Seattle Central College is a
public college
A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, United States. With
North Seattle College and
South Seattle College, it is one of the three colleges that comprise the
Seattle Colleges District. The college has a substantial international student population served by the International Education Programs division as well as many immigrant and refugee students taking ESL courses through the Basic and Transitional Studies division. Seattle Central College also encompasses the Wood Construction Center and Seattle Maritime Academy, which are on separate campuses.
History

Seattle Central's origins can be traced to 1902, with the opening of
Broadway High School. It operated as a traditional high school until the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when it was converted to a vocational and adult education institution for the benefit of veterans who wanted to finish high school. As a result, in 1946, its high school students were all transferred to
Lincoln High School, and the Edison Technical School (which already shared a campus with Broadway High) was expanded to fill the entire facility.
Edison started offering college-level courses when it was reconstituted as ''Seattle Community College'' in September 1966.
North Seattle Community College and
South Seattle Community College opened their doors in 1970, whereupon Seattle Community College was renamed Seattle Central Community College.
In March 2014, the Seattle Community Colleges District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to change the name of the District to Seattle Colleges and to change the names of the colleges to ''Seattle Central College'', ''North Seattle College'' and ''South Seattle College''. The decision followed similar decisions by nine other Washington state community colleges that had recently started to offer baccalaureate degrees.
Campus

Seattle Central College is an urban campus on Seattle's
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
, located along its main thoroughfare, Broadway, and west of
Cal Anderson Park. The college occupies 10 buildings. Its main structure is the five-story Broadway-Edison Building, which stands south of the four-story Science and Math Building. West of the Broadway-Edison building stand the four-story Mitchell Activity Center, a bookstore, and on-campus apartments for international students; south stand the three-story Broadway Performance Hall, the South Plaza, and the five-story Fine Arts Building. Other structures in the southern part of the campus include a three-story South Annex, Erickson Theater, and Siegal Center (the Seattle Colleges District headquarters). There is also a four-story parking garage just west of the Broadway Performance Hall.
In addition to its campus, the college owns several parcels between Pine and Pike streets.
Academics and programs
Academic degrees
Seattle Central College offers two accredited
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
programs, a
Bachelor of Applied Science
A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences.
Usage
In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...
in Applied Behavioral Science, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Allied Health. The applied nature of the degrees places increased emphasis on teaching practical skills, versus theory. In addition, two-year
associate's degrees
An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...
are offered that comply with Washington's Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA). The DTA guarantees that all credits taken will be accepted for transfer to any state university in Washington for completion of a bachelor's degree at that institution for persons wanting to pursue a B.A. or B.S. outside of Seattle Central.
Basic studies
Seattle Central's Basic Studies Division offers
ESL training to non-native speakers to achieve English proficiency, as well as a
GED preparation and testing program.
Vocational training
Seattle Central College's Seattle Maritime Academy provides students aspiring to enter the
U.S. Merchant Marine with
STCW training, through two different programs, each requiring about one year to complete. The Marine Deck Technology program teaches skills designed to prepare students to qualify for an
Able Seaman
An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
–Special rating, while the Marine Engineering Technology program prepares students to qualify as a marine electrician or junior engineer. Both programs culminate in a 60-day at-sea internship aboard a large commercial ship. The academy operates its own 82-foot vessel, ''Maritime Instructor'' (formerly
USCGC ''Point Divide''), for instructional purposes.
The college's Seattle Culinary Academy offers a five quarter certificate program in Specialty Desserts and Breads, and a six quarter certificate program in Culinary Arts. Both are accredited by the
American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation (ACF) is a professional chef's organization established in 1929 in New York City. It was formed as a merge of three chefs' associations in New York City, the Société Culinaire Philanthropique, the Vatel Club and ...
.
Seattle Central's Wood Technology Center offers three certificate programs (carpentry, cabinet making, and marine carpentry) ranging in length from four to six quarters.
Other vocational training offered by Seattle Central includes
information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
and
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
programs. A two-year
Associate of Science in Nursing is offered to prepare students to become
registered nurse
A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...
s.
Student life
Mitchell Activity Center
The Mitchell Activity Center is an athletic facility constructed in 1996. It includes racquetball and squash courts, gymnasiums, a strength training facility, and a game room.
Student publications
''The City Collegian'' was Seattle Central College's award-winning biweekly student newspaper, published continuously from 1966 until 2008. In that year, college administrators shut it down and cancelled journalism classes after controversial articles by student journalists embarrassed the administrators, prompted student protests, and incurred administrative hostility toward the journalists and their publication. The paper's faculty adviser, Jeb Wyman, resigned to protest administrative actions. ''The City Collegian'' returned to print as ''New City Collegian'' on June 5, 2012. Written by Seattle Central students, the publication was sponsored by a local business,
Cupcake Royale, and received no funding from the college. It has since ceased publication.
A magazine, ''The Central Circuit'', was established in 2011 and published several times a year. It was the only student publication funded by the college until it suspended publication in 2016 due to the lack of an advisor.
Since 2018, Seattle Central College's newspaper has continued in the form of ''The Seattle Collegian''.
Notable alumni and faculty
Alumni
*
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
- martial artist and Hollywood action film star
*
James DeMile
James W. DeMile (June 6, 1938 – August 15, 2021) was an American martial artist, hypnotherapist and author. He was among the first group of students of Bruce Lee, whom he met in 1959, as they both attended Seattle Central College, Edison Techn ...
- martial artist
*
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...
- bassist with
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
*
Dean Fujioka - Japanese actor, musician, model, director, artist, and radio host
*
Macklemore (took
Running Start classes as a high school student) - musician
*
Tay Zonday - singer, actor, musician, voice talent
*
DeCharlene Williams - business owner and activist
Faculty and staff
*
Constance Rice (former) -
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
Board of Regents member, wife of former Seattle mayor
Norm Rice
*
Kshama Sawant (former) -
Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...
member
References
External links
Official website
{{Coord, 47, 37, 00, N, 122, 19, 18, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-WA
Community colleges in Washington (state)
Universities and colleges in Seattle
Universities and colleges established in 1902
Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Capitol Hill, Seattle
1902 establishments in Washington (state)
Two-year colleges in the United States