Pathways for Inclusive Excellence (PIE) was created to support talented Washington state students who need additional STEM support and college preparation before they begin their engineering or computer science careers.

At the College of Engineering, we believe that building a workforce with diverse perspectives promotes engineering excellence and innovation for our common good. Our students have highly sought-after skills such as multilingualism, multicultural perspectives, and unique experience yet have limited access to STEM education or need additional college preparation.

PIE is for students who might benefit from additional time and resources to ensure a strong STEM foundation. All students who apply to the College of Engineering or the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering are automatically considered for PIE.

Students who are admitted to PIE will be notified in their university admission offer letter. Individuals selected for PIE are admitted into either the Allen School or the College of Engineering on the condition that they join their PIE program.

PIE provides holistic support through a cohort model which includes a community of peers, workshops, networking opportunities, individualized advising and a summer preparation program. PIE programs are one to two years starting the summer after high school.

PIE students are required to participate in cohort-based curriculum and additional foundational classes. Students who complete the program are guaranteed placement into an engineering or computer science major. Most students are placed in their major by the end of their first or second year at the UW. 

Pathways

PIE is made up of three different pathways, Engineering Dean’s Scholars, Allen School Scholars Program and STARS.

Learn more: Pathways in detail

All of the PIE programs provide students with a supportive environment that is committed to their success, but they differ slightly in the support offered and time commitment expected of each student.

	Allen School Scholars Program	Engineering Dean's Scholars	STARS
Cohort size	~60	~50	~30
Majors	Computer Engineering, Computer Science	Engineering (not computer engineering)	Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science
School*PIE students will be offered admission into either the College of Engineering or the Allen School. After accepting an offer of admission, students are not able to switch between the College of Engineering and the Allen School. While members of the STARS program belong to both the Allen School and the College of Engineering, they are obligated to the same admission rules and are not able to switch schools.	Allen School	College of Engineering	College of Engineering and Allen School
Advising	All programs require quarterly advising appointments with a specialist, holistic adviser dedicated to the program.
Community building	PIE offers events and programming to create and foster community at both the PIE and individual program level.
Housing	All PIE students are strongly encouraged to live on campus for the first year.
Mentorship	Peer Mentoring	Peer Mentoring	Peer Mentoring Faculty Mentoring
Required curriculum	All PIE programs have cohort-based curriculum. For the duration of their program, students will take a mix of UW courses selected and required by the programs, some courses specific to PIE programs, and other courses from the UW catalog selected by individual students to pursue their own interests and graduation requirements.
Summer component	All PIE programs have programming in the summer before the start of Freshman year. Some elements may be online and some are in person. All admitted students will be given full details of summer requirements upon receiving their offer into a PIE program.
Standard amount of time to graduate **This number represents the standard amount of time for the average student. However, each student will have a personalized plan based on their individual needs and assessment.	4 years	4 years	5 years
Contact information	Leslie Ikeda Senior Allen Scholars Program Manager ikedal@uw.edu or ikedal@cs.washington.edu	Catherine Thomas Engineering Dean's Scholars Program Manager cathom@uw.edu	Ali Cho STARS Director alicho21@uw.edu

* PIE students will be offered admission into either the College of Engineering or the Allen School. After accepting an offer of admission, students are not able to switch between the College of Engineering and the Allen School. While members of the STARS program belong to both the Allen School and the College of Engineering, they are obligated to the same admission rules and are not able to switch schools.
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**This number represents the standard amount of time for the average student. However, each student will have a personalized plan based on their individual needs and assessment. Back to content

Admission process

 

Note: Any student not wishing to participate in the PIE program can still attend UW as a pre-major.

Additional information

General inquiries: pie-coe@uw.edu

• First-year engineering experience
• Direct to college admission FAQs
• Pathways for Inclusive Excellence
• Running Start students