diff --git a/docs/api.rst b/docs/api.rst
index 440f450f2..9e8fc299f 100644
--- a/docs/api.rst
+++ b/docs/api.rst
@@ -28,10 +28,16 @@ the sampled values for all the global parameters and objects in the scene from t
 	import os
 	os.chdir('..')
 
+To make sampling deterministic, seed Scenic's random number generators
+before calling `Scenario.generate` using `scenic.setSeed` (the programmatic
+equivalent of the :option:`--seed` command-line option):
+
+.. autofunction:: scenic.setSeed
+
 .. testcode::
 
-	import random, scenic
-	random.seed(12345)
+	import scenic
+	scenic.setSeed(12345)
 	scenario = scenic.scenarioFromString('ego = new Object with foo Range(0, 5)')
 	scene, numIterations = scenario.generate()
 	print(f'ego has foo = {scene.egoObject.foo}')
diff --git a/docs/options.rst b/docs/options.rst
index 1df985596..3efdc6c75 100644
--- a/docs/options.rst
+++ b/docs/options.rst
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ General Scenario Control
 	(although :mod:`random` and :mod:`numpy.random` should not be used in place of
 	Scenic's own sampling constructs in Scenic code).
 
+	This option can be configured from the Python API using `scenic.setSeed`.
+
 .. option:: --scenario <scenario>
 
 	If the given Scenic file defines multiple scenarios, select which one to run.
diff --git a/src/scenic/__init__.py b/src/scenic/__init__.py
index ac15ea073..589730ef2 100644
--- a/src/scenic/__init__.py
+++ b/src/scenic/__init__.py
@@ -1,8 +1,31 @@
 """A compiler and scene generator for the Scenic scenario description language."""
 
+import random as _random
+
+import numpy as _numpy
+
 import scenic.core.errors as _errors
 from scenic.core.errors import setDebuggingOptions
 from scenic.syntax.translator import scenarioFromFile, scenarioFromString
 
 _errors.showInternalBacktrace = False  # see comment in errors module
 del _errors
+
+
+def setSeed(seed):
+    """Seed the random number generators Scenic uses for sampling.
+
+    Seeds both the Python :mod:`random` module and :mod:`numpy.random`, which
+    are what Scenic's rejection sampler draws from. After calling this,
+    subsequent calls into Scenic (e.g. :func:`scenarioFromFile` /
+    :meth:`Scenario.generate`) will produce deterministic results for the
+    given seed.
+
+    This is the programmatic equivalent of the ``-s``/``--seed``
+    command-line option; see :option:`--seed`.
+
+    Args:
+        seed (int): Seed value to pass to both RNGs.
+    """
+    _random.seed(seed)
+    _numpy.random.seed(seed)
diff --git a/src/scenic/__main__.py b/src/scenic/__main__.py
index 05f527fba..2053b0ab4 100644
--- a/src/scenic/__main__.py
+++ b/src/scenic/__main__.py
@@ -3,13 +3,10 @@
 
 import argparse
 from importlib import metadata
-import random
 import sys
 import time
 import warnings
 
-import numpy
-
 import scenic
 from scenic.core.distributions import RejectionException
 import scenic.core.errors as errors
@@ -185,8 +182,7 @@
     if args.verbosity >= 1:
         print(f"Using random seed = {args.seed}")
 
-    random.seed(args.seed)
-    numpy.random.seed(args.seed)
+    scenic.setSeed(args.seed)
 
 # Load scenario from file
 if args.verbosity >= 1:
diff --git a/tests/syntax/test_basic.py b/tests/syntax/test_basic.py
index 8c3d01483..0b70ae6ce 100644
--- a/tests/syntax/test_basic.py
+++ b/tests/syntax/test_basic.py
@@ -249,6 +249,17 @@ def test_verbose():
     setDebuggingOptions(verbosity=1)
 
 
+def test_setSeed():
+    scenic.setSeed(12345)
+    p1 = sampleParamPFrom("param p = Range(0, 1)")
+    scenic.setSeed(12345)
+    p2 = sampleParamPFrom("param p = Range(0, 1)")
+    assert p1 == p2
+    scenic.setSeed(54321)
+    p3 = sampleParamPFrom("param p = Range(0, 1)")
+    assert p1 != p3
+
+
 def test_dump_ast():
     scenic.syntax.translator.dumpScenicAST = True
     try: