Living in Spokane
Spokane is a moderately-sized city of approximately 200,000 people (436,000 in Spokane County). It is big enough to support numerous arts organizations and small enough that rush hour traffic might entail waiting at the same light twice.
An affordable place to hang your hat
Whether you intend to rent or buy, Spokane is a relatively affordable city. Rental housing is plentiful, and rents for one bedroom apartments range roughly (depending on neighborhood and amenities) from $450–$650/month. Rental listings can be found at The Spokesman-Review and Craig's List. You can find more information about area rentals on our Student Affairs housing page as well as housing tips from WSU Spokane students.
Things to do
Spokane is a wonderful place to live if you like both indoor and outdoor recreation. We have a wealth of theater and arts organizations that offer entertainments ranging from traveling Broadway shows to local productions to seat-of-your-pants improvisation.
Museums, galleries, comedy clubs, music venues, sports, festivals, street fairs, and a wealth of restaurants offer leisure opportunities for the young and old. You can find a searchable events calendar at Spokane7.
Spokane also serves as the perfect jumping-off point to reach any of the region's many clear lakes, national forests, and ski resorts for four-season recreation.
Getting there
Spokane Transit provides bus service to the greater Spokane area, including Cheney, Spokane International Airport, Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake. The closer your origination or destination point is to downtown Spokane, the more bus routes—both in variety and frequency—are available. WSU Spokane is one mile from downtown, and is served by STA bus route #29, with bus route #25 passing within two blocks of campus.
Many Spokanites choose to commute by bicycle. There are many secondary arterial and residential streets that provide convenient bicycle routes to the WSU Spokane campus and downtown. Spokane bicyclists also enjoy the Centennial Trail, a 37 mile trail that winds through downtown Spokane and along the edge of our campus.
Depending on where you live in Spokane, you can find all necessary goods and services within an easy walk. Many older in-city neighborhoods boast supermarkets, drugstores, coffee shops, and a variety of specialty retail stores within a one-mile walk.
Riverpoint Campus
The WSU Spokane Campus (map) is one mile from both downtown Spokane and Riverfront Park—a gorgeous 100-acre urban park. Our campus is a stone's throw from the Spokane River, minutes from Interstate 90, and is at the heart of the City of Spokane's new University District.
WSU Spokane was established in 1989 as the urban research campus of Washington State University, a land-grant research university founded in 1890. The Riverpoint Campus is composed of five buildings; a sixth is under construction (groundbreaking was October 2006) and is expected to be completed summer of 2008. In order of dedication, the buildings include:
- Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute
- Phase I Classroom Building
- Health Sciences Building
- South Campus Facility
- Academic Center
You can find more information about visiting our campus here.
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Admissions & registration
- Graduate school application (indicate Spokane as your campus choice)
- For prospective students
- Financial aid
Contacts
David Brody, JD, PhD
Campus Academic Director
E-mail: brody@wsu.edu
Telephone: 509.358.7952
Rachel Young
Administrative Assistant
E-mail: reyoung@wsu.edu
Telephone: 509.358.7950
Academic Center, Suite 401
Mailing address
Criminal Justice, WSU Spokane
PO Box 1495
Spokane, WA 99210-1495
Shipping address
Criminal Justice, WSU Spokane
412 E Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99202
