ALTERNATIVES TO THE ENGLISH CORE REQUIREMENT FOR ADMISSION
If you have questions after reading this, please contact the Admissions counseling staff.
Although the four-year English core requirement cannot be waived, the options presented below are acceptable alternatives for students whose first language is not English and who are immigrants, refugees, U.S. permanent residents, or U.S. citizens.
ALTERNATIVE ONE
To fulfill the English core subject requirement under this alternative, both A and B must be satisfied.
A: Test Score Requirement
Submit one of the following official test scores by the application closing date:
- SAT Critical Reading 430
- ACT English 17
A test score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the Michigan Language Test (MLT) cannot be used to meet this requirement.
B: Course Work Requirement
A total of four years of study are required.
- Composition or literature courses in the student's first language may satisfy up to three years of the requirement.
- English composition or literature courses taken in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the U.S. may satisfy up to four years of the requirement.
- These courses may satisfy no more than one year of the requirement:
- English, if taken outside of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the U.S.
- ESL taken in the U.S.
- Courses in drama as literature, public speaking, debate, journalistic writing, or business English that were completed in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the U.S.
ALTERNATIVE TWO
Mostly for Transfer Students
All three of the following must be satisfied:
- A minimum of 60 transferable quarter credits from a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. or from an accredited college or university in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom must be completed at the time of application. Transcripts showing 60 completed credits must be submitted by the application closing date.
- A minimum of two college-level English composition courses, for a minimum of six credits, taken at a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S., or from an accredited college or university in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom. All college-level English composition and literature courses must be completed with a minimum cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 (B).
- Two additional units of English, which may be satisfied by high school or college courses.
- The high school years must be in composition or literature courses, in English or the student's first (native) language.
- The college courses must be in college-level composition and literature *in English*. A unit is five credits on a quarter system or three credits on a semester system.
Useful Link: English Proficiency Requirement for Graduation from the UW.
