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Future Students

Non-Major Course Registration

Students who are not in the Human Centered Design & Engineering major at UW Seattle who wish to take a 300- or 400-level majors-only course should review the information below. To give HCDE students first priority, non-major registration petitions are not reviewed until ~2 weeks before the quarter starts. We often have more requests than we can accommodate (100+ petitions in a typical quarter), so we strongly recommend that students petitioning to register for an HCDE course sign up for other classes as a backup.

300-Level HCDE Core Courses

With the exception of the HCDE Foundations Sequence (HCDE 302 and HCDE 303)*, all 300-level HCDE core courses open to all current UW undergraduates during Period 3 registration (the first week of the quarter; see the UW Academic Calendar for Period 3 registration dates). Non-majors who wish to be considered for a spot in an HCDE 300-level core course prior to the start of the quarter should fill out the non-major registration petition at least 2-3 weeks before the quarter begins.

Starting on the first day of each quarter, non-major registration petitions for 300-level HCDE courses will no longer be accepted. However, current UW undergraduates may register themselves for 300-level HCDE core courses (excluding HCDE 302 and HCDE 303) during Period 3 registration, provided that there is space available, they meet the prerequisites, they are not registered for another course that conflicts in timing, and they register before the Late Add Period.

*Beginning in Autumn 2025, non-majors will no longer be permitted to enroll in HCDE 302 and HCDE 303. Non-majors seeking an introduction to human-centered design are instead encouraged to enroll in HCDE 210.

400-Level HCDE Courses

Non-major registration for 400-level HCDE courses is only available via the non-major registration petition process and is extremely limited. Bear in mind that it is not our goal to fill these courses to their maximum capacity. Rather, our primary concern is maintaining the quality of our program for our current majors. They benefit from smaller class sizes, where they can get closer attention from instructors and teaching assistants and engage in better in-class discussions. An instructor's desired class size is often substantially below the maximum possible class size, so most HCDE 400-level courses will admit no more than 5 non-majors, regardless of the course enrollment limit. For this reason, course enrollment numbers are not necessarily an indicator that we have capacity to admit additional non-majors to a 400-level course.

Petition Criteria and Process

  1. Registration for HCDE majors-only courses is managed by the HCDE academic advising staff. Please do not contact HCDE instructors to ask for an add code or permission to register.
  2. Permission to take a majors-only course does not grant or imply admission to the Department now or at any future time. Students cannot use these courses towards a degree in Human Centered Design & Engineering unless they are admitted to the Department.
  3. Non-majors who are selected for a space in a majors-only course will be contacted beginning 2 weeks before the first day of the quarter regarding steps to register for the course and will be given a deadline by which they must respond if they wish to keep their spot in the course. We do not admit non-majors to HCDE courses via this petition process after the second day of the class or after the Late Add Period has begun, and we do not have the capacity to contact students who are not selected for a space in our courses.
  4. Non-matriculated students will only get their non-matriculated registration forms signed if they have submitted a non-major course registration petition and they have been selected for a space in an HCDE majors-only course via the petition process. If selected for a spot in an HCDE course, non-matriculated students can contact the HCDE BS adviser for help with the required forms from the UW Non-Degree Enrollment Office.
  5. If you have questions about the non-major course registration petition process that are not answered on this page, please email HCDE Advising. 

How are non-major course registration petitions reviewed?

Some of the criteria considered when reviewing petitions include:

  1. Previous enrollment in a majors-only course: Students who have never taken a majors-only course will have priority over students who have already taken a majors-only course. Given the high number of petitions that we receive, it is rare for a non-major to be admitted to more than one majors-only course.
  2. Prospective HCDE majors: Students pursuing other majors and prospective HCDE majors who have completed the HCDE admission prerequisites, general education requirements, and engineering fundamentals requirements will have priority over prospective HCDE majors who have not yet completed these requirements.
  3. Timing of submission: While submitting a petition early does not guarantee that a student will be offered a spot in an HCDE majors-only course, since most non-major spaces in HCDE courses are given out 2 weeks before the quarter begins, students who submit a petition less than 2 weeks before the quarter begins are unlikely to be offered a spot in an HCDE majors-only course.
  4. Graduation date: Students who meet the other criteria outlined above and who have filed to graduate will have priority over students who are earlier in the degree.

The non-major course registration petition for Winter 2025 has closed. The Spring 2025 petition will open on March 5. Please check back here then.

Non-Major Course Registration Petition »

Current HCDE Undergraduates

Currently declared and conditionally admitted HCDE students should not use this petition. HCDE undergraduates should review our Group Code Registration Policy and Add Codes Policy for information about registration for HCDE classes as an HCDE major and sign up for seat notifications via Notify.UW for courses that are full.

Current HCDE Graduate Students

Current HCDE graduate students should not use this petition. Beginning on the petition open date listed above, if there is still space available in a 400-level HCDE course, HCDE graduate students may email their graduate adviser and CC the HCDE BS adviser to inquire about registering for the course. They should include information in that email about how they have met the course prerequisites, if any. After the student’s graduate adviser has confirmed whether the course is applicable to any graduate degree requirements and whether the course is appropriate for their degree level, the BS adviser can then assist HCDE graduate students in registering for the course.