisite coursework. All criteria met guarantees eligibility, NOT admission.

• Minimum prerequisite grades, COM GPA, and cumulative GPA of 2.5. Eligible courses to count towards COM and cumulative GPAs include all UW, transfer, AP, and IB courses. These do not include CR/NC or S/NS courses.
• For COM applicants: COM 200 and another COM 200-level course must be completed prior to applying. Courses cannot be in-progress during the quarter of application.
• For JPIC applicants: COM 200 must be completed prior to applying. Course cannot be in-progress during the quarter of application.
• All applicants must be current students at the University of Washington (autumn and winter admission cycles). For more information about admission to the UW as a first-year student or transfer student, click here.

The COM and JPIC applications include:

1. Basic Information. This includes name, address, email, student number, COM courses taken, and grades. Please note: all applications must be submitted using UW emails. Applications will not be considered if the email used in the application is a personal email address.
2. Transcripts. Unofficial transcripts from all institutions attended, including UW, are required to be uploaded via the Google Form as part of the application.
3. Program Interests. If you are interested in the Departmental Honors Program, student organizations, minors, and/or additional majors, please indicate so when applying so that we can help you plan out your time at the UW.
4. Personal Statement. Why do you want to study Communication and what would you like to learn as a major that would affect your personal, professional, or community life? Please cite specific examples from the communication courses you’ve already taken. If you have applied previously, please share what has improved since your last application. All personal statements may have up to 2,500 characters (including spaces) total.

Please answer the following to write your statement:

1. Why are you interested in Communication as a major?
2. What do you hope to learn in this major and how will it further your personal and/or professional goals?
3. What experiences have prepared you for a Communication major/career?
4. How would you apply what you have learned in your Communication courses to your career and goals?

5. Writing Sample. Communication: Journalism and Public Interest Communication applicants only. Applicants are to provide any previously published work, creative writing, or previous essays exemplifying their writing capabilities.
6. Additional Comments. If you would like to further explain any parts of your application, please use this section.

The UW Department of Communication Admissions Committee assesses applications to its major holistically. We’re looking for students who contribute to the Department in important ways, and who would benefit from the opportunities we have available.

The Department bases its considerations on the full application, but the following categories are the primary means through which we evaluate your potential:

• Cumulative GPA as well as prerequisite and course-specific grades, with emphasis on grades received in COM 200 and any 200-level COM courses.
• A personal statement response assessed on three criteria:

• Relevance: Does the student answer the prompt by citing ways in which the major would affect their life and vice versa?
• Originality: Is the response thoughtful?
• Depth: Does the student support the position with information, details, reasons, or examples?

• A strong writing sample that shows the student’s writing capabilities (Communication: Journalism and Public Interest applications only).

Transfer students may apply to the University of Washington Seattle campus and the COM or JPIC major simultaneously during spring quarter admission cycles only for autumn quarter admission.

Students must complete and submit their UW admissions application and a separate major application to either COM or JPIC.

Admission to COM and JPIC are contingent upon admission to the UW. Submission deadlines for UW and the COM and JPIC majors may differ. Please refer to the UW Admissions page for more information.

If you are transferring from a Washington area community college, you can determine the way your classes transfer to UW by using the Transfer Equivalency Guide.

After submitting your enrollment deposit, admitted transfer students will attend the required Transfer Advising & Orientation hosted by UW First Year Programs.

If you have questions about transfer student admission to the COM or JPIC majors, please visit our academic advising page.

The Department of Communication considers appeals for only:

• New information that was not available at the time of the original application
• Correction of material error in the original application

Appeals are extremely selective and should address one or both of these criteria to be considered.

To appeal an admissions decision, email a statement of no more than 200 words outlining one of the above reasons. Appeals must be received no more than one week after the initial decisions are delivered (Friday before 5 p.m. PDT). You will receive a response within 10 days.

Appeals can be emailed to Communication Advising at comadv@uw.edu.