Metropolitan State University of Denver

What is the history of Metropolitan State University of Denver?

Metropolitan State University of Denver is a public university founded in 1965 to expand access to higher education in Colorado's capital. Its early emphasis on serving students whose schedules and circumstances did not fit a traditional residential-college model remains relevant to its large transfer and adult-learner populations.

The institution was formerly known as Metropolitan State College of Denver and adopted its current university name in 2012. It now operates primarily on the Auraria Campus, which it shares with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver. That shared setting helps explain why some facilities serve students from all three institutions, while admissions, degrees and academic policies remain specific to MSU Denver.

What are the faculties and departments at Metropolitan State University of Denver?

MSU Denver offers undergraduate and graduate study across business, the arts and sciences, education, health, hospitality, and technical fields. Students should choose a program by its current catalog requirements, not just by the name of a college or school: admission to the university does not necessarily mean admission to every major.

Its academic organization includes the College of Business; College of Health and Human Sciences; College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; College of Aerospace, Computing, Engineering, and Design; School of Education; and School of Hospitality. Representative fields include accounting, computer science, aviation, engineering technology, nursing, psychology, social work and teacher preparation. Some fields have separate prerequisites, clinical placements, portfolios or professional standards. The academic catalog is the appropriate place to confirm a program's degree type, required courses and availability for a particular term.

What is the location of Metropolitan State University of Denver?

MSU Denver's main campus is on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is an urban, shared campus rather than a secluded residential setting, so commuting time and transportation costs are important considerations.

Students can reach the area using Regional Transportation District rail and bus service, and the surrounding downtown area offers access to employers, public agencies and cultural institutions. Parking is available through campus parking arrangements but can add substantially to a commuter's budget. Denver International Airport serves the region; it is not next to campus, so students traveling by air should account for the additional ground trip.

What is the mission and vision of Metropolitan State University of Denver?

MSU Denver describes its mission in terms of accessible, career-relevant education and service to Colorado's diverse communities. Its stated priorities include student opportunity, civic engagement and connections between classroom learning and work or community experience.

Those are institutional aims, not guarantees of an individual student's outcome. For applicants, the practical question is how a particular program delivers them - for example, through its course schedule, advising, internships or community-based work. MSU Denver is a public, secular institution.