Elective Course Pre-Registration
For information about elective classes, please consult the following:
- Year Two Courses
- Elective Courses (includes details and syllabi for downloading)
- Elective Schedule
You can find detailed information on the entire elective registration process in the Elective Registration Handbook, and in the Overview of the Registration Process section below. After you understand the bidding process, consult the Bid Point History for a review of past years’ outcomes.
Elective course registration begins in the Spring quarter of Year One for the following Autumn quarter and consists of two parts. First, you complete a pre-registration bidding process following the elective bidding instructions through the MBA Program Office. Second, you complete the University of Washington process.
- The MBA Program office pre-registration bidding process takes place online, with students allocating an allotment of bid points on the elective classes that the Foster School will offer in the next academic quarter. Bidding results (classes that you may then register for) are determined by a variety of factors described below.
- The UW process involves going to MyUW, and registering for your assigned classes using the bidding results that are sent to you.
Note: Some elective courses are excluded from the MBA Program Office pre-registration bidding process, and some have prerequisite or minimum bid requirements. These exceptions are noted in the Special Cases and Exclusions section below.
Overview of the Registration Process
Understanding the overall elective registration process will help you when you complete the bidding process. Read this page for detailed information, and the necessary links, for the steps described in the sequence below.
Note: The precise order of these activities may vary.
Early in the program:
- Review the Year Two course offerings, but bear in mind that not all courses are offered every year.
- Familiarize yourself with certificate program requirements, paying particular attention to activities you can or need to complete during your first year in the program.
- Complete any necessary prerequisites. Information on classes that have required prerequisites is included in special cases and exclusions.
- In Spring quarter of Year One, attend MBA Program Office, department, and certificate information sessions for a review of remaining degree requirements, explanation of the
pre-registration bidding process, and the available elective classes. Information and handouts from those sessions are posted on the elective schedule page.
Each quarter prior to the opening of bidding (starting in Spring quarter of Year One):
- Review the elective class schedules for the upcoming quarter (and the tentative schedules for future quarters)
- Review the timelines, especially noting the open and close dates for the pre-registration bidding process
- Review the bid point history from past quarters
When quarterly registration opens:
- Determine how many bid points are available to you (see the table below)
- Complete the online pre-registration bidding form
- Receive various e-mail confirmations about:
- Successful submission and receipt of your bid
- The status of your bids
- Adjust bids as desired (once per day during the bidding period)
- Approximately 1 week after bidding closes, receive your assigned elective schedule
- Review the results
- Contact mbaregis@u.washington.edu with concerns or questions
After you receive bid results:
- Review the instructions on finalizing your elective registration
- Register for assigned classes on MyUW
Pre-Registration Instructions
Read all the instructions in this section before using the online elective bid form.
Before you begin please note the following:
- Deadlines are extremely important in the process. Consult the MBA Registration Calendar and be sure you know when bidding opens and closes. These are not flexible deadlines.
- Read all instructions below before completing the online pre-registration bidding form.
- Familiarize yourself with special cases and exclusions (for instance, non-MBA and certificate classes) and any elective classes excluded from the bidding process that require a different registration process.
- Review the bid point history.
Bid Point Allotments
Each quarter students are assigned bid points; the number of points correlates to the number of elective courses required in that quarter. You will allocate these points to your elective preferences
for the next quarter. For Autumn quarter, the following point guidelines will be used.
Full-time MBA Class of 2009 |
|
Evening Class of 2009 |
|
| Full-time Class of 2010 and Evening Classes of 2010 & 2011 |
|
How to Bid
To complete the pre-registration elective bidding process:
- Consult the timeline. Be absolutely sure you know when bidding opens, and when it closes.
- Review the quarterly schedule of classes.
- Complete the online registration form.
- Enter your Student ID number
- Select your degree program from the drop-down menu
- If you are pursuing a certificate program, select the program from the drop-down menu.
Select more than one program by holding CTRL and highlighting all desired. - Rank and bid on your top seven course preferences.
- Receive confirmations:
- You will receive an e-mail confirmation from mbaregis@u.washington.edu shortly after you complete your bidding. If you do not receive a confirmation, e-mail mbaregis@u.washington.edu immediately so we may look into what may have happened.
- At designated times during the bidding process, you will receive a bid status e-mail letting
you know how your current bids fare against those of other students bidding for the
same class(es). - Approximately 1 week after bidding closes, you will receive your assigned elective schedule and instructions for registering for those assigned classes.
Notes About the Bidding Process
- The lowest valid bid is one point — a bid of zero will be discarded by the registration program.
- You MUST enter a valid student number. If you do not enter a student number, your bid will
be discarded. - For more information about the number of points bid in the past for classes consult the
bid point history. - The pre-registration bidding process does not recognize time conflicts.
- Once you successfully bid and close your browser, you may not submit another bid for
24 hours. - In order to use the bid system and to re-access your bids, you must enable cookies.
- The time stamp of a submitted bid is used as a tie-breaker, which gives an advantage to students who submit their bids early.
- Evening students have priority into evening elective classes.
- CIE students have some priority into required CIE classes.
Once final elective assignments have been distributed, register for those classes on MyUW using the instructions on Finalizing Elective Registration as your guide.
Problems or questions about registration? Contact mbaregis@u.washington.edu.
Special Cases and Exclusions
Bidding for BECON 501
BECON 501 will be offered in both Autumn and Winter quarters and places in the class will be awarded via the pre-registration bidding process. There will be one section offered in Autumn quarter on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00-5:50pm. For Winter quarter, there will be two sections offered. You must bid at least 1 point for BECON 501 to be considered for a space.
Course Prerequisites
You will not be awarded a spot in a class for which you have not completed the required course prerequisite. The following courses offered next quarter have prerequisites beyond the core that you must have completed in order to take the course:
- BECON 520 — Prerequisite is FIN 561
- FIN 552 — Prerequisite is FIN 561
- FIN 560 — Prerequisite is FIN 561
Full-time MBA Program Supplemental Activities
Autumn quarter business classes that satisfy the Professional Development Activities requirement include:
- International Experience:
- BA 545 Global Business Forum (2 quarters)
- BECON 526 Competing in the Global Economy
- BECON 527 International Finance & Investment
- IBUS 550 International Business Consulting
- MGMT 544 Managing Effectively Across Cultures
- OPMGT 535 Global Logistics Management
- Practical Experience:
- IBUS 550 International Business Consulting
- MKTG 560 Research for Marketing Decisions
- MKTG 579 Marketing Strategy for High Growth Potential Firms
CIE Program Classes
Students seeking a certificate from the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) are guaranteed enrollment into the required courses for the certificate, but must bid a specified number
of points for these classes. You are not guaranteed enrollment into recommended certificate courses and should bid for those classes accordingly. Below are the required certificate courses offered this Autumn and the required point bid for these classes Be sure to indicate on the online bid form that you are in the CIE program. You must have formally applied and been admitted to the CIE program to receive the bid point benefits.
CIE certificate students have priority into the following course with the indicated minimum bid:
- ENTRE 510 - Minimum bid of 20 points
Business Classes Excluded from the Bidding Process
- Global Business Forum (BA 545) If you wish to enroll in this class, contact Jennifer Adrien. In your e-mail, indicate which MBA Program you are in and if you are pursuing the Global Business Certificate. Add codes for the class are distributed just prior to the start of the quarter.
- Entrepreneurship Practicum (ENTRE 540) Registration in this course is managed by the CIE Program Office. Contact Lauren Witt for more information and an add code.
- Leadership & Coaching (MGMT 511) and Board Fellows (MKTG 579 G)
- Independent Study classes are not included in the bidding process. Complete an Independent Study Request (pdf) before you enroll in an independent study.
- Non-MBA classes are not part of the bidding process. If you plan to take a course outside of the MBA electives, please review the list of available courses and the Non-MBA Course Request Form (pdf) available on the MBA Portal, and read the information below.
Non-MBA Classes
If you are considering classes outside of the MBA Program, please read the policies relating to
Non-MBA electives.
There is no bidding on Non-MBA courses, but you must obtain two types of approval prior to course registration:
- Approval from the MBA Program to have the course applied to an MBA degree. The Non-MBA Class Request Form is available online or in the MBA Program Office.
- To register for non-MBA courses (including pre-approved undergraduate business courses), contact the appropriate department, program, or faculty member to seek permission (and possibly an add code) from them.
Bid Point History
Each elective class for which enrollment takes place through the online preregistration process has a history of the points bid in order to obtain a seat in the class. As you decide what to bid for various elective classes, you can use this Bid Point History (pdf) to help you determine how many points you wish to bid. The Bid Point History (pdf) details the bids that students have made on MBA elective classes since Autumn quarter 2006. The information is based on the bids of those students who successfully got into the class through the bidding process.
The following information is included on the spreadsheet:- Number of sections offered
- Mean, median, and range of the bid points for those students who successfully got into the class
- An indication of whether the course was taught in the evening (bold-face type on the bid information)
Questions about bid point history data? Contact mbaregis@u.washington.edu.
After Pre-registration
If you have completed the pre-registration bidding process, read Finalizing Elective Registration (updated each quarter when bidding results are distributed) for information about next steps in the elective registration process.