Choosing courses

What courses should I take?

Effectively choosing university courses is an ongoing and personalized process that requires deliberate planning rather than following a fixed schedule. This involves considering your evolving interests, balancing your course load across different areas, and exploring opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. As you progress, it’s crucial to investigate major requirements, seek advice, and tailor your choices to your academic and professional goals.

There is a lot to consider, especially in combination with your search for a major. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this work alone! Academic advisors are your primary collaborators at the University in establishing and maintaining an effective academic plan. We invite you to keep your advisor informed about your goals and intentions so we can make sure that your planning work proceeds as smoothly as possible.

Typical course loads

A typical class load for each quarter is 15 credits. If you complete 15 credits each quarter, and complete three quarters each year (autumn, winter, and spring), in four years you will have 180 credits, the minimum number required for graduation.

Many UW Bothell courses are 5 credits, so many UW Bothell students take three 5-credit courses each quarter. A typical course schedule usually looks something like this:

Twelve credits per quarter is the minimum to be considered a full-time student for financial aid. International students and student athletes are required to enroll in at least 12 credits each quarter, and there may be other reasons you want or need to be a full-time student. However, UW Bothell does not require that students attend full-time.

Credit limits

Undergraduates are limited to 19 credits during Period 1 and 2 registrations. This allows all students a chance to develop a basic class schedule. Additional credits may be added starting the first day of the quarter (i.e., Period 3), when the limit becomes 30 credits per quarter.

*Note: that additional tuition is charged for each credit over 18.

Additional things to consider

Time of day

Before you register, check the times of each of your classes in the time schedule to make sure that they don’t conflict. What times of day are you most productive? Would you prefer morning, afternoon, or evening classes? If there are several sections, choose the one that appeals to you timewise. Also, do you want your classes one after the other, or do you want breaks in-between?

Work commitments

Keep in mind that being employed should affect how many credits you carry. Studies show that students working fewer than 15 hours per week do better academically than those who work more hours.

Number of credits

Do you have a manageable number of credits? A typical load is 15 but consider the workload of each class and determine what is right for you based on your other commitments. Remember: on average, one credit = three hours of work per week.

MyPlan

MyPlan is UW’s online academic planning tool. Use it to find courses and filter results, create multi-quarter plans, bookmark courses of interest, audit your progress, build your schedule, and register for courses.

Get started by visiting the MyPlan website. You can easily share your plans with academic advisors.

Course descriptions

The function of searching and browsing course descriptions has largely been absorbed into MyPlan. It is still possible to do a direct search, but the results will be limited.

Changing your schedule

Dropping & adding through the first week (days 1-7) of the quarter

From the time you are first eligible to register through the first week of the quarter you can make as many changes as you want to your schedule. During this time, there are no penalties or fees for making changes. Also, the changes do not appear on your transcript.

Dropping & adding after the first week of the quarter

After the first week of the quarter, it is still possible to make changes to your registration, but any change should be carefully considered. Restrictions are discussed below:

• Week 2 (days 8-14): Unrestricted Drop Period
  • Courses dropped during this week do not appear on your transcript but are subject to the $20 change-of-registration fee and possible tuition forfeiture.
• Weeks 2 and 3 (days 8-21): Late Add Period
  • An entry code is required for all courses added during this period. While faculty approval is necessary for late adds, it is not guaranteed. If approved, you will then work with your advisor for registration. A $20 fee is charged, covering all registration transactions made on a single day.
• Weeks 3 (Last Day of Instruction): Late Course Drop Period
  • Students may drop one course each quarter on MyUW after the 14th calendar day of the quarter. The course is recorded on your transcript, along with an “RD”. A $20 change-of-registration fee is charged, and there may be some tuition forfeiture (see below). To drop more than one course, you will need to fill out an Adviser-Assisted Drop Form and send it to your advisor. For more information visit the Office of the Registrar website.

Alternatives to dropping

Before dropping a course you are having trouble with, consider your options. Talk with the instructor and/or TA about the problems you are having. If needed, use the UW Bothell Quantitative Skills Center or the Writing and Communications Center.

Also, consider the following alternatives:

• Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory (S/NS) grading. You can change any course (except a Credit/No Credit course) to S/NS grading through the seventh week of the quarter. S/NS courses can’t be used toward any graduation requirement except general electives. Always contact an advisor before choosing this option.
• Incomplete. If you’re unable to complete the work required for a course before the end of the quarter, you can request an “incomplete” from the instructor. If s/he agrees, you will get extra time to finish the work.
• Withdrawal from all courses. If none of the above options work in your situation, you can withdraw from ALL your courses right up through the last day of instruction. You won’t receive credit for any courses taken in the quarter, and “RD’s” will be entered instead of grades. You will need to fill out an Adviser-Assisted Drop form and send it to your advisor.
• Former Quarter Drop. If it is too late to drop a course (after the last day of instruction) AND you have experienced a documented hardship (e.g., injury, death in the family), you can petition for a Former Quarter Drop. The process takes several weeks, and, if approved, will result in “RD” being entered instead of a grade. You may request a Former Quarter Drop for one or more courses and can even submit retroactive requests for courses taken in previous quarters.

Fees & tuition forfeiture

Change of registration fee

There is a $20 fee for any change in your class schedule (including changing back and forth to S/NS grading) made after the first week of the quarter. The fee is not $20 per transaction but rather $20 per day, so after the first week of the quarter try to make all your changes on the same day.

Tuition forfeiture

Your tuition is based on the number of credits you are registered for at the end of the first calendar week of the quarter, plus any courses you add after that date. If you drop one or more courses after the first week of the quarter, you may receive a partial tuition refund.

If you stay within the 10-18 credit range, there will be no change in your tuition. If you drop a course and your credit total falls below 10 credits, you will be refunded half the difference in tuition, through the 30th calendar day of the quarter. The other half of the difference is forfeit. If you drop a course after the 30th calendar day of the quarter there is no tuition refund, and all the tuition difference (if any) is forfeit. For more information please visit the withdrawals and forfeitures web page.