Seattle , Washington , United States
Total Students
National Ranking
Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seattle Seminary and College in 1913, adopting the name Seattle Pacific College two years later, and received its current name in 1977.
Seattle Pacific University was founded in 1891 by Free Methodist pioneers to train missionaries for overseas service. On June 5, 2014, a shooting occurred in the Otto Miller Hall, during which one student was killed and two other students were injured. The suspect was not a student at the school and had no connection to the university.
Mission
Seattle Pacific University is a Christian university fully committed to engaging the culture and changing the world by graduating people of competence and character, becoming people of wisdom, and modeling grace-filled community.
Denominational affiliation
SPU is a private university founded in 1891 by the Free Methodist Church of North America. It remains a private nonsectarian institution of Christian higher education affiliated with The Free Methodist Church USA. Responsibility for the governance and control of Seattle Pacific University rests exclusively with the Board of Trustees, which elects its own members, of which one third must be a member of a Free Methodist church.
Location
SPU’s 43-acre city campus is located in a residential neighborhood on the north slope of Queen Anne Hill, only 10 minutes from the heart of downtown Seattle. SPU also owns and operates a wilderness campus and field station on Blakely Island, and a seaside campus/retreat facility on Whidbey Island.
Enrollment
(Statistics are based on Autumn Quarter 2023)
Total enrollment: 2,662
(Sept. 2022–Aug. 2023)
Continuing education enrollment: 1,154
Students
(undergraduate through doctoral)
Average age of students
Undergraduate: 21
Post-baccalaureate: 37
Master’s: 32
Doctoral: 34
Gender
Men: 32%
Women: 68%
Student-faculty ratio
11:1 (based on Common Data Set definition)
Undergraduate information
Class size
85% of Autumn Quarter 2023 classes had enrollments of 30 or less.
Denominations
Students represent 58 Christian faith traditions and denominations.
Ethnic diversity
54% (undergraduate ethnic minority students)
Financial Aid
97% of students receive some type of financial aid.
First-generation students
40% of students are the first in their family to attend a university or college.
Retention rate
75% (based on first-year persistence)
States/Countries
Students come from 36 states and 39 countries.
Top 10 undergraduate programs
By number of students enrolled Autumn Quarter and accepted into a major:
THE Ranking::
N/A
QS Ranking::
N/A
Type of Accommodation::
On Campus
Annual Cost of living:
12000 USD/ year
Average Annual UG Fee:
37965 USD
Average Annual PG Fee:
32940 USD
Application Fee:
N/A