Seattle University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic university in the United States. Located on Seattle, Washington's First Hill, it was founded in 1891 as the School of the Immaculate Conception by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and continues to operate as a Jesuit institution. Today, Seattle University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. U.S. News and World Report's "Best Colleges 2005" ranks Seattle University among the top 10 schools in the West that offer a full range of masters and undergraduate programs.

Seattle University was founded by Father Victor Garrand and Father Adrian Sweere in downtown Seattle. It served as both a high school and college. In 1893, construction began on the First Hill campus. The school moved to First Hill in 1898 and changed its name to Seattle College, at which point the high school became a separate institution now known as Seattle Preparatory School. In 1909, the college awarded its first bachelor's degrees. At one time, the Jesuits planned to move the college to the tract of land that is now the heart of Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood, but by 1940 they had decided not to move, and sold the land in 1940.  Seattle College changed its name to Seattle University in 1948.