Note: The requirements on this page apply to HCDE undergraduates admitted prior to Autumn 2024. The HCDE Department has made significant curriculum changes for students admitted Autumn 2024 or later, including updates to the math/statistics, natural science, and engineering fundamentals course lists. For more information, see the HCDE Undergraduate Curriculum Changes FAQs.
To graduate, students in the HCDE bachelor's program must complete 180 credits of the following:
- General Education Courses (88 credits minimum)
- Core & Elective Courses (82 credits)
- Free (a.k.a. "General") Electives (as needed to complete 180 total credits)
Students are encouraged to use UW's MyPlan to plan their schedule. Current and prospective HCDE students may also run a DARS report through MyUW to track their progress. Students interested in substituting a course required by HCDE curriculum with another must fill out the form linked below.
General Education Requirements
HCDE undergraduate students complete a minimum of 88 credits of general education requirements, which includes 12 credits of written and oral communication; 5 credits of Reasoning; 3 credits of Diversity; 30 credits in Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences; and 50 credits of math/statistics and natural science courses. See below for overlap allowances and restrictions.
Written and Oral Communication (12 credits)
English Composition: 5 credits from the University list.
Writing: HCDE 231 or ENGR 231; 4 remaining credits met by coursework in the major
A&H and SSc (30 credits)
Of the 30 credits, minimum 10 credits in Arts and Humanities (A&H, formerly VLPA)
Of the 30 credits, minimum 10 credits in Social Sciences (SSc, formerly I&S)
A minimum of 3 credits of Diversity (DIV) is required for students admitted prior to Autumn 2023. For students admitted in Autumn 2023 or later, this requirement has been increased to 5 credits. The DIV credits may overlap with other degree requirements.
Courses that count toward these requirements are identified as A&H, SSc, and DIV in the quarterly Time Schedule and in the UW Catalogue.
Math/Statistics and Natural Science (50 credits)
Students must complete a minimum of 15 credits in each of the two following areas, with the remaining 20 credits completed from either list:
Math/Statistics
| EDPSY 490 IND E 315 MATH 120 MATH 124 or Q SCI 291* MATH 125 or Q SCI 292* |
MATH 126 or 136* |
Q SCI 381 STAT 220 or 221 or 290* Any STAT 300+ course |
*Additional credit may not be earned for a course that overlaps in content with a previously completed course. See course catalog descriptions for specific credit allowances for overlapping courses.
A minimum of 5 credits of Reasoning (RSN, formerly QSR) is required. The RSN credits may overlap with the math/statistics courses above.
Natural Science
| ASTR 211 ASTR 301 ASTR 321 ASTR 322 ASTR 323 ASTR 423 ASTR 480 ASTR 481 ATM S 211 ATM S 301 ATM S 321 ATM S 358 |
ATM S 370 ATM S 451 ATM S 452 ATM S 458 ATM S 480 BIO A 201 BIOL 118 BIOL 119 BIOL 130 BIOL 161-162 BIOL 180 BIOL 200 BIOL 220 |
BIOL 250 |
ESS 212 ESS 213 ESS 313 Any 400+ ESS course GENOME 371 GEOG 205 Any 300+ MICROM course PHYS 114/117 or 121 or 141* PHYS 115/118 or 122 or 142* PHYS 116/119 or 123 or 143* Any 224+ PHYS course PSYCH 202 |
*Additional credit may not be earned for a course that overlaps in content with a previously completed course. See course catalog descriptions for specific credit allowances for overlapping courses.
Core & Elective Courses
HCDE undergraduate students complete a minimum of 82 credits of core courses, which includes 41 credits of HCDE core courses, 12 credits of engineering fundamentals, 4 credits of experiential learning, and 25 credits of HCDE electives.
HCDE Core Courses (41 credits)
Students must complete all of the following HCDE courses:
| HCDE 300 HCDE 301 HCDE 308 HCDE 310 HCDE 313 |
HCDE 318 HCDE 321 HCDE 322 HCDE 492 HCDE 493 |
Course descriptions are available here.
Planned course schedule is available here.
Engineering Fundamentals (12 credits)
Students must complete at least one of the CSE courses below, plus enough additional credits from the list to reach a minimum of 12 credits.
| A A 210 A A 260 CEE 220 CSE 121 or 142* |
CSE 122* CSE 123 or 143* CSE 160 E E 215 |
HCDE 496 (up to 4 credits) IND E 250 I S 300 M E 123 |
M E 230 MSE 170 PHIL 120 |
*Additional credit may not be earned for a course that overlaps in content with a previously completed course. See course catalog descriptions for specific credit allowances for overlapping courses.
Experiential Learning (4 credits)
Students must complete 4 credits from the following list. Credits received from HCDE 499, INFO 497, or ENGR 498/ENGR 490 credits associated with the Emerging Leaders in Engineering (ELE) Program may also be considered for this requirement via course substitution petition (see below).
|
ENGR 321 - Internship |
HCDE Elective
Standard option: Minimum 25 credits of the following HCDE courses.
| HCDE 410 HCDE 411 HCDE 412 HCDE 417 HCDE 418 |
HCDE 419 HCDE 438 HCDE 439 HCDE 440 HCDE 451 |
HCDE 485 HCDE 496 (up to 4 credits) HCDE 497 (up to 10 credits) HCDE 498 |
Course descriptions are available here.
Planned course schedule is available here.
Human-Computer Interaction option: To complete the HCI elective option, see the HCI Degree Option page. Admission to this degree option has been suspended.
Data Science option: To complete the data science elective option, see the Data Science Degree Option page. Admission to this degree option has been suspended.
Free Electives
As needed to complete the 180-credit degree requirements.
Course Substitution Petition
Use this form to request to count a course not listed above towards an HCDE degree requirement (login with UWNetID required). Substitutions will not be made for degree requirements not included in this form.
We recommend submitting your petition at least 3 weeks before the quarter in which you plan to take the course. You are required to include a syllabus. Please note that petitions are not guaranteed to be approved. Additional guidance can be found in the petition form.