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Facts & Figures

Facts and Figures

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  • About the Data

Enrollment Fall 2022

8,264
Total students

5,729
Undergraduates

1,558
Master's

977
Doctoral

Undergraduate Students Fall 2022

Race/Ethnicity

Pie chart of undergrad race/ethnicity percentages

Undergraduate Ethnicity Chart summary 
 
 

White [60.6%]

Asian [14.5%]

Hispanic/Latino [12.6%]

International [6.9%]

African-American [2.4%]

American Indian/Alaskan Native [1.4%]

Unknown [0.9%]

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander [0.8%]

Demographics

30%

Female*

70%

Male*

7%

International

15%

First-generation

17%

Historically underrepresented**

*0.1% of students have self-identified as non-binary but this data may not be accurate or complete. See “About the Data” section for more information.

Updated 10/22.

Undergrad enrollment visualizations

 **Includes African-American, Hispanic/Latino, American-Indian/Alaska Native, Native-Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. See “About the Data” section for more information.

Undergraduate Retention

87%

Second fall retention rate in Engineering

71%

Graduation rate in Engineering within six years

    60%

    Historically Underrepresented Students*
    Graduation rate in Engineering within six years

    78%

    Transfer Students
    Graduation rate in Engineering within six years

    *Most recent National Average 6-year graduation rate in Engineering is 61.7% (Median) for all students and below 50% for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. (2018 American Society of Engineering Education Retention and Time-to-Graduation Survey)

    Retention/Graduation Rate visualizations
    Transfer Student Retention/Graduation Rate visualizations

     

    Graduate Students Fall 2022

    Race/Ethnicity

    Pie chart with CU's graduate ethnicity breakdown for Fall 2022

    Graduate Ethnicity Chart Summary 

     

    White [44.3%]

    International [37.9%]

    Asian [7.6%]

    Hispanic/Latino [6.2%]

    African-American [1.4%]

    Unknown [1.3%]

    American Indian/Alaskan Native [1.0%]

    Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander [0.4%]

    Demographics

    31%

    Female*

    69%

    Male*

    38%

    International

    8%

    Historically underrepresented*

    *0.1% of students have self-identified as non-binary but this data may not be accurate or complete. See “About the Data” section for more information.

    Updated 10/2022.

     *African-American, Hispanic/Latino, American-Indian/Alaska Native, Native-Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

    Graduate enrollment visualizations

    Post-Graduation Career Outcomes

    90%

    Employed or attending graduate school in engineering or related field within 6 months of graduation

    Graduate Alumni Data Visualization

    $85,918

    Undergraduate Alumni Median annual income 1-5 years post-graduation

    Undergraduate Alumni Data Visualization

    Most Common Employers

    Lockheed Martin • Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics • Seagate • Northrop Grumman • United Launch Alliance • Medtronic • NASA/JPL • Raytheon

    Post-graduate employment visualizations

    Research

    5

    Center-scale initiatives funded in 2022

    10

    National Academy members

    $159,805,717

    Research awards for FY 2022

    74%

    Growth in research funding over last five years

    Rankings


    Undergraduate Public Rankings 2023

    U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs

    #17 Best Undergraduate Engineering Program

    #6 Aerospace Engineering  
    #9 Environmental Engineering
    #13 Chemical Engineering  
    #17 Civil Engineering
    #19 Computer Science
    #15 Mechanical Engineering
    #19 Electrical Engineering

    Graduate Public Rankings 2023

    U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Graduate Engineering Schools

    #11 Best Graduate Engineering Schools

    #5 Aerospace Engineering
    #9 Environmental Engineering
    #10 Chemical Engineering
    #10 Civil Engineering
    #17 Mechanical Engineering

    #19 Electrical Engineering
    #20 Computer Science
    #22 Materials Science and Engineering
    #24 Biomedical Engineering
    #29 Biological Engineering


    The rankings, published annually by U.S. News and World Report, are based on a survey of more than 200 engineering schools nationwide that grant doctoral degrees. Specialty rankings are not available in all disciplines at the undergraduate level, and not all disciplines are ranked every year. 

    Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

    We have made strides in retention/graduation rates over the past ten years. A few highlights:

    • Bachelor’s degrees earned by Hispanic/Latino students in Engineering at CU has increased 400% since 2010.

    • Bachelor’s degrees earned by women in Engineering at CU has increased 173% since 2010.

    • Graduate degrees earned by women in Engineering at CU has increased 85% since 2010.

    • 20% increase in community college transfer students since 2014.

    College IDEA Plan Actions

    We are continuously working toward greater equity, inclusion and diversity with undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, staff, faculty and administrators in alignment with the campus-wide Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan.

    IDEA Plan Actions & Updates

    Faculty

    250

    Tenure track
    faculty

    105

    Instructional
    faculty

    23:1

    Undergraduate student
    to faculty ratio

    11:1

    Graduate student
    to faculty ratio

    Engineering Data Visualizations

     

    About the Data

    Data Collection Values, Definitions and Limitations

    In the College of Engineering and Applied Science, we strive to think critically about how to communicate data about our students, faculty and staff. We acknowledge that our collection methods are limited, and we may not have data to represent all identities within our diverse community. As often as possible, we will disaggregate our data to better understand the variation of experiences within our college and the university. To ensure that data is not identifiable, we will not share data on groups with fewer than 10 students where data could be attributed to a specific person. Statistically, methods for analyzing small populations are limited, but it is important to not disregard them. We utilize this data internally, although it may not be published. 

    Why is non-binary missing from the gender breakdown?

    As of Jan. 30, 2020, in alignment with Colorado driver license and identification card policies, CU Boulder systems include three sex designations: male (M), female (F) and nonbinary (X). CU Boulder recognizes that your legal information doesn't always align with how you identify. To foster diversity, equity and inclusion, CU systems allow you to indicate your gender identity, name pronunciation, preferred name, pronouns and/or sexual orientation within the Buff Portal. We are currently limited in the data that we can report because the information in the student portal may not be complete (data is self-reported and optional to report). For more information visit the Office of the Registrar. While the unique identities of our students, faculty and staff may not always be reflected in the data we have available, we seek to acknowledge and support all community members and to continue improve our data collection efforts.

    How are the race/ethnicity groups determined?

    Student demographic information initially comes from the Common Application that a student submits when they apply for admission. The Common Application includes Hispanic/Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White (including Middle Eastern) as race/ethnicity options. At this time the demographic information we are able to report on is limited to these categories.

    While the unique identities of our students, faculty and staff may not always be reflected in the data we have available, we seek to acknowledge and support all community members and to continue improve our data collection efforts.

    Why do use the term underrepresented minority instead of BIPOC?

    We strive to use terms that the people in our community self-identify with whenever possible. We acknowledge that the term “underrepresented minority” is not a term that students, faculty or staff generally use to identify themselves. We use this term to compare our data to national data on STEM education when disaggregated data by race/ethnicity is not available. Acronyms and terms can be convenient when describing data, but they are imperfect and problematic at times. We strive to use person-first language and to understand the unique experiences of individual students and groups. We are always open to feedback from our community as we continue to learn more and enhance the experience for all students, faculty and staff.

    "

    The Campus Workplace and Culture Survey will be distributed to all students, faculty and staff in fall 2021 and will provide an opportunity to collect updated demographic data that will hopefully reflect the unique identities within our community. The university is committed to creating a welcoming environment that values respect, civility, and collegiality. The purpose of the Campus and Workplace Culture Survey is to gather information from CU Boulder students, staff, and faculty about their academic, workplace, and residential environments. We will use the results from this survey to better understand the existing culture of a college/department/program and to identify both strengths and areas of concern in order to make recommendations for creating and sustaining a welcoming and inclusive culture at CU Boulder.

    For questions contact Vanessa Dunn, Director of Analytics, Assessment and Accreditation.

     

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    Departments

    • Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace
      Engineering Sciences
    • Chemical & Biological Engineering
    • Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering
    • Computer Science
    • Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering
    • Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering

    Programs

    • Applied Mathematics
    • Biomedical Engineering
    • Creative Technology & Design
    • Engineering Management
    • Engineering Physics
    • Integrated Design Engineering
    • Environmental Engineering
    • Materials Science & Engineering

    Affiliates & Partners

    • ATLAS Institute
    • BOLD Center
    • Colorado Mesa University
    • Colorado Space Grant Consortium
    • Discovery Learning
    • Engineering Honors
    • Engineering Leadership
    • Entrepreneurship

     

    • Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society
    • Idea Forge
    • Integrated Teaching and Learning
    • International Programs
    • Mortenson Center for Global Engineering
    • National Center for Women & Information Technology
    • Western Colorado University

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    College of Engineering & Applied Science

    Phone: 303-492-5071
    Email: cueng@colorado.edu

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