The BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington sits inside one of the most research-intensive public universities on the US West Coast, in a Seattle metro area anchored by Microsoft's headquarters directly across Lake Washington and Amazon's headquarters a short distance away. UW is a test-blind institution, meaning it does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions at all, a distinct and stricter policy than "test-optional." That makes coursework rigor, grades, and the required personal statement and short-response essays the central pieces of a holistic review for every UW applicant, including those targeting Electrical and Computer Engineering.
This guide covers what's publicly confirmed about acceptance, cost, admission requirements, and career outcomes for UW's Electrical and Computer Engineering program, and is explicit about the figures that could not be independently verified during research.
Acceptance Rate
UW's overall undergraduate acceptance rate is approximately 39.5% (Fall 2024 entering-class figure). UW does not publish a program-specific acceptance rate for Electrical and Computer Engineering, so there is no verified departmental figure to report.
Treat the 39.5% figure as a university-wide proxy, not an Electrical and Computer Engineering-specific number. UW's own admissions data specifically calls out Computer Science, admitted through the Paul G. Allen School's direct-to-major process, as considerably more selective than the university-wide average; while UW's documentation does not make the same explicit claim for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, engineering majors at large research universities with strong industry pipelines commonly see tighter effective admission than the university-wide figure suggests. Confirm the department's current admission process directly with UW, since this dataset cannot verify a specific rate either way.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
UW's own published admissions and international-student-services pages could not be independently confirmed for tuition, living-expense, or total-cost-of-attendance figures during research for this profile (the pages returned access errors), so no specific dollar figures are presented here rather than an estimate pulled from memory or an unverified third-party aggregator. There is also no confirmed application fee figure available in this dataset.
What is confirmed: UW is a large public research university, and non-resident/international tuition at large US public universities is typically set well above the resident rate, with total cost of attendance for international students commonly running in the tens of thousands of dollars per year once tuition, fees, housing, and living costs are combined. Applicants should confirm the current, exact figures directly on UW's Office of Admissions and Student Fiscal Services cost-of-attendance pages before budgeting.
Admission Requirements
Based on UW's published international undergraduate admissions requirements:
- Coalition Application or UW's own application portal
- Official high school transcript, with strong performance in mathematics and physics expected for an engineering major
- Personal statement and short-response essays (unusually important given UW's test-blind policy)
- English proficiency test scores (IELTS/TOEFL/Duolingo/PTE) for applicants not schooled primarily in English
- Application fee or fee waiver request (specific fee amount not confirmed in this dataset)
- No SAT or ACT scores are considered, even if submitted, since UW is test-blind rather than test-optional
UW does not publish a department-specific supplementary application for Electrical and Computer Engineering in the sources reviewed for this profile; applicants should confirm directly with the department whether any additional materials beyond the standard UW application are expected for the current cycle.
How to Get Into UW's Electrical and Computer Engineering Program
-
Show strong, consistent performance in mathematics and physics coursework. Since UW doesn't consider SAT/ACT scores at all, your transcript's rigor and grades in quantitative subjects carry more weight than they might at a test-optional peer institution.
-
Use your personal statement to connect prior technical experience to a specific engineering interest. Whether it's a robotics project, an electronics hobby, coding work, or a research experience, naming something concrete and connecting it to why UW's ECE department specifically fits your goals reads far stronger than a generic engineering-interest statement.
-
Confirm the department's current admission process directly with UW. Since this dataset cannot verify whether Electrical and Computer Engineering follows a separate, more selective review the way Computer Science does through the Allen School, don't assume either way; check with UW's ECE department directly.
-
Don't underprepare your English test simply because scores aren't confirmed here. Even though this dataset could not confirm UW's exact IELTS/TOEFL minimums, treat English proficiency as a hard gate like at any US public research university, and confirm the live requirement on UW's official international-admissions page well before your test date.
-
Factor Seattle's cost of living into your planning even without a confirmed UW-published figure. Since specific tuition and living-cost figures couldn't be verified here, budget conservatively and cross-check UW's official cost-of-attendance page against general Seattle cost-of-living data before committing.
English Proficiency Requirement (IELTS/TOEFL)
This dataset was unable to confirm UW's current official minimum IELTS or TOEFL score thresholds during research; UW's admissions and international-student-services pages returned access errors at the time this profile was compiled. What is confirmed:
- Accepted tests: IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, Duolingo English Test, PTE Academic
- Waiver: available for applicants who completed secondary education taught primarily in English, including at an accredited US high school; exact waiver criteria should be confirmed on UW's official international-admissions page
Rather than presenting an unverified specific number, applicants should confirm the current, exact IELTS/TOEFL/Duolingo/PTE minimums directly on UW's official international-admissions page before scheduling a test, since presenting a guessed figure here would risk giving inaccurate guidance for a hard admissions requirement.
Career Outcomes
UW does not publish graduation-rate, employment-rate, or starting-salary figures broken out for Electrical and Computer Engineering specifically, but UW's broader undergraduate outcomes data give a useful directional proxy:
- Top recruiters (university-wide undergraduate): Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Google, T-Mobile, Meta
- Electrical and Computer Engineering graduates specifically are well-positioned for hardware, embedded systems, semiconductor, and telecommunications roles at these same Seattle-area employers, alongside aerospace employers like Boeing given the region's aerospace manufacturing presence.
- No specific employment-rate or starting-salary figures are published in this dataset for Electrical and Computer Engineering specifically; treat the recruiter list as directional context rather than a guarantee of outcomes.
FAQ
Does UW publish an acceptance rate for Electrical and Computer Engineering? No. UW's overall undergraduate acceptance rate is around 39.5%, but this is a university-wide figure, not a department-specific one, and UW does not publish a separate rate for Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Does UW require the SAT or ACT for Electrical and Computer Engineering applicants? No. UW is test-blind, meaning it does not consider SAT or ACT scores at all, even if submitted, for any major. Applicants are evaluated on coursework rigor, grades, and required essays instead.
What IELTS or TOEFL score do I need for UW's Electrical and Computer Engineering program? This dataset could not confirm UW's current official minimum score during research, since UW's admissions pages returned access errors. Confirm the current threshold directly on UW's official international-admissions page before testing.
How much does UW's Electrical and Computer Engineering program cost for international students? Tuition, living-expense, and total-cost-of-attendance figures could not be confirmed from an official UW source during research for this profile. Confirm current figures directly on UW's Office of Admissions and Student Fiscal Services cost-of-attendance pages.
Is Electrical and Computer Engineering as selective as Computer Science at UW? UW's own documentation specifically flags Computer Science, admitted through the Allen School's direct-to-major process, as considerably more selective than the university-wide average. UW's documentation does not make the same explicit claim for Electrical and Computer Engineering, so this dataset cannot confirm a comparison either way; check with the department directly.
Where do UW Electrical and Computer Engineering graduates typically work? UW's Seattle-area location gives graduates direct access to Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Google, T-Mobile, and Meta, alongside the broader Pacific Northwest's aerospace and semiconductor employer base.