Registration Policies

General Education Requirements

In addition to major requirements, undergraduate students must complete the UW General Education Requirements. Each UW school and college interprets the General Education requirements somewhat differently. Art, Art History, and Design majors at the School must complete the GE Requirements required by the College of Art & Sciences.

Many Art History courses have the "W" designation to meet the UW writing requirement. Completing a 200-level art history writing class in your first year is highly recommended.

Transferring Credits

Transfer students with 90 or more credits should (but are not required to) have most of the General Education requirements at the time of transferring. 

  • A maximum of 15 credits of studio art and 10 credits of Art History may be transferred in and applied towards the credit requirements for the BA in Art.
  • A maximum of 15 transfer credits of art history classes may be applied toward the major credits required for the BA in Art History.

The School of Art + Art History + Design does not evaluate credit equivalency for prospective transfer students prior to being admitted to the University of Washington. For more information, visit the UW Transfer credit policies.  

Course Registration Policies + Tips

Studio Art Courses

First Day Attendance Policy: Demand for Art classes is extremely high. Instructors assume that if you are not present for roll call on the first day of a studio art class you have decided not to remain enrolled. If you miss the first day without permission, it is your responsibility to drop the course. You may contact the instructor in advance and ask for permission to be absent on the first day.

Registration: Please read the ‘NOTES’ section of the registration page carefully. These restrictions are in place to allow students who require courses for their majors to register and they are not normally waived. Additionally: 

  • Each quarter, during Period 2 registration, most restrictions are removed from art classes and any matriculated student at UW Seattle may register if the class is open.
  • During Period 2 registration many students drop classes. If the course is full, be patient–and diligent! Check the Time Schedule/Registration page every day and watch for openings.
  • If you are unable to register during Period 1 or 2 registration, go to the first day of class. At this time, you may ask the professor for permission to add the course. Please note: this is the instructor’s decision – they may or may not grant you permission.
  • If you receive permission, the instructor will fill out an late-add form. Bring the completed form  to Advising, and we’ll add the class to your schedule. We will not add the class without written permission from the instructor.
  • Many art classes have prerequisites. Be sure to check those before trying to register. Late-add slips do not override prerequisites.
  • Remember: you MUST attend the first day of class. Exceptions are not made for this requirement. 

Over-Limit Policy: Beginning the first day of the quarter (Period 3 registration), all registration must be approved by the instructor via a late-add slip. To obtain late-add permission, students must be present at roll call on the first day of class.

  • Late-add permission is granted at the instructor’s discretion and is not guaranteed.
  • To maintain the natural priority of the registration process, instructors will not sign and advisers will not accept late-add permission slips until the first day of class.

Auditors/Non-Matriculated/Access students: Due to the participatory nature of studio art courses, we do not allow auditors or Access students during any quarter. We are unable to offer studio courses to non-matriculated students during the regular school year due to space and resource limitations. Non-matriculated students may register for art classes during summer quarter.

Summer Quarter: Non-majors may take art classes during summer quarter. Matriculated UW Seattle students are eligible to register for art classes during Period 1, 2. Most art classes still require prerequisites but many of these are waived in the summer to accommodate non-majors and visitors. Please contact the instructor to override prerequisites.

  • An art class may be full when you initially try to register. Keep trying. It is likely that someone will drop, allowing you to get into the class.
  • You can always go to the class on the first day to see if the instructor is willing to give you permission to add the class.

Art History Courses

Registration: After the first week of the quarter, instructor permission is recommended prior to registering. Classroom contact is critical for full understanding of class content, and therefore missing classes is a severe detriment to your success in the course.

Lower Division Courses: It is HIGHLY recommended to start with lower division classes (200 & 300 level), particularly if you have no previous background in Art History at the college level. These classes will give you an introduction to the study of art in a variety of cultural contexts and provide you with the vocabulary and methodology to participate in 300 level (and above) course work.

Upper Division Courses: Many upper division Art History classes recommend specific subject background prior to enrolling. These recommendations are made to enhance the content of the course. Be sure to check the course descriptions before registering.

Auditors, non-matriculated undergraduates, and Access students are welcome to take Art History courses on a space available basis. You must obtain instructor and adviser signatures prior to registering for the course. Please note that approval signatures do not guarantee your space in the class.

Design Courses

Registration: The Design Program is a competitive admissions program. With the exception of ART 166 (Design Foundations) and ART 208 (Survey of Design History), during the regular school year, design courses are strictly reserved for students who have been accepted through the competitive admission process.

Summer Quarter: Design courses offered during the summer quarter are open to all students, regardless of major. Non-matriculated students are welcome in summer quarter classes.

Auditors/Access students are not eligible for Design courses.

Get Support

We recommend that you meet with an adviser if you have questions or need course recommendations to meet your degree requirements.