Seattle Central College | Field Guide 2022

Since 1966, Seattle Central College has served students from Seattle and greater King County. As Seattle’s first community college, Seattle Central grew into a thriving center for higher education in the heart of Washington’s largest city. Since its founding, this college has been the epicenter of social activism, when Seattle’s African and Asian American communities fought for a comprehensive college. Seattle Central is an equity-focused college that makes higher education possible for underrepresented and underserved communities and actively works to close achievement gaps. Our perspective is global, with the nation’s sixth-largest community college international program teaching more than 1,000 students from around the world.

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Key Facts

Highest Enrolled Programs

Academic transfer
Adult basic education
Allied health
Nursing
Information technology
Social and human services

Enrollment

Headcount (all sources): 11,507
FTES (all sources): 5,423
Headcount (state-funded): 7,936
FTES (state-funded): 3,994

Students in Selected Programs

Bachelor's: 245
Apprentices: 18
I-BEST: 341
International: 926
Running Start: 814
Worker Retraining: 415

Student Profile

Type of Student

Academic/transfer: 47%
Basic skills: 9%
Other: 21%
Workforce education: 23%

Race/Ethnicity*

American Indian/Alaska Native: 2%
Asian: 30%
Black/African American: 21%
Hispanic/Latino: 12%
Pacific Islander: 1%
White: 42%

Attendance

Full-time: 47%
Part-time: 53%

Family and Finances

Students receiving need-based financial aid: 28%
Students with children: 32%

Gender

Female: 61%
Male: 39%

Median age

Points of Interest

Health Education Center

Seattle Central’s Health Education Center (HEC) provides 85,000 square feet of classrooms, medical labs, computer labs, a library and offices. The HEC offers high-tech training and an innovative teaching model to develop the next generation of workers for positions in this vital and growing industry.

AA in Technical Theatre for Social Justice

In fall 2021, we welcomed the first cohort of our new associate degree program emphasis in Technical Theatre for Social Justice (TTSJ), with help from Intiman Theatre. This innovative program aims to train more students of color for careers in set construction, sound, electrical work and other supporting roles in public performance.

Academy for Rising Educators

In spring 2021, we graduated our first class of the Academy for Rising Educators, an Associate of Arts degree with a focus on education and social justice that prepares students to become teachers. We run this program in partnership with Seattle Public Schools to increase the percentage of teachers of color in Washington. Graduates have the option to directly transfer into teaching programs at four-year universities and to work at Seattle Schools as teaching assistants.

Data is from the 2020-21 academic year. Reflects headcount unless otherwise noted.

*May not add up to 100% because students may be counted in more than one race. Percentages calculated on reported value.