As the season for graduate application review nears, we are writing to remind you about what you can and cannot consider while making admissions decisions. It is vital that all faculty who review applications to graduate programs understand and follow these requirements, so please feel free to pass this message along.
Also below is guidance on writing application prompts for future admissions cycles that are compliant with state and federal requirements.
If you have questions about whether the language in your materials is permissible, please contact graddean@uw.edu. Together, the Graduate School and Compliance and Risk Services will get you answers in short order.
Application review reminders
- You cannot, directly or indirectly, take into consideration an applicant’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity), age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state and federal law (“Protected Characteristics”).
- Your questions, discussions, and deliberations must not, directly or indirectly, solicit or include Protected Characteristics in any aspect of decision making.
- Experience and perspective are not Protected Characteristics. Therefore, you may consider an applicant’s experience or perspective on supporting a workplace, learning environment, etc. that promotes respect for different views and experiences; an applicant’s mindfulness of their role in supporting an inclusive environment; and an applicant’s ability to achieve excellence in your graduate program.
- If an applicant self-discloses a Protected Characteristic, you are not required to disregard their answer. Instead, focus on the quality of their response to the question and how their answer reflects an ability to be successful in the requirements for the program. An applicant’s Protected Characteristics are not requirements for participation or success in any program. Here are some examples of appropriate responses to self-disclosure:
- If the applicant self-discloses their gender or gender preference when prompted to describe a challenge in their background, focus your attention to how they personally experienced the challenge, how they addressed and overcame their challenge and how have they learned from that challenge in a way that enhances the likelihood of their facing a several-year rigorous course of education and research.
- If the applicant self-discloses their race in response to a prompt to explain something in their background that enhanced their ability to be successful in the program, focus your attention on the specific requirements of the program and how their experience of race gives them insight or tenacity to achieve goals with personal integrity despite difficulties.
- If the applicant self-discloses a protected characteristic in response to a prompt asking how their experience might help them support diversity in our environment, focus your attention on how they will support inclusiveness and equity in their work with colleagues.
- If your admissions process includes interviewing applicants, the same rules apply.
Crafting appropriate application prompts for future admissions cycles
For most graduate programs, it is too late to alter application prompts for the 2026-2027 cycle. Doing so would corrupt the admissions process. Instead, please refer to the reminders above to guide your review should applicants disclose Protected Characteristics.
Before the next admissions cycle, please review your application prompts to ensure they are compliant with state and federal requirements. As you do so, consult the “admissions and scholarships” section of the Civil Rights Compliance Office’s website under the “evaluation practices” tab. There you will find examples of permissible and impermissible language. Additional examples are below:
- Tell me about a time when you faced a significant challenge or barrier in your life or career. How did you navigate it, and what did you learn from that experience? This question invites the candidate to share a personal story that highlights perseverance, adaptability, maturity and growth.
- Looking back on your journey so far, what is an example of a situation where you had to overcome obstacles outside your control, such as limited resources, barriers, or unexpected setbacks, to achieve your goals? This question emphasizes “distance traveled” by focusing on obstacles outside the candidate’s control and how they responded, which implies resourcefulness and nimbleness; “landing on two feet” despite life’s challenges.
- How have your lived experiences shaped the way you approach challenges or support others in a team or community setting? Can you share a specific example? This question connects personal history to professional behavior, revealing empathy, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Interview questions regarding “distance traveled” can be asked in several different ways but must not be used to identify a specific protected class.
- The generic application may include demographic questions to facilitate future communications with the applicant, to help maintain compliance with other state or federal laws, or for purely statistical purposes. You are not to consider these application questions or answers as part of your review of an applicant: Permanent address, date of birth, gender, preferred gender pronouns, citizenship (as distinct from whether a visa sponsorship will be necessary) and whether the applicant is a native English speaker.