About SPU
“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.” — Seattle Pacific University Mission Statement
Seattle Pacific University is a place where more than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students gain a superb education grounded on the gospel of Jesus Christ — while gaining the tools to influence the world for good. Outstanding scholarship and thoughtful faith is a powerful combination that brings about change in the lives of graduates, and in the people and communities they go on to serve.
In 2024, for the eighth year in a row, Seattle Pacific has been named a “Best National University” in U.S. News & World Report’s annual best college rankings. U.S. News defines national universities as those institutions offering a full range of undergraduate majors plus master’s and doctoral programs, and committed to producing groundbreaking research.
Seattle Pacific was founded in 1891 by Free Methodist pioneers who valued a non-sectarian approach to education that welcomed all those seeking scholarly excellence rooted in the Christian gospel. They also sought to take the gospel into the world in order to bring about the flourishing of God’s children.
Today, SPU is a community of active, living Christian faith. Motivated by that faith, students confront real human needs here in Seattle and beyond to create a world that is more peaceful, prosperous, equitable, and just.
University Vision
Engaging the culture, changing the world.
Mission and Core Themes
We have adopted three Core Themes to guide us as we engage the culture and help to bring about positive change in the world.
- Academic Excellence and Relevance
- Transformative and Holistic Student Experience
- Vital Christian Identity and Purpose
Seattle and the Pacific Northwest
Seattle Pacific University offers the Seattle advantage, with exposure to the employers, industries, and institutions that are fundamentally changing the way we work, play, entertain, communicate, socialize, move, shop, and care for one another. From Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Boeing to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Vision, the city is where today’s SPU students learn to influence the future.
Located in a quiet north Queen Anne residential neighborhood, Seattle Pacific University’s 43-acre campus borders the Lake Washington Ship Canal and boasts majestic trees, open lawns, beautiful gardens, and views of the Cascade mountains.
Just minutes from downtown Seattle, the University capitalizes on its setting by using the city itself as an urban classroom. Combining classroom education with practical experience is often the best way to master a discipline. Seattle’s urban opportunities offer students that critical link. Many SPU students intern with businesses and organizations such as Microsoft, Boeing, Fred Hutchinson, the Mariners, KING TV, the Empty Space Theatre, the Seattle Opera, The Children’s Project, and others.
The city is surrounded by water and mountains. Bridges, ferry boats, and snow-capped peaks are a part of everyday life. Because of those natural assets, the Pacific Northwest offers unparalleled recreational opportunities: hiking, skiing, boating, fishing, and scuba diving, to name a few.
At SPU’s two island campuses, the beauty of the Pacific Northwest provides rest and research possibilities. At seaside Camp Casey on Whidbey Island, retreats and workshops are conducted in the rustic setting of a former military fort. On a 965-acre environmental preserve on Blakely Island, students study life above and below the sea.
University Leadership
Meet SPU leadership - including the president, vice presidents, and Board of Trustees
About Seattle Pacific
Learn more about Seattle Pacific University. Read about the University's vision, history, and mission. Take a 360 video campus tour, and join SPU students on their tour of Seattle.