Seattle Central College | Field Guide 2024

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 about 1,000 students from around the world.

Key Facts

Highest Enrolled Programs

Nursing
Information Technology (IT)
Computer Science
Liberal Arts (transfer)
Basic and Transitional Studies (GED®, ESL, High School+)

Enrollment

Headcount (all sources): 11,073
FTES (all sources): 4,855
Headcount (state-funded): 7,126
FTES (state-funded): 3,574

Students in Selected Programs

Bachelor's: 186
I-BEST: 307
International: 997
Running Start: 653
Worker Retraining: 226

Student Profile

Type of Student

Academic/transfer: 38%
Basic skills: 12%
Workforce education: 22%
Other: 28%

Race/Ethnicity*

Students of color: 70%

American Indian/Alaska Native: 2%
Asian: 30%
Black/African American: 25%
Hispanic/Latino: 16%
Pacific Islander: 2%
White: 41%

Attendance

Full-time: 43%
Part-time: 57%

Family and Finances

Students receiving need-based financial aid: 41%
Students with dependents: 19%

Gender

Female: 59%
Male: 40%
X: 1%

Median age

Points of Interest

Partnerships

Our connection to the community has been at the core of Seattle Central’s history for more than 50 years. We engage in partnerships and projects that make education more accessible, improve student success and outcomes, and close opportunity gaps by race and income. When students choose to study at Seattle Central, their education extends beyond the classroom and into the community, enhancing the student learning experience.

Our history

Seattle Central has been the epicenter of social activism in Seattle since its founding in 1966. From its very beginning, Seattle Central has given voice to underserved communities and people who want to activate for change. It has always been part of what this college does — to build, mold, and train the leaders who will help bring needed change to the structures of our society.

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. Seattle Central offers four Bachelor of Applied Sciences (BAS) degrees among the dozen programs at the HEC.

Data is from the 2022-23 academic year. Reflects headcount unless otherwise noted.

*Students of color percent based on unduplicated headcount. Students may be counted in more than one race, so race/ethnicity percentages may not total 100%. Percentages calculated on reported value.

Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.