Creative Technology & Design Undergraduate Programs
Creative Technology & Design (CTD) is CU Boulder's interdisciplinary engineering degree for students who want to combine computing, digital and physical design, and art to exploring new technologies. This is a degree for makers, tinkerers and builders—creatives with a passion for inventing, who learn best by doing.
You'll spend most of your time prototyping—not just studying. Students regularly create apps, games, robots, physical products, and interactive installations as they learn engineering and design principles.
CU Boulder’s College of Engineering & Applied Science ranks in the Top 15 Best Engineering Programs among public institutions according to U.S. News and World Report.
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“I decided to attend CU Boulder because of the uniqueness of the program that ATLAS offers. I was inspired by my instructors’ undying curiosity and true passion for the importance of interdisciplinary innovation. As an individual who has never fit into one box, I felt perfectly at home in the ATLAS Institute.”
Cassandra Goodby
Senior Design Technologist, Amazon
Creative Technology & Design alum (BS & MS)
Why Choose Creative Technology & Design?
Learn by Making
Project-based classes mean you’ll design, prototype and build from day one. You’ll develop a foundation in engineering, design, technology and leadership, then tailor your degree to your interests with electives from across the university.
Build a Portfolio
Every project is an opportunity to show what you can do. CTD is built around growing your technical and creative skills, so you’ll graduate with a portfolio that demonstrates your expertise to employers and collaborators.
Prepare for What’s Next
Technology changes, but the ability to learn, adapt and collaborate doesn’t. CTD prepares you with a flexible technical foundation, creative confidence and the ability to apply new tools—including AI—as industries evolve.
Find Your Community
Whether you’re spending time in the BTU, Audio Frequency Lab or B2, you’ll collaborate with classmates, faculty and researchers who share your curiosity. Plus, this program has the highest retention rate of any major in the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
ATLAS students go on to work at Fortune 500 companies, design studios, startups, nonprofits, and universities—or start their own businesses.
The ATLAS Institute's Creative Technology and Design programs boast 53% female-identifying students.
Animation Career Review ranks CU Boulder in the Top 25 nationally and Top 5 in the Southwest for UX/UI/HCI.
Student Projects
Kaleideo, by EO Rafelson
A unique planetarium light show using imagery generated by a physical kaleidoscope.
Dinner by Design, by Samia Juras
An interactive cooking app that provides step-by-step instructions and breaks down elements so users can mix and match.
TODOS Productivity Board by Jason Fontillas, Sydney Calcagno & Henry Waill
TODOS combines smart habit tracking with a familiar, analog interface to make productivity more tactile.
ATLAS Institute Certificates
The ATLAS Institute nows offers two certificates:
Design Technologies (12 credit hours) provides a fundamental understanding of information technology and digital media production.
User Experience (12 credit hours), offered in collaboration with the Department of Information Science, gives students the skills and vision to reimagine how humans interact with technology.
The Career You Want
Pursue skills that prep you for a wide range of careers in fast-growing and emerging fields.
- Product design
- UX/UI
- Graphic design
- Human-computer interaction
- Multimedia production
- AR/VR
- Web & mobile development
- Game development
- Sound design & audio production
Where ATLAS Alumni Work
Curriculum
Here's a basic overview of your undergraduate classes over four years.
- Freshman and sophomore years — ATLAS core curriculum alongside College of Engineering core classes
- Junior year — Focus electives in your area of interest
- Senior year — Capstone sequences and continue electives
Core Courses
Learn more about the core curriculum.
Focus Electives
Check out a list of current offerings.
See the BS CTD Curriculum page for in-depth explanations of all aspects of CTD coursework.