Seattle Pacific University

Private · Moderately Selective · WA

Photo: Joe Mabel (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationWA · West

SettingUrban

Undergrads1,762

Student:faculty13:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate47.4%

6-yr grad rate62%

Drop-out rate27.6%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$40k

Out-of-state tuition$40k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity69.3%

Gender diversity64.9%

International7%

IdentityFree Methodist

Overview

Seattle Pacific University is a Christian university affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, set on the north slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. It pairs an explicitly faith-based campus community with the internship and career access that comes from being embedded in a major West Coast city.

Academics

Nursing, engineering, and education are the university's most established programs, each benefiting from proximity to Seattle's hospital systems, technology and aerospace employers, and public school districts. Coursework across majors is framed within a faith-integrated liberal-arts core, a defining feature of the curriculum regardless of major.

Campus & student life

The Queen Anne Hill campus offers views toward downtown Seattle and Puget Sound while remaining a distinct, contained campus rather than fully urban. Chapel and faith-based programming are a regular part of campus life, reflecting the university's Free Methodist affiliation. Athletics compete at the Division II level.

Getting in

SPU's review is holistic, and the university is transparent about its faith commitments; applicants are generally expected to be comfortable with an explicitly Christian campus culture even if not required to share the specific denominational affiliation. Essays sometimes ask about faith and values alongside academic interests.

After graduation

Nursing and engineering graduates place well into Seattle's substantial healthcare and technology employer base. Education graduates move into Washington state's public and private schools. The alumni network carries a strong Pacific Northwest, evangelical Christian character.

Worth knowing

Explicit faith integration, expected of students regardless of major, is central to daily life at SPU, including chapel attendance norms and a lifestyle covenant historically required of students; applicants should understand this dimension of the university's identity before enrolling.

spu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate83.4%

Enrolled mid-50%1210

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying