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Industry & Alumni

Recruiting policy for employers

All employment professionals recruiting HCDE students through HCDE and other on-campus recruiting channels, such as the UW Career Center and other established college or university programs, are requested to work within a framework of professionally accepted recruiting, interviewing, and selection practices as stipulated in the NACE Principles for Professional Conduct.

Key timelines

Undergraduate students

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science major are a mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Students complete their general education and HCDE core coursework by the end of their junior year. Upper-division HCDE classes take place during the day and on average, 95% of all HCDE BS students are enrolled full-time throughout the academic year (October-June), though many students seek part-time UX roles during this time. The UW is on a quarter system and students are typically available for full-time summer internships beginning in mid-June through mid-September.

Professional master’s students

The MS HCDE program is a self-paced graduate degree that prepares students for UX Design, UX Research, UX Leadership & Management positions in technology, education, communications, healthcare, etc. Students have the flexibility to work full-time while enrolled in the program and may be seeking internships, part-time, and full-time roles at any time throughout the academic year. The UW is on a quarter system, students are available for summer internships beginning in mid-June through mid-September. 

PhD students

New HCDE PhD students are enrolled full-time and working in the department through Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant positions. PhD students, early in their program are available for full-time summer internships. Third year or later PhD students who are interested in working in industry have flexibility to work full-time while enrolled in the program and may be seeking internships, part-time, full-time roles at any time throughout the academic year. The UW is on a quarter system, students are available for summer internships beginning in mid-June through mid-September.

Job offers and policies

To provide students with sufficient time to complete their employment search and make well-informed decisions, we ask employers to abide by the timelines outlined below. Failure to follow these recommended policies may be detrimental to our students and also result in limiting employer access to departmental recruiting activities. Please note, these policies apply to employers that have used HCDE  resources such as the HCDE Career Fair, Information Sessions, and other related HCDE forums to find and source candidates.

Students shall be given a minimum of two weeks to decide whether to accept a full-time offer or internship offer, or until the following timelines, whichever is later. Exploding offers and special incentives, such as diminishing bonuses or location preferences, should not be used to encourage early acceptance of an offer. Signing bonuses should be honored whenever a student accepts an offer.

Timelines for offers and decisions*

For full-time offers to previous summer or spring interns:

  • Students have until November 30 to make a decision.

New offers for full-time positions or interns:

  • Students offered positions during summer or autumn quarter have until November 30 to make a decision.
  • Students offered positions in December have until February 15 to make a decision.
  • Students offered positions during winter quarter have until February 15 to make a decision.
  • Students offered positions during spring quarter have until April 15 to make a decision.

Internship offers extended to previous summer or spring interns:

  • Students have until February 15 to make a decision.

Employers should be prepared to respond to status inquiries from students within one week of each interview, whether conducted on campus, off campus, or over the phone, for both full-time and internship positions.

*Please note that the time periods above start at the receipt of a written offer for employment to the student.

About This Policy

This policy is designed to be consistent across UW programs where recruiting for technical positions occurs, and mirrors the policy at the UW’s Computer Science and Engineering, iSchool, and Human Centered Design & Engineering Departments.