Graduation Requirements
Seattle Academy’s academic year is divided into three trimesters, with students taking up to eight courses per trimester. Each completed trimester of a course earns one credit. The requirements for graduation are as follows:
*To view the table below on a mobile device, swipe to the right.
| Graduation Credit Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Area | Credits |
| Humanities | |
| English | 12 |
| History | 9* |
| World Languages (see more information below) | 9* |
| Rhetoric | 1 |
|
Total Humanities credits |
31 |
| STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) | |
| Math | 9* |
| Science | 9* |
| Math or Science electives | 3 |
| Total STEM credits | 21 |
| *Minimum requirement: most students will be encouraged to take a 4th year | |
| Innovations | |
| Distribution credits: the series of three Foundations classes | 3 |
| Innovations electives | 3 |
| Total Innovations credits | 6 |
| Arts | |
| Distribution credits: one credit each of Dance, Visual Arts, Theater, and Music | 4 |
| Arts electives | 3 |
| Total Arts credits | 7 |
| Physical Education and Health | |
| Physical Education | 4 |
| Health distribution credit: Health 9 | 1 |
| Health elective | 1 |
| Total Physical Education and Health credits | 6 |
| Additional credits^ | 13 |
| ^Courses in any area taken beyond the point at which the requirement has been fulfilled will have their credit applied to this additional credit requirement. | |
| Total credits required to graduate | 84 |
| Community Action hours | 120 hours |
See course descriptions in the curriculum guide for information for which credit areas any given course counts towards.
Terms used in the above descriptions:
- Distribution credits refer to areas in which students take classes that focus on a specified set of topics to provide content and skills essential to the discipline. Students may have limited flexibility in the timing of these classes during their 9th and 10th grade years.
- Electives refer to courses in Arts, Innovations, and Math and Science that are not included in the distribution credit requirement. Students often have a choice of class and topic for fulfilling these elective credits.