Community, Environment & Planning
College of Built Environments
Community, Environment and Planning (CEP) is an award-winning, interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree housed in the Department of Urban Design and Planning. Unlike most majors, CEP does not provide a pre-defined educational path. Instead, CEP empowers students to draw on the tools of planning — collaboration, leadership, intentionality, stewardship and vision — to pursue their own educational goals in the company of other self-directed students in cohorts limited to 38 students. The CEP core curriculum focuses on theory and practice applied to real-world settings; electives are satisfied by taking courses anywhere on campus. Students also participate in a governance process that supports the major and teaches students how to be effective leaders and doers in the world. Our students graduate to become urban planners, educators, non-profit managers, entrepreneurs, communication experts and professionals of all sorts, including doctors, lawyers and engineers.
Major category: Capacity-constrained
Topic(s): Arts, Humanities and Design, Business, Engineering option, Natural and environmental sciences, Social sciences
websiteDegree requirements
Applicant type
Freshmen can apply to the UW to begin autumn quarter or winter quarter (U.S. applicants only)
Read more about applying to the UW as a freshman, including details for programs that provide high school students with college credit (like Running Start).
Quarters of general admission to UW: autumn / winter (U.S. applicants only) / spring / summer
Preparation for the major is a factor in transfer admission.
- Use the information below to help you prepare for this degree
- Visit MyPlan to run a degree audit.
- Use the UW Equivalency Guide to find out how courses taken at a Washington state community or technical college will transfer to the UW.
- UW college and school graduation requirements
Department admission information
Please contact the department for details about the application process.
Admissions requirements:
- Minimum 90 credits completed when the student begins the program and at least 80% of general education requirements fulfilled, tracked by CEP’s Academic Advisor.
- Minimum GPA of 2.5 GPA with additional emphasis on a written essay and demonstration of relevant extracurricular activities.
- Admission is once a year, for autumn quarter. Early admission deadline is February 15th. Additional application dates vary per year. See CEP’s website for specific dates.
Read more about applying to the UW as a transfer student.
Courses required for the major:
- English Composition
- CEP 200 SSc – Introduction to Community and Environmental Planning
Entering transfer information:
Total undergraduates: 74
Total from Washington community colleges: 16