Eligible University and state of Washington employees may enroll for and receive a tuition exemption for up to six credits each quarter, provided they enroll on a space-available basis. Eligible students are allowed to enroll for more than six credits and will be charged tuition accordingly for the additional credits. Tuition-exempt students may register beginning the third day of the quarter (UW staff and faculty) or the fourth day of the quarter (all others). Any credits in excess of six are subject to the same "space available" registration dates.
Space-availability applies to degree programs as well as courses, and fully enrolled programs may not have space to accommodate students using the tuition exemption. Also, certain schools or majors may be limited or have exclusions to the tuition exemption program, please see the school or major for additional information.
The University's Tuition Exemption Policy is governed by Chapter 28B.15.558 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) and UW Administrative Policy Statement 22.1.
Tuition Exemption Eligibility
The Office of the Registrar cannot determine an employee's eligibility to participate in this program. For questions about if your position is eligible to participate in the tuition exemption program, please contact the Professional & Organizational Development (POD) at pod@uw.edu, and include your Employee Identification Number (EIN) and quarter you wish to attend in your email. Non-UW state employees must contact their respective human resources office to determine eligibility and requirements for participating in the tuition exemption program.
UW Employees
Employment Program | Eligible for Tuition Exemption | Eligibility Begins |
---|---|---|
Classified Staff (minimum 50% FTE) | Yes | Completed 6 month probationary period |
Professional Staff (minimum 50% FTE) | Yes | First day of employment |
Faculty (minimum 50% FTE) | Yes | First day of employment |
Hourly or Temporary Staff | No | N/A |
Washington State Employees
"State of Washington employees" means persons employed half-time or more in one or more of the following employee classifications:
-
Permanent employees in classified services under chapter 41.06 RCW
-
Permanent classified employees and exempt paraprofessional employees of technical colleges; and,
-
Faculty, counselors, librarians, and exempt professional and administrative employees at institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016
-
Classified staff may receive waivers as part of teacher preparation programs (as an alternative to the current limitation to being relevant to their work assignment as defined in RCW 28B.15.558
Eligible state employees must hold this status on the day the exemption form is approved, and must be in that status on the first day of the quarter for which the tuition-exemption is granted.
Obtaining Student Status
Individuals who wish to participate in the tuition-exemption program must also apply for admission to the University of Washington Tacoma. Applicants are subject to the same priority application dates as other new students. Individuals wishing to apply as a matriculated student, a non-matriculated student, or a graduate non-matriculated student should contact the specific UW Tacoma program office for details regarding the application process and space availability in the program.
Tuition exemption program participants who are former UW Tacoma students should submit their application as a returning student and will return in the same classification, or as non-matriculated students. New non-matriculated students should submit an application for admission to the Office of Admissions.
Beginning on July 7, 2021, all students will need to verify their COVID-19 vaccination or declare an exemption. Click here to review details about required immunizations. If there are any questions, please contact Hall Health.
Apply for Admission
Contact the Admissions Office for further assistance.
A Tuition Exemption Request form must be submitted every quarter that you wish to register for courses and is due at the Office of the Registrar no later than two (2) weeks or (10) business days before to the start of the quarter. Forms submitted after this date are considered late. You may have one late submission only; after that we cannot accept your late tuition exemption form.
The form cannot be processed without the required signatures from the employee and their supervisor.
Tuition Exemption Request Form for:
|
You will be required to attach documentation of your eligibility for tuition exemption benefits from your supervisor or human resources office. Note: Please provide information on ALL classes you are planning to take as we will register you for your courses on your registration date.
|
---|
Registering for Classes
Once you have been admitted or obtained the current student status and have submitted your tuition exemption form, you will wait to register for all of your classes on the appropriate Registration Eligibility dates for tuition exempt students using the registration page on MyUW. See the Registration for more information on the process.
Course enrollment is not permitted before the appropriate registration eligibility date for all courses when using tuition exemption; this includes any additional courses even if they are not taken as tuition exempt. Students, however, may attend space-available classes with the the instructor's permission prior to the registration eligibility date.
Students who register prior to their assigned tuition exemption registration eligibility date will not be permitted to convert to the tuition exemption program. Students who do register for any classes in advance of this date will not be allowed to convert to tuition-exempt status and will be required to pay regular tuition for the quarter. There are no course adds accepted after the third week of the quarter.
Registration Eligibility Dates
- UW employees register on the 3rd day of the quarter
- Washington State employees register on the 4th day of the quarter
See the Academic Calendar for specific registration dates for each quarter.
Courses Covered by Tuition Exemption
Generally, all state funded courses 599 and below are covered with tuition exemption with the following exceptions. Please check with the school or your advisor to verify that the course you wish to take is eligible.
Click here for lists of graduate courses that are eligible for tuition exemption offered at each school.
Courses Not Covered by Tuition Exemption
All classes and programs offered through the UW Tacoma Professional Development Center (PDC) are not covered by tuition exemption.
Tuition exemption program does NOT cover:
- All self-sustaining or fee-based courses and degree programs, such as the Master of Accounting, the Master of Cybersecurity and Leadership, Graduate Certificate in Software Development Engineering and study abroad courses
- Distance learning (online) courses
- Cohort based programs, such as Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare, Master of Social Work and the Doctoral in Educational Leadership are large enrollment majors with no space-availability for tuition exemption.
- TMATH 098
- UW Extension and UW courses ENGL 100, 101, 102
- Early start courses that begin and end prior to the first day of the quarter
- Graduate level independent study courses numbered 600, 700, and 800
- All independent study, thesis, dissertation, research, internships, tutorials, private lessons, culminating projects or practicums
In addition, certain state funded courses, schools or programs may be excluded from the tuition exemption program on the basis of academic or fiscal consideration.
Graduate Tuition Exemption Policy
Beginning Summer Quarter 2021, the University of Washington Tacoma will limit the number of graduate credits to which a state employee may apply tuition exemption benefits to a total of twelve (12) credits toward the requirements of any graduate degree program it offers.
Tuition exempt students may enroll on a space-available basis in courses that the degree program designates as available for tuition exemption. A list of those courses appears below and will be provided on each degree program’s website. Class size limits are carefully considered in curriculum and course design. To maintain the academic integrity of each course and ensure every student receives appropriate support, class size limits will be adhered to strictly when determining space availability.
Graduate Courses Eligible for Tuition Exemption
The courses listed below are eligible for tuition exemption, subject to the guidelines proposed in this policy. The list of courses eligible for tuition exemption was determined by members of the graduate faculty in each School based on the pedagogical and curricular design of their degree programs. Washington law requires that tuition exemption cannot be used for thesis credits, independent study options, culminating project courses, practicum courses, fieldwork, any courses requiring individualized instruction, or distance learning (online) courses.
Students admitted summer quarter 2021 and later are limited to twelve credits in courses eligible for tuition exemption as listed below.
- Students admitted prior to summer 2021 will be eligible to use tuition exemption benefits under the current UW Tacoma policy through spring quarter 2022 without being limited to a total of twelve credits of tuition exempt courses.
Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
T BUS | 501 | Financial Theory | 4 |
T BUS | 503 | Financial Reporting and Analysis | 4 |
T BUS | 504 | Marketing Management | 4 |
T BUS | 507 | Individual & Team Dynamics | 4 |
T MGMT | 512 | Business Ethics & Social Responsibility | 4 |
TBANLT | 510 | Business Analytics | 4 |
TBANLT | 520 | Analytics Strategy & Big Data Management | 4 |
TBANLT | 550 | Analytical Decision Making | 4 |
- Note: A maximum of 6 credits per quarter will be eligible for tuition exemption.
Students admitted summer quarter 2021 and later are limited to twelve credits in courses eligible for tuition exemption as listed below.
- Students admitted prior to summer 2021 will be eligible to use tuition exemption benefits under the current UW Tacoma policy through spring quarter 2022 without being limited to a total of twelve credits of tuition exempt courses.
Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
TCSS | 540 | Theory of Computing | 5 |
TCSS | 543 | Advanced Algorithms | 5 |
TCSS | 558 | Applied Distributed Computing | 5 |
TCSS | 598 | Masters Seminar in CSS | 5 |
- Note: A maximum of 6 credits per quarter will be eligible for tuition exemption.
As stated in the existing School of Education policy, UW employees currently enrolled in the Master of Education for Practicing Educators program prior to summer 2021 have until spring quarter 2023 to use tuition exemption benefits under the current UW Tacoma policy beyond the four core courses.
Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
T EDUC | 501 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
T EDUC | 502 | Learning About Learning | 3 |
T EDUC | 504 | Educational Research | 3 |
T EDUC | 520 | Multicultural Education | 3 |
- Note: A maximum of 6 credits per quarter will be eligible for tuition exemption.
Admissions to the graduate program are suspended for 2020-2021; a course list will be developed following curriculum revision.
As stated in the existing School of Nursing & Healthcare Leadership policy, admitted students who entered the Master of Nursing program prior to autumn quarter 2019 are eligible to use their tuition exemption benefits through spring quarter 2021, after which they are limited to twelve credits in courses eligible for tuition exemption as listed below.
Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
T NURS | 510 | Society and Health | 3 |
T NURS | 527 | Healthcare Systems and Health Policy | 3 |
T NURS | 554 | Informatics & Healthcare Technology | 3 |
T NURS | 557 | Population Health, Health Promotion, and Clinical Prevention | 3 |
- Note: A maximum of 6 credits per quarter will be eligible for tuition exemption.
Does not permit tuition exemption for any graduate courses due to space restrictions.
Students admitted summer quarter 2021 and later are limited to twelve credits in courses eligible for tuition exemption as listed below.
- Students admitted prior to summer 2021 will be eligible to use tuition exemption benefits under the current UW Tacoma policy through spring quarter 2022 without being limited to a total of twelve credits of tuition exempt courses.
Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
---|---|---|---|
TCMP | 521 | Planning Theory and Practice | 5 |
TCMP | 525 | Property and Capital | 5 |
TCMP | 546 | Strategic Influence | 5 |
TCMP | 554 | Community Development | 5 |
TCMP | 557 | Urban Spatial Design | 5 |
TCMP | 566 | Analyzing Community | 5 |
TCMP | 571 | Legal Urbanism | 5 |
TCMP | 572 | Planning for Equity | 5 |
TCMP | 573 | Power and Decentralization | 5 |
TCMP | 582 | Movements and Organizing | 5 |
TCMP | 590 | Community Planning Studio I | 5 |
TCMP | 591 | Community Planning Studio II | 5 |
TCMP | 595 | Special Topics in Community Planning | 1-15 |
T GIS | 501 | GIS Customization and Automation | 5 |
T GIS | 502 | Introduction to Geospatial Technology | 5 |
T GIS | 503 | Web-Based GIS | 5 |
T GIS | 504 | Mobile Geospatial Application Development | 5 |
T GIS | 505 | Cartography and Data Visualization | 5 |
T GIS | 506 | Environmental Planning Applications | 5 |
- Note: A maximum of 6 credits per quarter will be eligible for tuition exemption.
Fees
- New and non-matriculated applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $60 online.
- New and non-matriculated graduate applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $75 online.
- Returning undergraduate and professional students who have not attended for two or more quarters must complete the Returning Student Form and pay a non-refundable submission fee of $60 online.
- After registering for classes, please check your UW student account balance, available through MyUW. You will be billed $30 non-refundable registration fee and any additional tuition for credits over 6. You will be billed the quarterly Student Technology Fee, in addition to course fees and program fees. This balance is due when UW tuition is due. Please review the Academic Calendar for the specific date; it is typically the 3rd Friday of the quarter.
- A $25 late fee will be assessed if the student initially registers on or after the eighth calendar day of the quarter. A $75 late registration fee will be assessed if the student initially registers for the quarter on or after the 15th calendar day of that quarter.
- A $20 fee will be charged for all registration changes made on a single day beginning the eighth calendar day of the quarter.
Frequently Asked Questions
See the UW Graduate School for UW Tacoma Program for majors and requirements.
Tuition exempt students who register for 6 credits or less do not pay Student Services and Activities Fee and therefore are not entitled to the services funded by those fees. Nor are they eligible to purchase tickets to athletic or performing arts events at student rates. However, tuition exempt students who do register in excess of 6 credits must pay the Student Services and Activities Fees and may use these services with their Husky card. Please note a UPASS is no longer included as a service with this fee.
All tuition exempt students may use the libraries with their Husky card (faculty/staff identification card). Participating Washington State employees may obtain student ID cards for library services from the Office of the Registrar.
Tuition Exempt students are not automatically billed for the UPASS Program with their tuition or services fees. All tuition exempt students, including non-UW employees, are eligible to purchase a UPASS from the Transportation Services Office at the employee rate. It is not refundable and not pro-rated. For more information about the UPASS program and other commuting options, please contact Transportation Services.
UW employees pursuing graduate programs or graduate-level coursework claim the amount of the quarterly exemption as income on their federal income tax return unless the supervisor has certified that the program or coursework is job-related. If it is determined that the course is not job-related, the value of the exemption will be considered income and subject to withholding.
Email reguwt@uw.edu with any questions.