Colleges & Schools

The College of Arts and Science s is the liberal arts college at CU-Boulder. Its mission is to provide an outstanding liberal arts education for its undergraduates, cutting-edge graduate education, and world-class research, scholarship, and creative work. In addition to gaining the knowledge and skills of their areas of study, students learn how new information is acquired, and they can participate in original research and creative work with individual faculty members.

The college offers a wide variety of fields of study, with nearly 50 undergraduate majors. The environment and advantages of a small liberal arts college are created through “academic neighborhoods” in which students can meet and interact with other students and faculty in small group settings. In addition, more than 60 percent of undergraduate classes are small, with 25 or fewer students.

The Leeds School of Business develops people who are knowledgeable in best business practices, well versed in sustainability, entrepreneurial in their outlook, have knowledge of the whole person, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, adapt to and lead change, act ethically, value diversity, and are competitive in the global economy. The school promotes academic excellence, fosters strong relationships with the surrounding business community, and emphasizes ongoing business research.

The Leeds School holds accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB-International). Leeds awards four types of degrees: the bachelor of science (BS), the master of science (MS), the master of business administration (MBA), and the doctor of philosophy (PhD). Students can specialize in accounting, finance, management and entrepreneurship, and marketing. Strong ties to the business community provide students with a practical educational experience during their academic careers.

The School of Education provides teacher licensure programs that ensure rigorous content preparation and extensive field-based practicum experiences. Its graduate programs emphasize research that focuses on educational policy and practice.

The licensure programs, both undergraduate and graduate, are fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Colorado Department of Education, and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education

The College of Engineering and Applied Science offers the bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering sciences, architectural engineering, chemical engineering, chemical and biological engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, and engineering physics. The first nine of the programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org. The tenth is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org. The two remaining programs are applied sciences; accreditation by ABET is not usually sought in these areas. The CU-Boulder campus is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Degrees in applied mathematics and engineering physics are offered in cooperation with the Departments of Applied Mathematics and Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The graduate work at the University of Colorado began on a small scale in 1892. Following years of development, the Graduate School was organized in 1909 with a separate faculty. Each of the three campuses of the University of Colorado system now offers graduate degree programs, and a dean is in residence on each campus. The Graduate School at CU-Boulder is governed by its own set of Graduate School Rules.

The University of Colorado Law School, established in 1892, has a long and proud history as a top public law school. The first students of color entered in 1898. The school became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools organized in 1901. The first woman graduated in 1908. And, the school has been on the American Bar Association’s list of accredited law schools since its first publication in 1923. Today, Colorado Law, housed in the beautiful new “green” Wolf Law Building with one of the largest law libraries in the country, is also one of the most technologically advanced law schools in the country.

The College of Music provides specialized training designed to prepare students for a variety of careers in music. The college offers three undergraduate degrees, two certificate programs, and four graduate degrees; numerous performance opportunities are also available. Established by the Regents of the University of Colorado in 1920, the College of Music is a fully accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music.

The mission of the Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies is to provide quality, innovative, lifelong learning opportunities to a diverse student population by extending the educational resources of the University of Colorado Boulder. A variety of credit courses, noncredit programs, certificate programs, and seminars is offered through Continuing Education, which also administers CU-Boulder's summer session. Only university-approved faculty teach in Continuing Education.

The University Libraries system on the Boulder campus is the largest library collection in the Rocky Mountain region — more than twelve million books, periodicals, government publications, audio-visual materials, microforms, maps, manuscripts, papers, and computer-based sources. The system includes four branch libraries —Business, Earth Sciences / Map, Engineering, and Music. Archives and Special Collections are housed in Norlin Library, as well as the general social sciences and humanities collection of 700,000 volumes shelved on three tiers in the third floor book stacks. Staff from the East Asian,Government Information, and Science libraries, also located in Norlin, join the staff of the Research and Instruction Department on the second floor to provide reference and research assistance. Instructional services are available from each branch and internal library. Access Services in Norlin includes the Circulation Desk, Interlibrary Loan, Course Reserves, and some audiovisual services.

The Program in Environmental Design on the CU-Boulder campus takes a broad and integrated view of design professions. Problems and opportunities faced by design professions in recent years demand a broader educational experience than the individual professions traditionally have supplied. Our goal is to prepare graduates for professional challenges by providing:

• Broad Education. Courses in the humanities, arts, natural and social sciences allow you to examine the world and contemporary culture from a variety of viewpoints.
• Hands-on Experience. Students learn by doing: manipulating and creating tangible, hands-on projects. From the first day of your freshman year, you’ll actively integrate knowledge from lectures and activities in your designs.
• Expert Guidance. You’ll receive guidance from exceptional faculty and practicing designers in the Boulder/Denver metro area. 

The Journalism and Mass Communication Program (JMC) offers a next-generation media education that prepares its graduates to collaborate within the professional world, engage the public and produce positive social change. JMC uses innovative teaching technologies, empowering strategies for responsible democratic engagement and an integrated curriculum to foster excellence among its students. Students are trained for successful careers in advertising, broadcast, print and online media, photojournalism, public relations and media analysis.