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Prerequisite Policy
Our department does not waive prerequisites. Continuing UW students are expected to have their prerequisite credits posted to their UW transcript at the time of registration.
First Quarter of Registration: For newly admitted students, if your completed prerequisite is not yet posted to your UW transcript, we may be able to manually add you to a course while you wait for your official scores or official transfer transcripts to be received and processed. Please email us at advising@math.washington.edu.
Prerequisites fulfilled by transfer credits (non-UW coursework): We are unable to register students for MATH classes if the prerequisite is in-progress at a non-University of Washington campus.
Add Codes & Closed Courses
BEFORE THE QUARTER BEGINS: Instructors and advisers in the Mathematics Department do not have add codes to overload classes and there are no waitlists for our courses. Because MATH courses cannot be overloaded before the quarter begins, students are advised to set up course notifications.
ONCE CLASS BEGINS: Attend class so you are up to date on the material. If it is not addressed during class, ask the instructor if they will be adding students. Keep in mind, classrooms are often full and instructors are only expected to teach their course limit. If the instructor is not overloading their class, please respect this decision.
If the course Notes (click 5-digit SLN) in MyPlan or the Time Schedule indicates “No Overloads”, then the class can never be overloaded (i.e. Calculus 124/125/126).
Starting the second week of the quarter, all courses require permission to add if space opens. For Math courses, you must have instructor permission emailed to our office (advising@math.washington.edu) and then you must also email our office to be registered.
Repeating a MATH Course
MATH 111/120/124/125/126: Students may register to take a calculus course for a second time during period II.
MATH 381: Students (restricted to ACMS/MATH majors during the regular academic year) may register to take Discrete Mathematical Modeling for a second time during period II.
For all other MATH courses, students may try to register for a second time during any registration period.
TAKING A MATH COURSE A THIRD TIME: Students who would like to take a course a third time will need to first meet with an adviser and then submit a written petition to the Math Advising Office. PETITION DEADLINE: No later than the 2nd day of the quarter the student is requesting to register for the course.
- If you're in a major, meet with your major adviser. For undeclared/premajor students, you should plan to meet with your assigned UAA, OMAD, or ENGRUD premajor academic advisor.
Student - Adviser talking points:
> Why you want to take it
> Why you didn’t do well the first and second time
> What has changed since the last time you took the course
> What your course load looks like for the quarter
> Campus resources you could consult BEFORE you take a course for a third time
Husky Health and Well-Being: https://wellbeing.uw.edu/
Study Skills: https://webster.uaa.washington.edu/asp/website/study-skills/
Your goal should be to maximize your ability to pass the course. The Math Department does not allow students to take courses for a fourth time. If you are requesting to take a course for the third time immediately following consecutive quarters of not passing the course, you must demonstrate that you can be academically successful.
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- After you meet with your adviser, email your petition to advising@math.washington.edu no later than the 2nd day of the quarter you want to register for the course. Use the subject line Petition - MATH ## Third Time (i.e. Petition - MATH 126 Third Time) and include the following information:
Name & student number
Course you are requesting to take for a third time
Indicate which quarter and year (i.e. SPR 2026) you plan to register for the class
Name of advisor you met with to discuss repeating the course
Explain why you need to repeat the course.
Tell us what resources you have/will use to be successful
100-Level Placement & Registration
How to determine which MATH class you should register for
Step 1: determine which MATH course or courses are required for your intended major(s). You can run a degree audit or use the general catalog.
Step 2: check for course prerequisites for the MATH course(s) you need to complete. You can use DawgPath or the general catalog.
Step 3: use the instructions below depending on which course you are needing to start with.
Guided Self-Placement (Math 111, Math 120 and Math 124)
The University of Washington Seattle uses Guided Self-Placement to determine which math course to enroll in. You should complete the Guided Self-Placement if you are planning to enroll in any of :
- Math 111: Algebra with Applications
- Math 120: Precalculus
- Math 124: Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
The Guided Self-Placement is free, online and can be used as many times as you would like. The goal of this guided self-placement is to assist you with the decision about which math course will allow you to be most successful. In the end, the decision will be yours however we encourage you to be honest with yourself. We are always here to help: advising@math.washington.edu
We recommend all students take the guided-self placement for Math 124, even if you have AP/IB/A-level credit or other college coursework. It can be a great refresher before the quarter begins.
You can complete the guided self-placement at the link below
Beyond Math 124 Registration
AP, IB and A-level Placement
Please refer to the Office of Admissions website for this information. All evaluations of these types of credit are done through the Office of Admissions only. Students must have their scores for AP and IB tests before enrolling, and A-levels must be evaluated and on the UW transcript.
- AP Credit Policies (Please note, subscores alone do not count as placement.)
- A-Level and AS Exam Policies
- International Baccalaureate Policies (Will need adviser’s help to register)
*AP Calculus AB policy note: Regardless of testing date, effective March 2020, scores of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Calculus AB exam are equivalent only to MATH 124 (5 credits). There is no change to test scores already posted to UW transcripts.
New students who will be attending Freshman Advising & Orientation Sessions over the Summer should check their UW unofficial transcript prior to coming to campus to ensure your scores/credits have been posted. AP scores from the Spring do not get posted until mid-July. IB scores/diplomas do not get posted until August. A-Level credits do not get posted until October.
If you are using AP/IB or A-levels to take a class beyond MATH 124, students who are unsure of which course they should register for should look at the Course Materials website for the last MATH class they have received credit for and take the old midterm and final exams. Students who are able to complete the old midterm and final exams successfully for the courses they have received credit for, should register for the next course available. Students who find themselves struggling to complete the exams should strongly consider retaking that course or a previous course in order to strengthen their mathematical foundations.
For example, if you have credit for Math 124 you should take time to complete the midterm and final exam from a previous quarter of Math 124. If you feel confident and did well on those exams, you would likely want to register for Math 125. If you struggled to complete the exams or did not get the majority of questions correct, we would advise you to consider taking Math 124 at UW. We want you to be successful in your courses at UW, sometimes that means retaking a class you've already received credit for.
UW Graduate Students
Graduate students may register for 100-level courses starting Period II and will need help to register. During the Summer graduate students can register all periods with adviser help.
Calculus: Math 124, 125, 126
Please see course catalog for official prerequisites.
- Placement in Math 125 & Math 126 only granted with college credit or appropriate test scores.
- As with all math classes, prerequisites cannot be waived.
Calculus courses cannot be overloaded and we do not give out entry codes.
Please note that Math 124 and Math 125 common finals during Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters are scheduled for the same day and time. Do not register for both classes in the same quarter as petitions to make-up one of the final exams will be denied.
Online Calculus
Online Calculus has the same content, instructors and resources as in-person sections. You will still have instructors and TAs for help and access to the math study center. If you wish and there is physical space in the classroom you may attend an in-person lecture section. Please keep in mind, the online section and in-person sections may cover material at a different pace.
UW Postbaccalaureate Students
Postbac students may register for Online Calculus anytime but must wait for Period II to register for an in-person section of Calculus. There are no other restrictions on Postbac enrollment for other math courses.
Honors Calculus: Math 134, 135, 136
Prerequisites
Placement into Math 126 or higher and permission. If you do not meet the prerequisite requirement, you can still submit the registration form but should explain your mathematical background.
Course Information
Math 134 is part of an intensive honors sequence of calculus that is less computational than our regular calculus series, and instead is focused on the concepts and using proofs to solve problems. Students wanting to enroll in Math 134 should have a strong enthusiasm and aptitude for mathematics. The course covers the subject matter of Math 124 and Math 125 (single-variable calculus), but with a strong theoretical approach. Students should be comfortable with integrals and derivatives. In this course, students will learn the fundamental axioms for the real numbers that underlie all the results of calculus.
Math 134 meets Monday - Friday with the expectation of 3-4 hours of work every day and it is not recommended for students taking other intensive coursework. You can learn more about the course here: https://sites.
Students should plan to take the entire honors sequence, Math 134, Math 135 and Math 136 (which covers the equivalent to Math 124, Math 125, Math 126, Math 207 and Math 208). After this sequence, students wishing to continue with the honors math courses may consider Math 334, Math 334 and Math 336. Please note that Math 134 is only equivalent to Math 124, so if you stop the sequence before it is completed, you will need to enter the next course for which you meet the prerequisites. For example, if you have credit for Math 124 and Math 125, take only Math 134, then you will need to register for Math 126 to complete the calculus sequence.
Registration
Students interested in enrolling in honors calculus should first solve these problems. Complete these problems in a quiz-like setting; do not use books or calculators. The answers can be found here. If you you are unable to solve these problems on your own, Math 134 is not an appropriate course for you.
The emphasis of Math 134 is on the theory of single variable calculus and on more advanced problems and applications. It is therefore essential that the student has mastered the basics of differentiation, integration and their applications to be able to keep up with the rigor and pace of Math 134. This means that students interested in Math 134 must have some equivalent credit to Math 124 and Math 125 (either through AP Calc BC or transfer coursework). If you do not meet the prerequisite requirement, you can still submit the registration form but should explain your mathematical background.
If after you have completed the problem set and you are excited about exploring calculus from a proof-based perspective, please complete the registration request form.
300- and 400-Level Registration
Check the UW Time Schedule for current registration information.
500-Level Registration
Undergraduate students wanting to enroll in 500-level math courses, generally should complete the 400-level similar topic areas first. Ex: Math 402, 403, 404 completed before Math 504, 505, 506.
For fall quarter courses, graduate student registration occurs over the summer, so we will not register undergraduates for these courses until September, and only if space is available. Students should register for autumn quarter courses, assuming they will not get a seat in a 500-level course.
Math 581, 582 and 583 (special topics) courses are restricted to current Mathematics graduate students or those who have completed a minimum of three 500-level core math courses.
Undergraduate math majors are required to speak with Math Advising if you are wanting to use any 500-level course towards your degree requirements. Courses are not automatically approved.
You may use this form to request permission to register for a 500-level course: Math 500-level course registration request
Graduate and Postbac Students in 300 and 400 Level Math Courses
Graduate and Postbac students are treated the same as Undergraduates in terms of the above registration policies (i.e. prerequisites and major restrictions). Grad and Postbac students will always need to email advising@math.washington.edu.