Seattle Pacific University Overview
Seattle Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Seattle, Washington. The city atmosphere of Seattle makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.
What Is Seattle Pacific University Known For?
- Students at SPU have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 2%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
- The highest award offered at SPU is the doctor's degree.
- In 2017-2018, 50% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, SPU bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $49,100 a year. That's about 20% more than their peers at other schools.
- The average SPU student graduates in 4.3 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.
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Seattle Pacific University Rankings
We have ranked SPU as #359 out of 2,587 colleges and universities in the country in our 2022 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. Out of the 58 colleges in Washington, it is ranked at #7.
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
SPU has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#17 | Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#59 | Best Graduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#175 | Best Master’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at SPU.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards SPU has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#18 | Best Student Counseling Schools | College Factual |
#45 | Best General Education Schools | College Factual |
#59 | Best Special Education Schools | College Factual |
#78 | Best Teaching Schools | Teaching Degree Search |
#86 | Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Schools | College Factual |
#133 | Best Education Schools | College Factual |
Where Is Seattle Pacific University?

Contact details for SPU are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 3307 3Rd Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119-1997 |
Phone: | 206-281-2000 |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/seattle.pacific.university |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/SeattlePacific |
How Do I Get Into SPU?
You can apply to SPU online at: https://spu.edu/undergraduate-admissions/apply
Admission Requirements for SPU
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | neither required nor recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | recommended |
Recommendations | required |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into SPU?
Approximately 27% of accepted students are men and 73% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 88%, and the acceptance rate for women is 92%.
Average Test Scores
About 80% of students accepted to SPU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 510 and 590. Math scores were between 500 and 570.
Can I Afford Seattle Pacific University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At SPU, approximately 62% of students took out student loans averaging $6,507 a year. That adds up to $26,028 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at SPU is 2.0%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Seattle Pacific University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 899 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 2,606 full-time undergraduates at SPU, 32% are male and 68% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Seattle Pacific University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 379 |
Black or African American | 174 |
Hispanic or Latino | 407 |
White | 1,196 |
International Students | 133 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 317 |
Geographic Diversity
Washington students aren't the only ones who study at Seattle Pacific University. At this time, 26 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 53 countries are represented at SPU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.
Online Learning at Seattle Pacific University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at SPU has changed over the last few years.

Online Growth Rankings of SPU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Seattle Pacific University was 382.9%. This is the #184 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at SPU regardless of major.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Seattle Pacific University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Westlake78 under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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