The College of Engineering seeks to enroll engineers looking to enhance their AI and ML skills and advance their careers.

Admission requirements

The minimum qualifications for admission to the Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Engineering are:

• Undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited school with at least 3.0 GPA.
• Undergraduate coursework in calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and physics.
• Undergraduate coursework or work experience with writing computer code in any language.
• Strongly recommended: In previous degree, majored in engineering, physics, chemistry, or a closely related discipline. Other majors will be considered, if required prerequisite coursework above has been completed.
• English language proficiency for non-native English speakers must be demonstrated according to the requirements in Graduate School Policy 3.2. Not required if already enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Washington.

*If you do not meet some or all of the minimum requirements, please use the personal statement to address these issues.

• If you have been out of school for more than 5 years, or if your most recent degree is not in a closely related subject,
  • Use your personal statement or resume to highlight how you have kept up your math and coding skills, for example through work or continuing education.
  • If you do not use math and coding in your current work, consider taking a course at UW as a graduate non-matriculated student to brush up on skills.
• If you received low grades in prerequisite courses or are missing prerequisite courses on transcripts, use your personal statement to explain how you have gained or strengthened these skills through your career or continuing education.
• If you have not taken the prerequisite courses, consider taking them at UW as a non- matriculated student.

When to apply

Part-time students can apply to the master’s degree at the same time as applying to their second certificate, or after being admitted to their second certificate.

Full-time students apply to the degree at the same time as applying to both certificates.

Application materials

For students applying for the degree at the same time as their first eligible certificate, degree application materials include:

• Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. These may be unofficial transcripts for application, but official transcripts will need to be submitted if offered admission.
  • If you received any previous degrees from a school outside the US, provide an English- language translation of your transcripts, if the originals were not in English. Also make sure to provide context for course names for prerequisites.
  • Submit transcripts from all schools where college credit was received. This is especially important if you took prerequisite courses before transferring to the school from which you graduated.
  • List all degrees, not only the most recent.
• 1-page resume, including lists of relevant professional experience and contributions to the community through volunteering and service.
• 1-page Statement of Purpose, which should describe how this degree program would help the prospective student reach their professional goals, in their current and/or potential future work. If the prospective student does not have an undergraduate degree in engineering, physics, or chemistry, include an explanation of how previous coursework or career has prepared them for this program.
• One letter of recommendation, from a current or recent supervisor or instructor. The letter should speak to the applicant’s anticipated ability to complete graduate-level technical assignments and other professional skills such as working as part of a team and meeting deadlines.

Tips for applications:

Career goal alignment

• Provide specific examples of how your current or future engineering projects relate to our curriculum.
• If you are currently working in a different field or in a field that may not be obviously relevant, it is especially important for you to explain whether you hope to move your career in a new direction based on the skills and knowledge gained in our program.

Benefits to the community

We consider both how our program can benefit the applicant, and how the applicant could use the skills they gain to contribute to the larger community. We encourage you to address benefits beyond your current or future employer. These contributions include:

• benefits to the global engineering community,
• benefits to humanity,
• benefits to the applicant’s current or future employer.

For students applying for the degree while enrolled in or after completing the first or second eligible certificate, degree application materials include:

• Unofficial transcripts from University of Washington, including all graduate coursework completed to date.
• 1-page resume, including lists of relevant professional experience and contributions to the community through volunteering and service.
• 1-page Statement of Purpose, which should describe how this degree program would help the prospective student reach their professional goals, in their current and/or potential future work.
• One letter of recommendation, from a current or recent supervisor or instructor. The letter should speak to the applicant’s anticipated ability to complete graduate-level technical assignments and other professional skills such as working as part of a team and meeting deadlines.

These qualifications also satisfy the minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate School, and for the Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Engineering. The second qualifying certificate may have more stringent requirements, especially regarding domain-specific prerequisite coursework.

*This program does not require the GRE.

How to apply

When applications are open, you can apply by clicking the link below. To apply to our MS program, make sure to select "Engineering Stacked Degree - AI & ML for Engineering (Master of Science)" in the program drop down selection.

Get notified!

Program cost and financial support

Pursuing a stacked master’s degree is an investment in your short-term and long-term future. The return on your investment may begin to be realized upon completion of the first certificate, immediately bolstering your professional credentials for a career opportunity.

Most students will take a year or more to complete a certificate and two to four years to complete their degree. Spreading the curriculum over a longer period of time has a financial advantage of distributing the program’s cost over time.

Making steady progress towards a certificate and degree allows students to work within their budget, and take advantage of employer funding or tax benefits that may be available to offset some of the cost. Additionally, stacked degrees and certificates provide the ability to stop and start as needed to complete the program.

Program cost

The exact cost of this degree will depend on which certificate a student takes for their second, domain-specific certificate. In 2024-25, the total cost estimate for the degree is between $41,250 and $43,500. This estimate is subject to change if individual certificate rates change in future years.

Financial support

Explore these various sources of financial support including employer funding and student financial aid.