The Professional Studies program is designed for students transferring to Seattle Pacific University with the Associate of Applied Sciences-Transfer degree from a public Washington state community or technical college. However, students completing a different technical or professional degree from a public Washington state two-year school are eligible to apply for the program once they have completed at least 20 credits of liberal arts coursework with a 2.5 minimum GPA in those courses.
Professional Studies (BA)
When you are admitted into SPU as a participant in the Professional Studies Program, you are also admitted to the Professional Studies major. Essentially, your program at the community or technical college is your major area of study, and this program allows you to receive a bachelor’s degree by completing liberal arts requirements and a minor. No more than 90 credits from your community or technical college are transferred into this program.
If you are admitted to the Professional Studies major, in order to earn a degree you must:
- Complete at least 10 credits in University Foundations (UFDN) coursework (15 credits if you are enter SPU with fewer than 90 credits).
- Complete 5–8 credits in “W” coursework.
- Complete all General Education requirements in the Curriculum for Special Programs that were not fulfilled by transfer work.
- Be accepted into and complete an academic minor.
- Earn enough college-level credits at SPU to reach l80 credits total, including a minimum 60 upper-division (UD) credits.
If you decide to pursue a major other than the professional studies major, you will leave the Professional Studies Program, and your transfer credits will be re-evaluated on a course-by-course basis. This will likely result in a loss of transfer credit, since many professional and technical courses accepted for the Professional Studies Program would not normally transfer.
General Education requirements
As a participant in the Professional Studies Program, you complete an alternative general education curriculum, called the Curriculum for Special Programs.
Apply to the minor
You will be admitted to Seattle Pacific University and the Professional Studies major simultaneously. However, you must be formally admitted to a minor and complete all minor requirements. Minor requirements are listed within each specific discipline in this Undergraduate Catalog. You should apply for entrance to your minor during your first quarter at SPU.
- Once you have identified the minor you want to pursue, apply in Banner by following these instructions.
- The University requires a grade of C- or better in all classes that apply to a major or minor; however, programs may require higher minimum grades in specific courses. You may repeat an SPU course only once for a higher grade.
- To advance in this program, meet with your faculty advisor regularly to discuss your grades, course progression, and other indicators of satisfactory academic progress. If your grades or other factors indicate that you may not be able to successfully complete the major or minor, your faculty advisor can work with you to explore options, which may include choosing a different major or minor.
- You must complete the minor requirements that are in effect in the SPU Undergraduate Catalog for the year you enter the major or minor.