President
Deana L. Porterfield, EdD
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 in the San Juan Islands.
Enrollment
(Statistics are based on Autumn Quarter 2024)
Total enrollment: 2,261
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,776
Post-baccalaureate enrollment: 19
Graduate enrollment: 466
(Sept. 2023–Aug. 2024)
Continuing education enrollment: 971
Academic programs offered
Undergraduate majors: 52
Undergraduate minors: 64
Master’s degree programs: 13
Doctoral degree programs: 5
Graduate certificates: 17
Students
(undergraduate through doctoral)
Average age of students
Undergraduate: 21
Post-baccalaureate: 33
Master’s: 32
Doctoral: 35
Gender
Men: 35%
Women: 65%
Student-faculty ratio
12:1 (based on Common Data Set definition)
Undergraduate information
Class size
83% of Autumn Quarter 2024 classes had enrollments of 30 or less.
Denominations
Students represent 55 Christian faith traditions and denominations.
Ethnic diversity
53% (undergraduate ethnic minority students)
Financial Aid
98% of students receive some type of financial aid.
First-generation students
41% of students are the first in their family to attend a university or college.
Retention rate
72% (based on first-year persistence)
States/Countries
Students come from 21 states and 39 countries.
Top 10 undergraduate programs
By number of students enrolled Autumn Quarter and accepted into a major:
- Psychology
- Nursing
- Computer Science
- Business Administration
- Honors
- Physiology
- Exercise Science
- Mechanical Engineering
- Applied Human Biology
- Communication Studies
More information
For more information and facts about Seattle Pacific University, you can visit these sites:
Updated Nov.5, 2024