The Department of Communication offers the following programs of study for undergraduates:
The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Communication (COM)
The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Communication: Journalism and Public Interest Communication (JPIC)
The Department of Communication accepts applications during autumn, winter, and spring quarters. Applications are always due by 5 p.m. exactly one week (7 calendar days) after the first day of the quarter. The application is in a Catalyst survey – you must be logged into your UW account to access the application. Admission decisions are sent out the fifth week of the application quarter.
- 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.
- Transcripts. Unofficial transcripts from all institutions attended, including the UW are required to be uploaded via DropBox as part of the application.
- 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.
- Personal Statement. All personal statements must be 2,500 characters long (including spaces) and written about why students want to study Communication and what they would like to learn that would affect their personal, professional, or community life.
- Writing Sample. Communication: Journalism and Public Interest Communication applicants only. Applicants are to provide any previously published work, creative writing, or previous essays exemplify their writing capabilities.
- Additional Comments. If you would like to further explain any parts of your application, please use this section.
The Communication major is highly 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. Highly capacity-constrained majors have an acceptance rate of about 30% or less. 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 Communication (COM) 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.
- All applicants must be current students at the University of Washington. For more information about admission to the UW as a first-year student or transfer student, click here.
- COM 200 and another COM 200-level course must be completed prior to applying. Courses cannot be in-progress during the quarter of application.
To be eligible to apply to the Communication: Journalism and Public Interest Communication (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 grade, JPIC GPA, and cumulative GPA of 2.5. Eligible courses to count towards JPIC and cumulative GPAs include all UW, transfer, AP, and IB courses. These do not include CR/NC or S/NS courses.
- All applicants must be current students at the University of Washington. For more information about admission to the UW as a first-year student or transfer student, click here.
- COM 200 must be completed prior to applying. Course cannot be in-progress during the quarter of application.
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. We encourage you to use the application to share how the major is important to you. 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 essay response to the following prompt: 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 had applied previously, please share what has improved since your last application. Please answer the following to write your statement:
- Why are you interested in Communication as a major?
- What do you hope to learn in this major and how will it further your personal and/or professional goals?
- What experiences have prepared you for a Communication major/career?
- How would you apply what you have learned in your Communication courses to your career and goals?
- Apply concepts from COM classes and/or knowledge of our program
- This statement has a 2,500-character limit (including spaces) and is assessed on three criteria on a scale of 1-5, with one being the lowest and 5 being the highest:
- 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)
Please review the information located on the Admissions for Transfer Students page.
APPLICATIONS (click on links below)
Applications for the Communication and Journalism and Public Interest Communication (JPIC) majors are online and available the first week of autumn, winter, and spring quarters. Spring 2022 applications are available starting Monday, March 28th at 8:00 a.m. PDT and are due Monday, April 4th, at 5:00 p.m. PDT
All applicants must make note of the confirmation number that will be provided to them after they submit their application. If no confirmation number is provided, this may mean that the application was not successfully submitted. No confirmation emails will be sent.
Appeals procedure
The Department of Communication considers appeals for only:
a) new information that was not available at the time of the original application, or
b) 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 that outlines one of the above reasons. Appeals should be received no more than one week after the initial decisions are delivered (Friday before 5 p.m. PDT) and you will receive a response within 10 days. These statements are reviewed by academic advising and the Department chair (or her appointee), who make a final decision.
Please be specific and succinct in addressing why the admissions decision should be reversed. Appeals can be emailed to Communication Advising at comadv@uw.edu.
