Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

at EDUCO - Seattle Pacific University USA

When you receive a bachelor of science in Ecology at SPU, you will be ready to work in ecology or biological subdisciplines such as marine biology, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, behavioral ecology, and wildlife management. This major prepares you for graduate studies or a professional ecology/biology career.

About the Ecology Major

As an Ecology major, you will focus on principles that enhance environmental quality and make efficient use of nonrenewable resources. You will also learn to apply this knowledge to help address agricultural and environmental challenges.

A bachelor of science degree in Applied Human Biology from SPU is the ideal foundation if you plan to enter a physical therapy doctoral degree program after your undergraduate studies. The broad curriculum of this degree satisfies the basic requirements for entry into physical therapy as outlined by the American Physical Therapy Association.

Applied Human Biology Major
As an Applied Human Biology major, you’ll use an interdisciplinary approach to better understand human beings from biological and behavioral perspectives. You’ll examine the human condition through classes in anatomy and physiology, chemistry, psychology, biomechanics, and more.

Majoring in Sociology engages you in the scientific study of social behavior and social actions, that allows for a deeper understanding of the inner workings of social systems and structures. 

SPU graduates with degrees in Sociology have gone on to careers in law, social work and counseling, and social-policy fields. Sociology graduates also work in government, business, industry, and private research agencies. Others find careers in religious organizations, law enforcement agencies, and many other settings.

The low-residency MFA at SPU is a creative writing program for apprentice writers — both Christians and those of other faith traditions — who not only want to pursue excellence in the craft of writing but also place their work within the larger context of world literature by writers of faith.

The spiritual dimension of this program is not intended to produce didactic, sectarian, or sentimental literature. On the contrary, this program seeks to extend what our faculty understand to be a longstanding conversation that comprises much of world literature, a conversation in which the highest levels of art, an open-eyed exploration of human experience, and a respect for mystery are all held in a proper balance.

Our models are Augustine and Dante, Saint Ephraim the Syrian and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, the Pearl poet and Sor Juana de la Cruz, George Herbert and John Milton, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Emily Dickinson, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Alexandros Papadiamandis, T.S. Eliot and Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy and James Baldwin, Annie Dillard and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We believe that our program will appeal to writers for whom matters of faith are central. We also intend to cultivate reading and writing as spiritual disciplines. We are convinced that writers flourish best when they engage in a sustained dialogue with the great literature that has come before them. Therefore, our program maintains a strong emphasis on reading classic works from the writers of faith, and responding to them in a series of critical papers.

The History major and minor programs at SPU seek a deeper understanding of world cultures.

Together we:

• Explore the roots and development of our world regional histories.
• Learn to "do" History through research and internships.
• Probe more deeply into the ways our Christian faith can speak to human issues.

The History Department launched a new curriculum in 2020 for its History Majors and Minors. The new curriculum is designed for students to grow in:

• Cross-cultural insight
• Understanding of historic inequalities and the construction of race, gender, and class over time
• The cultivation of empathy for others
• Drawing on the past to address the pressing problems of today 
• Wrestling with the sometimes dark and difficult periods of human history--wars, displacement, and injustice--and contemplating how the Christian story can speak into these challenging moments.
• Cultivating career-oriented skills and professional experiences through a new "Careers in History" class and internship placement support

The new sequence of classes for the majors and minors helps students achieve mastery of an essential skill set in an intentional way: students first take classes in "Thinking Historically," then study "Systems in History," and finally learn to "Do History" themselves.

Our redesigned majors and minor offer students flexibility in their choice of electives while ensuring that students will have broad exposure to many different time periods and world regions.

• Cross-cultural insight
• Understanding of historic inequalities and the construction of race, gender, and class over time
• The cultivation of empathy for others
• Drawing on the past to address the pressing problems of today
• Wrestling with the sometimes dark and difficult periods of human history--wars, displacement, and injustice--and contemplating how the Christian story can speak into these challenging moments.
• Cultivating career-oriented skills and professional experiences through a new "Careers in History" class and internship placement support

The new sequence of classes for the majors and minors helps students achieve mastery of an essential skill set in an intentional way: students first take classes in "Thinking Historically," then study "Systems in History," and finally learn to "Do History" themselves.

Our redesigned majors and minor offer students flexibility in their choice of electives while ensuring that students will have broad exposure to many different time periods and world regions.

Chemistry forms a foundation for the study of a wide variety of scientific disciplines. It is concerned primarily with matter, energy, and their interactions. Chemists are both creators and problem-solvers who do everything from create new substances to analyze criminal evidence. They are at the forefront of efforts to make sure that technology serves people, rather than the reverse. And at Seattle Pacific University, chemists and chemistry are informed and influenced by a Christian worldview.

Benefits
Seattle Pacific University’s location will benefit you in many ways. You’ll have plenty of opportunities for internships in a variety of biomedical, biotechnological, environmental, analytical, and industrial laboratories. You’ll also hear from world-class researchers who regularly visit campus to give lectures on their work.

SPU graduates with degrees in chemistry and biochemistry have many options. Our chemistry and biochemistry alumni are working at places such as:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Washington State Patrol Forensic Lab
• Los Alamos National Laboratories
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
• Bristol-Meyer/Squibb
• Seattle Biomedical Research Institute
• Cardinal Health
• Rapigene
• Mayo Clinic
• Public and private schools
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• EvergreenHealth Medical Center
• Juno Therapeutics
• Amazon
• Boeing

Many alumni have also entered medical school or other graduate programs at such renowned institutions as the University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard, Yale School of Medicine, and Georgetown University

If you are interested in preparing for ordained ministry and for general pastoral leadership responsibilities in churches as well as parachurch, mission, and other settings, then the Master of Divinity degree program is for you. It is also the recommended first theological degree for admission to doctoral programs oriented to theological research and teaching.

Are you a musician with a desire to help people cultivate their physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being through music? The Music Therapy Program — the first and only Music Therapy program in Washington state — offers many opportunities for musicians to use their skills and aptitude to serve others through the functional use of music.

The program is designed for you to develop entry-level competencies required as a professional music therapist, prepare you for a six-month clinical internship, and, ultimately, pass the national board certification exam to earn your Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC) designation.

Our goal is to provide you with a personalized education of classroom and practical clinical experiences that will allow the music therapist within you to develop to meet professional standards. In this shared journey, you will become increasingly aware of who you are as a musician and how your music can affect the spiritual, mental, physical and psychological well-being of others.

Sixty percent of the world’s population lives in Asia, while millions more Asians live in other parts of the world. Asia is also home to the world’s oldest modern civilizations, as well as some of its richest cultures and most dynamic societies.

From our location in Seattle on the Pacific Rim, students and faculty at SPU learn about and encounter Asia, because this is central to our mission of understanding and engaging our multicultural and complex world.

Pursuing Asian Studies as a major or minor will deepen your understanding of, and commitment to, global and cultural engagement, reconciliation, and human flourishing. In this major, your interdisciplinary coursework and diverse educational experiences will prepare you for service or further study in:

• Business
• Education
• Development
• Law
• Ministry
• History
• Linguistics
• Many other fields

The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Psychology majors are rigorous yet flexible programs designed to meet the American Psychological Association Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology major while also fulfilling SPU’s mission to provide students with a transformative and holistic experience grounded in Christian faith.

As such, these programs prepare you with extensive knowledge of the field; scientific and critical thinking skills; an awareness of diversity, ethics in practice, and social responsibility; effective oral and written communication skills; and professional-level training and experiences (e.g., research and internship opportunities) for both careers and graduate school in psychology.

Psychology (BS)

The BS in Psychology is designed for students with a broad range of career and graduate school interests such as, but not limited to, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, marriage and family therapy, social work, school counseling, and industrial and organizational psychology.

Social-personality Psychology: Emphasizes information and skills in social and personality psychology; prepares students for jobs or graduate programs in research, data analysis, program development, and review.