Scholarships

Learn about scholarships and your path to financial support and academic excellence.

  1. Admissions & Aid
  2. Financial Aid & Scholarships
  3. Scholarships & Grants
  4. Scholarships
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Explore Seattle University Scholarships

Learn more about scholarship opportunities for first-year undergraduates, transfer undergraduates, graduate students, ROTC students and more.

Merit Awards: Undergraduate University Scholarships

First-year, transfer, undocumented and international students who complete an admissions application to Seattle University are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships.  

For first-year students, these scholarships are renewable (up to 4 years!). Transfer students with more than 45 credits may receive awards for up to 3 years. Transfer students with less than 45 credits may receive awards for up to 4 years. 

Merit scholarships are based on the information in your admissions application—not finances—and are at least $8,000 per year.

Full-Tuition Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Opportunities

Your path to affordable education and academic success at Seattle University.

Seattle University incoming first-year students enrolled in Washington’s College Bound Program may be considered to receive financial aid to cover their full, demonstrated financial need for four years. To meet full, demonstrated need Seattle University commits to offering financial aid that will cover the difference between a student's Student Aid Index (SAI)* from the FAFSA and the total Cost of Attendance (COA). The financial aid will be in different forms and from a variety of sources. For example, the financial aid will be a mix of grants/scholarships, work-study, and low-interest loans from federal, state, and Seattle University sources — combined with the College Bound scholarship.

Seattle University Bound Eligibility

To be considered for the program, incoming first-year students must fulfill the following:

Seattle University is committed to supporting the success of its students. Learn more about the different services and resources dedicated to student success.

For questions about the Seattle University Bound Program, call or email the Admissions Office at 206-220-8040, admissions@seattleu.edu, or contact your Admissions Counselor. Seattle University can be found on the Common Application.

*Per federal regulations, a negative SAI is considered zero (0) for purposes of calculating financial need.

Seattle University aspires to be the preferred transfer destination for Seattle Promise students. Seattle Promise students enrolled in the Washington State College Bound Scholarship program that complete a DTA or AS-T with a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA are guaranteed admission. They are also eligible to receive full tuition awards to Seattle University.  

Seattle U Promise Eligibility 

To receive the scholarship, incoming transfer students must fulfill the following: 

Resources

Seattle University is committed to supporting the success of its students. Learn more about the different services and resources dedicated to student success.  

For questions about the Seattle U Promise Scholarship, call or email the Admissions Office: 
1-206-220-8040 
transfer@seattleu.edu 

Additional Undergraduate Scholarship Opportunities

Fostering Scholars is a full scholarship and program of support awarded to eligible students currently in—or who aged out of—the foster care system. Recipients receive financial, academic and personal support towards the completion of an undergraduate degree at Seattle University. 

Fostering Scholars

Seattle University's Sullivan Scholarship provides comprehensive four-year funding, covering full tuition, room and board, and all academic fees. This prestigious award is granted annually to two exceptional students from Jesuit or Catholic high schools.

Sullivan Scholarship

Sperry Goodman Endowed Scholarship

The Sperry Goodman Endowed Scholarship is for incoming freshmen majoring in computer science, environmental science, mathematics, physics or an engineering discipline. Preference is given to students with financial need. A Sperry Goodman scholarship is an award of $5,000 per year.

Sperry Goodman Scholarship

Seattle University Math and Science Scholars (SUMSS) Scholarship

The SUMSS Scholarship is designed to help high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need pursue career opportunities in biology, chemistry and mathematics. This scholarship is up to $10,000 per year, renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.

SUMSS Scholarship

Current students can visit Seattle University's ScholarshipUniverse to search for and apply for scholarships. The campus has hundreds of different scholarships each with different requirements, so we encourage everyone to complete the application process.

Many scholarships are automatically matched to applicants based on the information contained in their student records. These scholarships generally do not result in an increase to gift aid and will replace generic Seattle University funding with a named scholarship which allows the University to recognize students for their unique qualities and abilities.

These named scholarships are funded by generous Seattle University donors, alumni and friends. Student recipients are asked to complete a post-acceptance thank you biography.

ScholarshipUniverse

Seattle University participates in Tuition Exchange and FACHEX — scholarship awards for dependents of faculty and staff at partnering colleges and universities. Learn more about the programs.

FACHEX and Tuition Exchange

Graduate Student Scholarships

Seattle University offers Graduate Scholarships at the time of admission. Most scholarships are based on the information in your admission application, and most are renewable. Please contact Graduate Admissions for more information.

Additional Graduate Scholarship Opportunities

The Sinegal Fellowship provides support for underrepresented minority Costco Scholars who have graduated from either the University of Washington or Seattle University and who are pursuing an advanced degree at Seattle University. The Sinegal Fellowship is a 2-year award with a stipend of $5,000 for each year. Questions about this fellowship should be directed to grad-admissions@seattleu.edu.

Eligible full-time religious and lay teachers and principals of Catholic schools under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Seattle may apply for this grant provided they are matriculated in an eligible graduate degree program in the College of Education at Seattle University. Individuals employed at Catholic Schools who are on a leave of absence or working part-time are not eligible. Master in Teaching (MIT) and Doctor of Education (EdD) students are not eligible. Grants pay half of regular tuition for eligible graduate education courses. The student is responsible for the remainder of the charges. The application for this grant becomes available on May 1 preceding the upcoming academic year. The grant is not retroactive. The grant will not be awarded for courses taken before matriculation into an eligible program or for courses taken prior to the application submission. Learn more through Student Financial Services.

Catholic School Teacher and Principal Tuition Grant Application

Several graduate departments offer program-specific scholarships. Scholarships are generally limited; some awards may be need-based and some may be renewed. Please consult college, department or program websites, faculty or staff for more information about availability, eligibility and application procedures. Current students can also visit Seattle University's ScholarshipUniverse to search for and apply for scholarships. 

ROTC Scholarships

Learn about ROTC scholarships and financial aid.

Contact the Student Financial Services Office to schedule an appointment with the counselor responsible for administering the ROTC program to learn about the possible impact of ROTC funding on other financial aid and the requirements for continuing to receive ROTC funding in subsequent years.

Yes!

Financial aid awards are revised to include ROTC funding when all information regarding that funding is received from the military.  This often happens fairly late in the cycle. As soon as the Student Financial Services Office receives the necessary information, ROTC students' financial aid awards are updated to include any and all funding for which they are eligible.  

No. Financial aid awards for students who participate in ROTC programming but don't receive ROTC funding are not affected.

Visit the ROTC web page or contact the Recruiting Operations Officer using information below.

Recruiting Operations Office
Phone: 1-206-296-2439
Email: rotc@seattleu.edu

Scholarships From Other Sources

Looking for more scholarships? Learn more about applying for outside scholarships. 

When, Where and How to Apply for Outside Scholarships 

Click here for a tip sheet on Exploring Outside Scholarships. 

Seattle U students can also search for opportunities on ScholarshipUniverse, a resource for both institutional and outside scholarships.

What To Do If You Have Received an Outside Scholarship  

Outside scholarships are scholarships students bring with them to Seattle University. On the award letter these scholarships are labeled "Private Outside Scholarship." 

If the student has received a scholarship from an outside donor that is not included on their award letter, they should notify the Student Financial Services Office as soon as possible so it will be considered when determining eligibility for other financial aid and revising the award if necessary.  

If the Student Financial Services Offices receives a check from an outside scholarship's donor that requires the recipient's endorsement, an email will be sent to the student's SU e-mail address telling them to come to Student Financial Services to sign the check. 

The following information may be helpful for students and scholarship donors: 

  • Report the amount of the scholarship for the entire 9-month academic year, even if it will be sent in separate, quarterly payments. 
  • Unless the donor specifies otherwise, scholarships are disbursed equally over all three quarters: fall, winter and spring. 
  • If the scholarship check is sent to the student rather than to Seattle University, they should notify the Office of Student Financial Services of the amount of the scholarship as soon as it is known.
  • If the donor requires enrollment verification, the student may obtain an Enrollment Verification document from SU online by navigating to the 'Students Menu' and under 'Academic Profile section selecting 'Enrollment Verification'.  Be sure to then select 'Real Time Verification' to view a document that student can save as PDF or print. 
  • Scholarship checks should be made payable to "Seattle University" with the student's name and SU ID # clearly noted, and mailed to:

    Seattle University
    Attn: Student Financial Services
    901 12th Avenue
    PO Box 222000
    Seattle, WA 98122

If the donor requires that Seattle University bill them prior to releasing the scholarship funds, please provide: 

  • The student's written permission for Student Financial Services to provide the requested billing; 
  • The name of the donor and/or contact person; 
  • The address where the invoice should be mailed; 
  • Any instructions the donor has given about what should be included on the invoice; and 
  • Whether the donor needs quarterly invoices or a single invoice for the entire year. 

Supporting Offices

Get in Touch

We’re here to help. For questions or more information about financial aid contact:

Student Financial Services

Vi Hilbert Hall, 2nd floor
Monday–Friday 9:30am–4:00pm
Drop-in Counselors available 10:00am–3:00pm