The University System
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 The University of Colorado is a public research university with multiple campuses serving Colorado, the nation, and the world through leadership in high-quality education and professional training, public service, advancing research and knowledge, and state-of-the-art health care. CU campuses are in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver and the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. CU advances the economy, health, and culture of Colorado and beyond, educating more than 450,000 students who have become catalysts in business, arts, health and community growth. To meet the needs of its students, the university offers an extensive number of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs, as well as opportunities to study abroad, engage in public service, and conduct research.
The University of Colorado is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Regents charged by the state constitution with the general supervision of the university and the exclusive control and direction of all its funds and appropriations, unless otherwise provided by law. The board conducts its business at regular meetings open to the public and through committees. The university president is the chief administrative officer of the four-campus system and is responsible for providing leadership to the university. Each campus is administered by its own chancellor and executive staff.
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs
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1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
(719) 255-UCCS (8227) or 1 (800) 990-UCCS
www.uccs.edu
Mission
The Colorado Springs campus of the University of Colorado shall be a comprehensive baccalaureate and specialized graduate research university with selective admission standards. The Colorado Springs campus shall offer liberal arts and sciences, business, engineering, health sciences, and teacher preparation undergraduate degree programs, and a selected number of master’s and doctoral degree programs.
Vision Statement
UCCS, a premier comprehensive undergraduate and specialized graduate research university, provides students with academically rigorous and life-enriching experiences in a vibrant university community. We advance knowledge, integrate student learning with the spirit of discovery, and broaden access to higher education for the benefit of southern Colorado, the state, nation and world.
Core Values
Student Focus: We value students and never forget that students are our reason for being. We consider students and student outcomes in all the decisions we make. We provide a supportive environment in order to create lasting and significant educational experiences for every student.
Integration: We value integration of teaching with research and creative work. Scholarship enriches teaching and teaching enriches scholarship. We see these activities as interdependent, allowing for synergies that benefit students, faculty and all members of the university community.
Innovation: We value innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. We are creative problem solvers in the classroom, in our research and in our campus operations. We are catalysts for economic, social and cultural changes in our communities. We provide opportunities for our community members to develop the skills of innovation and creative expression.
Collaboration : We value collaboration and teamwork as absolutely necessary for success in today’s world. We model collaboration in our research, teaching, and campus operations. We actively seek opportunities to collaborate, build partnerships and engage with external organizations.
Inclusive Diversity: We value inclusive diversity as a foundation for teaching and scholarship that prepares students, faculty, staff and community members for both local and global multicultural realities. We provide an open, safe and supportive campus environment based on mutual respect, engagement and learning for everyone including those from the full spectrum of backgrounds, social identities, abilities, cultures, perspectives and university roles.
Dynamic Responsible Growth: We value dynamic growth while continuing to be financially responsible, academically sound and environmentally sustainable. We meet the future with energy, enthusiasm and a commitment to retaining a close, interconnected campus community.
Integrity: We value integrity and expect ethical behavior from each member of the campus community in all interactions. We build an environment where we treat each other with respect and appreciate each other’s contributions.
Diversity and Inclusion
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is charged with providing opportunities for higher education to the general public and with offering the fruits of knowledge, research, and cultural development for the betterment of the broader public good. To truly serve the public, the university must be inclusive of everyone, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, age, legal status, social class, gender expression, abilities, religious values, sexual orientation, political viewpoints, national origin, or military status–to name some of the social and cultural differences that may create barriers. Historically, certain social groups have been excluded and marginalized within public higher education, creating legacies of advantage and disadvantage. The principle of diversity advocates a university that is inclusive of all while overcoming the legacies of exclusion.
Promoting diversity and inclusion addresses shortcomings in the university’s service to the public, but also contributes directly to the quality of learning for all that participate in university education. Realizing this potential requires more than reflecting diversity within the composition of our student body, staff, and faculty. The challenge is for members of the university community to engage fully across social and cultural differences, and to integrate lessons from distinct cultural perspectives into their development of knowledge, skills, character, and cultural awareness.
Acquiring the cultural responsiveness to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds requires an informed understanding of others and, perhaps most critically, an informed understanding of one’s own social and cultural origins as a point of departure. A UCCS education must, therefore, be a journey of self-discovery, even while imparting training in scholarly traditions and methods of knowledge acquisition. Diversity within the student body, faculty, and staff is a resource in this regard, but should be reinforced with conscious and reflective efforts to engender critical knowledge and intersectional understanding.
Making UCCS more inclusive depends in critical ways on the relationships that are fostered and sustained outside the university. The connection with recruiting and retaining diverse students, staff members, and faculty is quite apparent, but such “pipelines” will not be established unless the university is actively engaged with a range of diverse communities. Community engagement increases our value as a public university: as a trusted resource, as an ally, as an engine of economic development, and as an international partner. Such broad support is fundamental in the very competitive and challenging context of public higher education.
UCCS Core Educational Goals
Vision
The Compass Curriculum, UCCS’ campuswide general education program prepares students for success in their majors, professional pursuits, and lives as creative, thoughtful, informed and engaged members of our diverse, global society.
The goals of the Compass Curriculum focus on three interrelated areas of learning, all of which are essential to an undergraduate education. Through the Compass Curriculum, students will develop competencies in each area and the ability to integrate these competencies as a foundation for lifelong learning.
1) Evaluate and Create
Students will develop intellectual and practical skills central to investigation, creative pursuits and problem solving. Students will gather, understand, analyze and evaluate information as well as synthesize that information in order to create and articulate new ideas. This area includes:
- Critical and creative thinking
- Quantitative and qualitative reasoning
- Information literacy
- Communication: reading, writing, speaking, and listening
2) Know and Explore
Students will have a broad understanding of fundamental explorations, applications and innovations in the natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences and arts and humanities. This area includes knowledge of:
- The physical and natural world
- Humanities, arts, and culture
- Society, social and economic institutions, health, and human behavior
3) Act and Interact
Students will cultivate self-awareness and understanding of their impact - locally, nationally and globally. Students will be prepared to participate effectively in a society that encompasses diverse experiences, perspectives and realities. This area includes:
- Responsibility - personal, civic, and social
- Engagement - creative, collaborative, artistic, and innovative
- Inclusiveness - competencies for cultural responsiveness across social differences in contexts ranging from local to global
- Sustainability - understanding the interaction between human development and the natural environment
University Assessment of Student Learning
Columbine Hall 203d
(719) 255-4186
Institutional Assessment
The Assessment Office serves campus academic departments and faculty that participate in the campus-wide student learning improvement process. This process was developed as a component of the campus mission related to engaging in continuous improvement. The Council for Undergraduate Education (CUE) and Graduate Education Studies (GES) serve as advising bodies.
Students in undergraduate programs, stand-alone minors, and graduate programs that are not accredited by an external professional agency participate in the campus-wide student learning improvement process within their major. Each participating department submits an Assessment Plan on a five-year cycle that guides the assessment activities they will do each year and report out in the Annual Activities and Results Report.
Our accrediting agency is The Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association. Please see the campus accreditation website for information about the HLC https://accreditation.uccs.edu/hlc2016.
Information collected in assessment processes is kept strictly confidential. Information shared with governmental and accreditation agencies is aggregated and individual student identities are not revealed. Please visit our website at https://assess.uccs.edu/ for more information. The following is a summary of what might be expected:
Student Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Each major and stand-alone minor has an assessment plan in place and reports progress annually. These outcomes/ objectives are detailed in this Catalog with the individual study programs, and on the assessment web-site; they come directly from the most recent progress reports on file at the time of the Catalog publication date.
The UCCS Campus
 The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is located on 549 acres in northern Colorado Springs, at the foot of Austin Bluffs, a rugged natural cliff formation. The campus provides a spectacular view of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, including Pikes Peak, a 14,100-foot mountain that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful” from its pinnacle in 1893.
Established in 1965, UCCS was built on an original 1964 gift of 80 acres (for the price of $1) from local businessman George Dwire. The campus continues to expand with recent additions that include the Gallogly Recreation and Wellness Center, the Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences, the Ent Center for the Arts, the William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center, the Kevin W. O’Neil Cybersecurity Education and Research Center, new housing and dining facilities, and a parking garage with a recreational athletic field on the top floor.
As of Spring 2022, UCCS supported more than 12,000 students, including more than 5,000 students who participated in online courses. We are a hub for military affiliated students with more than 2,000 veterans, active military and family members enrolled as student.
At UCCS 54% of students are female; 36% identify as ethnic minority students. Students from 52 U.S. states and territories and 86 countries are represented in our student body. About 83% of students are enrolled in undergraduate programs and 17% are pursuing graduate study with the assistance of more than 1,600 employees, a 15:1 ratio of students per faculty. As of fiscal year 2019-2020, UCCS core expenses were approximately $226 million.
Learn more about UCCS and its history: https://www.uccs.edu/experience/uccs-history.
Accreditation
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission; Member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Learn more about accreditation: https://ir.uccs.edu/institutionaldata/accreditation.
UCCS Degree Programs
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UCCS is home to the following colleges and schools: College of Business; College of Education; College of Engineering and Applied Science; School of Public Affairs; College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and the Graduate School. Please see the Degree Program table below for more information.
UCCS offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of InnovationTM degrees in over 30 majors.
UCCS offers the following Master’s degrees: Master of Science (MS), Master of Sciences (MSc), Master of Engineering (ME), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science Nursing (MSN), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Public Administration (MPA), and Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ).
UCCS offers Ph.D. programs in: Applied Science: Mathematics and Physics; Business Administration; Computer Science; Engineering: Electrical and Computing Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Options; Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy; Psychology: Clinical Psychology (Geropsychology) and Clinical Psychology (Trauma Psychology); Security; Executive Doctor of Business Administration; and a doctorate in Nursing Practice: Doctorate of Nursing Practice, DNP (Post BSN or Post Masters options).
Specific Information on Graduate Degree Programs and related options/emphasis areas or tracks are detailed within each college/school section of the Catalog.
Cross-Disciplinary Degree Programs: A Bachelor of InnovationTM (BI) degree is offered at UCCS. Like a Bachelor of Science (BS) or a Bachelor of Arts (BA), the BI has a major field of study, but it also has a common core in innovation and entrepreneurship, including a unique long-term, multidisciplinary team experience. The innovative BI degree program draws on courses across colleges. Within the BI program, students can major in Business Administration, Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Science-Security, Digital Filmmaking, Electrical Engineering, Game Design and Development, Inclusive Early Childhood Education, Museum Studies and Gallery Practice, Music, or Women’s and Ethnic Studies.
Information on the Bachelor of Innovation™ (BI) Degree is detailed in the College of Business and the College of Engineering and Applied Science sections in this Catalog.
Educator License and Endorsement Programs: There are many pathways to obtain an initial teaching license. Initial licensure in early childhood education with an added endorsement in early childhood special education may be obtained through the Bachelor of Arts degree in Inclusive Early Childhood Education (BA IECE). Initial licensure in elementary education with added endorsements in culturally linguistically diverse education and special education generalist may be obtained through the Bachelor of Arts degree in Inclusive Elementary Education (BA IELM). Students pursuing degree programs in the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences may add an Elementary Initial License Certificate or a Secondary Initial License Certificate in order to pursue initial licensure in elementary education or secondary education. Initial licensure in special education (generalist) may be obtained through the Master of Arts degree in Special Education. Post-baccalaureate and alternative licensure may be pursed after an undergraduate degree has been earned. Those who have obtained a teaching license may obtain added-endorsements through graduate programs in leadership, school counseling, special education, gifted and talented education, mathematics education, and culturally and linguistically diverse education.
Pre-professional Programs: UCCS offers coursework that meets the pre-requisites for many health professional schools and programs. Examples include Physician Assistant, Medicine, and Dentistry schools among many others. While students cannot earn a degree or major in these pre-professional tracks, they can complete the coursework as part of their degree or as a non-degree student.
Information on all these degree programs and other minors, certification, licensure, and pre-professional programs is detailed within each college section in this Catalog.
Degree Programs by College
Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences Programs
Undergraduate
Graduate
College of Business Programs
Undergraduate
- Business Administration (BI)
- Business Administration (BS)
- Accounting emphasis
- Cybersecurity Managmenet emphasis
- Finance emphasis
- Human Resource Management emphasis
- Information Systems emphasis
- International Business emphasis
- PGA Golf Management emphasis
- Management emphasis
- Marketing emphasis
- Service Management emphasis
- Sport Management emphasis
Graduate
College of Education Programs
Undergraduate
- Secondary Education
- Biology emphasis
- Chemistry emphasis
- English emphasis
- History emphasis
- Mathematics emphasis
- Physics emphasis
- Spanish emphasis
Graduate
College of Engineering and Applied Science Programs
Undergraduate
Graduate
College of Letters, Arts & Sciences Programs
Undergraduate
Graduate
School of Public Affairs Programs
Undergraduate
Graduate
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