Campus History

Antioch University Seattle is a creation of Antioch West, a "University Without Walls" experiment on the west coast initiated by Antioch College psychology Professor Joe MacFarlane and 30 Antioch College students in 1971. By 1975, over 25 separate programs existed from Alaska to Southern California. Three west coast campuses continue to thrive from those early beginnings, including Seattle, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

Antioch opened its doors in Seattle in October, 1975 to eleven students in three degree programs. Two of those programs, B.A. completion and M.A. in Psychology, continue today. The third, Urban Studies and Planning, was transformed in 1982 into the M.A. in Whole Systems Design program.

The College's Board of Trustees redefined Antioch as a national university in January, 1979. This eventually led to the appointment of Antioch University Seattle's first president in 1987, Dr. Toni Murdock, who went on to become Chancellor of Antioch University in 2006.

Today, Antioch offers the B.A. in Liberal Studies completion program and master's programs in psychology, education, whole systems design, environment and community, management, strategic communications and organizational psychology. The newest program, a doctorate in clinical psychology, was launched in 2004. Antioch also offers continuing education programs through its Center for Continuing Education.

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