About

Transformation and Financial Resilience

We have proven, over the last two decades, that by working together we can triumph over economic recessions and a pandemic while still making tangible progress on our goals—including Academic Futures-based priorities for increased retention, DEI action plan implementation, growing research and innovation outcomes, and updating our Campus Master Plan. With those lessons and successes guiding us, we are taking advantage of this moment in the higher education landscape to transform together and revitalize our mission of educating students, creating new knowledge and delivering value to the public we serve.

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Strategic Priorities

In alignment with the campus mission, vision, values and Academic Futures recommendations.

CU Boulder Research

We are globally recognized for our research—as well as the comprehensive breadth and impact of our innovation, public scholarship and creative work—and we will continue to lead.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We, as a campus community, must continue the hard and ongoing work of ensuring CU Boulder is a diverse, inclusive and welcoming place for all who live, work and study here.

Student-centered Campus Community

Our core public mission is centered on the belonging, well-being and success of our undergraduate and graduate students.

Sustaining, Supporting and Inspiring our Community

CU Boulder is committed to supporting your health and wellness. We will get through this together. We must destigmatize asking for help.

Campus Success

Achieving our future success also depends on aligning our university's physical, digital and financial resources.

Values

What it means to “Be Boulder.”

The work of our faculty, staff, students and alumni contributes to a campus experience where we lead, innovate, and impact.

Lead

Shape tomorrow’s leaders by caring for our students and fostering shared approaches to belonging, inclusion, academic success and civic engagement.

5,160+

academic courses offered across 270+ fields of study

21

CU Boulder students have received the Rhodes Scholarship

Top 3%

among world universities

(Academic Rankings of World Universities, 2023)

9,260+

degrees awarded each year, the most of any university in Colorado

Group of students participating in the spring 2023 Experiential Leadership Intensive

Experiential leadership intensive: Using the outdoors to practice leadership

At the CU Boulder Center for Leadership, experiential learning aligns with our philosophy of developing leaders—the best way to learn to lead is to practice leading, and the spring experiential leadership intensive provided just that. Read more

Snowy trees and mountains frame the top of a campus building

9 students honored as Student Leaders of the Year

The Center for Leadership is pleased to present the 2023 Student Leaders of the Year Award, recognizing outstanding students and highlighting the impact of leadership education at CU Boulder. Read more

Panel of Polaris crew members and CU Boulder researchers talk at a campus event

Before the crew of Polaris Dawn heads to space, they came to campus

Ahead of the historic space mission, crew members joined CU Boulder researchers Allie Anderson and Torin Clark to talk about how the eye changes in space, experiencing "space motion sickness" and more. Read more

Innovate

Be a top university for innovation by cultivating a courageous culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that stems from our world-class research and creative work.

Top 2

town for entrepreneurs

(Crowdspring, 2023)

15

years of the New Venture Challenge, an entrepreneurial startup competition

179

companies formed based on CU Boulder technology (since 1990)

$8 billion

impact on the national economy (from 2018-2022)

Alum’s invention of 3D printing recognized by President Biden

Charles Hull—a CU Boulder alumnus who invented stereolithography, commonly known as 3D printing—was named among the 2023 recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Read more

Ball Brothers Orbiting Solar Observatory with employees and rocket parts, 1961-64

How Ball Aerospace helped launch CU’s entrepreneurial engine

CU Boulder and Ball Aerospace have been collaborating for decades to solve mysteries of the universe. That partnership was also the university’s first commercial spinoff, and it greased the gears of an entrepreneurial engine that continues to power innovation within the university and far beyond. Read more

Lab Venture Challenge: Join the info session July 25

Join an information session about the application, eligibility and competition requirements. If you are looking to apply this year or just want to see what the Lab Venture Challenge is all about, this opportunity is for you! Read more

Impact

Positively impact humanity through our faculty, staff, students and alumni—and through the positive outcomes we achieve in Colorado, the nation and the world.

4th

all time in the nation for graduates serving as Peace Corps volunteers

14,400+

hours of work done through the Volunteer Resource Center in 2023

450+

student groups and organizations across campus

$4.3 billion

annual economic impact on the state economy (FY22/23)

Chemist to study molecular inner workings of Alzheimer’s disease

Maciej Walczak, CU Boulder associate professor of chemistry, won a $2 million NIH grant to investigate how certain sugars modify a brain protein associated with neurodegeneration. Read more

The HIV virus, a retrovirus, under the microscope

Remnants of ancient virus may fuel ALS in people

An ancient, virus-like protein best known for its essential role in placental development may, when over-expressed, fuel ALS—aka Lou Gehrig's disease—and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to new research. The discovery opens the door to a new class of potential treatments. Read more

Tribal language in film speaks history out loud

Joseph Dupris, a visiting assistant professor at CU Boulder, is a linguist and “maqlaqsyals” user who helped integrate the Modoc language into the short film This Is Their Land. It was recently screened on campus, and a 150th anniversary remembrance is set to be held in Tulelake, California. Read more

Our Extended Community

Our students join our alumni Forever Buffs Network, an extended family of hundreds of thousands of CU Boulder alumni, students, faculty and staff worldwide that encourages lifelong connection, engagement and celebration of the extended life and impact of our university.

Forever Buffs

Ralphie and her handlers running on Folsom Field

CU Buffs Athletics

CU Presents

Outreach & Engagement

Research Focus Areas

Discover how research at CU Boulder is changing the world. Our faculty and students are pioneering innovations in aerospace, biosciences, energy, Earth and environmental sciences, fundamental sciences and other major areas.

Aerospace

Aerospace Research

#1 public university recipient of NASA research awards

The University of Colorado Boulder has created an environment in which our aerospace engineering and Earth and space sciences faculty, students and industrial researchers work together to solve complex problems, envisioning and creating the future for space and Earth systems.

Biosciences

Biosciences Research

Translating science into healthier living

Biosciences at the University of Colorado Boulder aim to understand processes underlying behavior, function, disease and health at the molecular, cellular and whole-systems levels to develop interventions that improve human health.

Climate, Energy & Sustainability

Energy Research

Transforming energy through discovery and innovation

Energy research at the University of Colorado Boulder aims to advance basic and applied energy science, engineering and analysis through research, education and partnerships.

The Value of a CU Boulder Education

A degree from CU Boulder not only provides our students with promising career potential, it also expands their worldview, influences their social network and adds to their life experiences. And because college is so valuable, we believe all students should enter college knowing the cost of their education and what steps we’re taking to reduce those costs.

Best Value

university every year since 2009

(The Princeton Review)

88%

of graduates are employed, in graduate school or in the military within six months of graduation

Be Boulder Pact

saves students millions of dollars a year in fees

$143,000

median midcareer salary for students with a CU Boulder bachelor’s degree

(Payscale, 2024)

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Research

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