University of Colorado at Boulder

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From the College

The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) is a dynamic community of scholars and learners situated on one of the most spectacular college campuses in the country. CU-Boulder is one of thirty-four U.S. public institutions belonging to the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU) and the only member in the Rocky Mountain region. The university has a proud tradition of academic excellence, with four Nobel laureates and more than fifty members of prestigious academic societies. CU-Boulder was ranked thirty-fourth among the world’s universities, both public and private, in a 2006 survey by the Institute for Higher Education at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China. CU-Boulder placed second in Sierra magazine’s 2008 ranking of the Top 10 greenest colleges, and was one of only three U.S. colleges and universities to receive a 2007 Presidential Award for General Community Service.

The campus offers more than 3,400 courses each year in approximately 150 areas of study. There are eighty-five academic majors available at the bachelor’s level, forty-eight at the master’s level, and forty-four at the doctoral level. Outstanding academic departments and programs include astrophysical and planetary sciences, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, engineering, English, entrepreneurial business, geography, integrative physiology, music, physics, and psychology. Talented undergraduate students may participate in honors programs, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and thirteen residential academic programs or living and learning communities featuring small-class environments.

Total enrollment for fall 2008 at the Boulder campus was 29,709, including 25,080 undergraduate students. The student population comes from every state in the nation and about 100 countries. Approximately two thirds of the students come from Colorado. Many ethnic, religious, academic, and social backgrounds are represented, fostering the development of a multicultural community that enriches each student’s educational experience.

Undergraduate students may apply to the following colleges and schools: Architecture and Planning, Arts and Sciences, Leeds School of Business, Engineering and Applied Science, Music, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Education. Students are admitted to Journalism and Mass Communication only after completing one or two years of study at CU-Boulder, with exceptions for highly qualified new freshmen. The School of Education accepts applications from students after they are enrolled in an approved degree program at CU-Boulder.

CU-Boulder offers a wide variety of campus activities. Students may participate in student government; clubs and organizations; intramural, club, and intercollegiate sports; and fraternities and sororities. An extensive calendar of cultural events is available.

CU-Boulder is located in a scenic valley at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, 1 mile above sea level. With a population of approximately 100,000, Boulder is among the most dynamic, progressive, and attractive cities of its size in the United States. The Colorado state capital, Denver, is a 30-mile drive or bus ride (free for students) from Boulder. Boulder is surrounded by a greenbelt of more than 20,000 acres of open space. Much of the open space and nearby mountains are crisscrossed by an extensive system of hiking, biking, and riding trails. Many CU-Boulder students enjoy skiing, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, white-water rafting, or mountain biking.

CU-Boulder has been rated as one of the “most artistically successful campuses in the country” in The Campus as a Work of Art by Thomas Gaines. The 600-acre main campus, in the heart of the city of Boulder, is distinguished by buildings featuring native sandstone walls and dramatic red-tiled roofs as inspired by the rural Italian architectural style.

CU-Boulder offers the following undergraduate majors: aerospace engineering; anthropology; applied mathematics; architectural engineering; art and art history–art history; art and art history–studio arts; Asian studies; astronomy; biochemistry; business-accounting; business-finance; business-management; business-marketing; business-systems; chemical and biological engineering; chemical engineering; chemistry; Chinese; civil engineering; classics; communication; computer science; dance; ecology and evolutionary biology; economics; electrical and computer engineering; electrical engineering; engineering physics; English; environmental design–architecture; environmental design–design studies; environmental design–planning; environmental engineering; environmental studies; ethnic studies; film studies; French; geography; geology; Germanic studies; history; humanities; integrative physiology; international affairs; Italian; Japanese; journalism-advertising; journalism–broadcast news; journalism–broadcast production; journalism–media studies; journalism-news/editorial; linguistics; mathematics; mechanical engineering; molecular, cellular, and developmental biology; music; music–arts in music; music education; philosophy; physics; political science; predentistry sequence; premedicine sequence; pre–veterinary medicine sequence; psychology; religious studies; Russian studies; sociology; Spanish; speech, language, and hearing sciences; theater; and women’s studies.

The following bachelor’s degrees are offered: B.A., B.Envd., B.F.A., B.Mus., B.Mus.Ed., and B.S.

Concurrent bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are available in the following areas: applied mathematics, business (accounting, finance, systems), classics, cognitive psychology, East Asian languages and literature (Chinese, Japanese), ecology and evolutionary biology, economics, engineering physics, French, Germanic studies, integrative physiology, linguistics, mathematics, physics, religious studies, telecommunications, and in all engineering departments, including aerospace, architectural, chemical, civil, computer science, electrical, electrical and computer, environmental, and mechanical.

The mission of the University of Colorado at Boulder is to educate undergraduate and graduate students in the accumulated knowledge of humankind, discover new knowledge through research and creative work, and foster critical thought, artistic creativity, professional competence, and responsible citizenship. Depending on their degree program, students may be required to complete 120 or 128 (engineering) semester hours for graduation. CU-Boulder offers a very flexible curriculum. Students may graduate with more than one major and with two different degrees from different colleges. Minors also are offered in arts and sciences, business, and engineering. The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Science offer a four-year graduation guarantee, providing specific requirements are met.

CU-Boulder operates on a two-semester academic calendar. The fall semester begins in late August, and the spring semester begins in early January. Summer Session lasts ten weeks; courses meeting for shorter periods (one to four, five, or eight weeks) are scheduled during the ten-week session.

CU-Boulder sponsors more than 240 study-abroad programs each year. Programs are offered on six continents in seventy countries, including Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, and Mexico. More than twenty-five percent of CU-Bolder students have studied abroad by the time they graduate.

The University library system consists of more than 3.6 million volumes, 6.8 million titles on microform, more than 30,000 periodical subscriptions, and more than 450,000 video, graphic, and audio titles. The libraries system includes a main library and five branch libraries: Business, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Math-Physics, and Music. There is also a law library. Other facilities and resources aiding students in their studies include a planetarium and observatory, a natural history museum, extensive computing resources, a state-of-the-art foreign language technology center, a concert hall, and three theaters. The Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and the Discovery Learning Center provide hands-on, real-world experience to engineering undergraduates. Recent additions to the campus include a new humanities building, equipped with smart classrooms, and the new Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society (ATLAS) Center, which opened in fall 2006. ATLAS was established at CU-Boulder in 1997 with the goal of integrating information technology with all disciplines, people, and communities. A key component of ATLAS is the creation and delivery of technology-centered, multidisciplinary, curricular programs that are available to CU-Boulder undergraduate and graduate students. A new visual arts facility is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed during fall 2009.

Tuition rates vary by school and college. For 2008–09, annual expenses for Colorado residents who were undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences totaled $18,887 ($7278 for tuition and fees as well as an estimated $1749 for books and supplies and $9860 for room and board). Nonresident tuition and fees were approximately $26,756.

More than half of Boulder undergraduate students receive some type of financial assistance, totaling more than $165 million in awards. Students receive aid in the form of grants, loans, work-study awards, and scholarships. Funding is provided from federal, state, University, and private sources. All students applying for need-based financial aid are required to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Application forms are available from high school and community college counselors, the CU-Boulder Office of Financial Aid, and online. The priority processing date is April 1. Students may apply for CU-Boulder scholarships online beginning November 1. Students may also obtain loans directly from the Office of Financial Aid rather than from a private lender.

Approximately 1,200 full-time instructional faculty members teach undergraduate and graduate courses. The faculty includes nationally and internationally recognized scholars with many academic honors and awards. Tom Cech, former professor of chemistry and biochemistry and now Director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in chemistry with Sidney Altman of Yale University. Carl Wieman (also U.S. 2004 Professor of the Year) and Eric Cornell won the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics for their creation of a new state of matter, just above absolute zero. John Hall shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics with Theodor W. Hänsch of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and a professor of physics at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, and Roy J. Glauber, a professor of physics at Harvard University. Kristi Anseth was named among the top 100 young innovators for developing materials that aid in the healing of bones and cartilage. Seven faculty members have received MacArthur Fellowships, known as the “genius grant,” the most recent two being in linguistics (2002) and physics (2003).

One of the most influential student governments in the nation, the University of Colorado Student Union (UCSU) administers an operating budget of $30 million. UCSU student leaders and volunteers, working with the University staff, make policy decisions concerning the operation of the University Memorial Center, Student Recreation Center, Wardenburg Health Center, cultural events, the campus radio station, and other programs. Student fees and student-generated revenue support all of these activities. The student government also takes an active role in advocating student concerns.

Many factors are considered by the University in making admission decisions. Previous academic achievement, the quality of courses taken, GPA, college entrance test scores, the trend in grades, the extent to which the applicant has completed the recommended high school curriculum, the two required personal essays, and letters of recommendation are all considered. About 25 percent of the freshman class typically ranks in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. In fall 2008, 53 percent of the freshmen were Colorado residents. The University seeks to enroll students from a wide range of ethnic, cultural, economic, geographic, and educational backgrounds. The application is available online, either as an interactive Web application or as a downloadable, printable PDF.

Beginning in September, students may submit an application for admission to the spring, summer, or fall term.

Spring applicants are processed on a rolling basis. CU-Bolder begins notifying applicants about admission decisions in October. Decisions are made approximately four to six weeks after an application is complete. Full consideration is given to applications that are complete (including the application fee and all required credentials) by the October 1 deadline.

Freshman applications for summer and fall terms are processed as either early action applications or as regular decision applications.

Applicants who submit the online application and postmark all supporting credentials by the December 15 deadline are considered early action applicants. Early action applicants will be reviewed first and are notified of their initial decision on or before February 15. Early action candidates may be offered admission, denied admission, or deferred to the regular decision process for further consideration. Applicants who are deferred to the regular decision applicant pool should submit mid-year senior grades and any new test scores and will be notified of a final admission decision on or before April 1. Applicants denied through early action may not submit additional information and may not reapply under the regular decision process. Early action applicants are not required to enroll at CU-Boulder if they are admitted. Admitted students who choose to attend must confirm their intent to enroll by May 1.

Freshman summer and fall applicants who do not complete their applications by the December 15 early action deadline must submit the online application and postmark all supporting documents by the February 15 regular decision deadline. Regular decision applicants will be notified of their admission decision by April 1 and must, if they choose to attend, confirm their intent to enroll by May 1.

Summer and fall applications for transfer students are processed on a rolling basis, with full consideration given to transfer applications completed by the April 1 deadline.

For information and applications, students should contact: