University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus

What is the history of University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus?

The University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus is a public University of Colorado institution with two distinct academic settings: a downtown Denver campus and a health-sciences campus in Aurora. Its present structure reflects the 2004 consolidation of the University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

CU Denver grew from University of Colorado instruction offered in Denver and developed into a university serving the metropolitan area. The health sciences center brought together professional education and research in medicine and related fields. During the 2000s, its programs moved from central Denver to the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center site in Aurora, now the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. The campuses retain different academic emphases even though they are part of the same institution.

What are the faculties and departments at University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus?

CU Denver offers undergraduate and graduate study across the arts, sciences, business, education, engineering, architecture, and public affairs. CU Anschutz concentrates on health professions, biomedical research, and graduate education.

Downtown academic units include the College of Arts & Media, College of Architecture and Planning, Business School, College of Engineering, Design and Computing, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Education & Human Development, and School of Public Affairs. Representative fields include biology, psychology, computer science, mechanical engineering, music, accounting, and urban planning.

CU Anschutz is home to the schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Public Health, as well as the College of Nursing and graduate programs. An applicant interested in nursing or medicine should check the specific degree pathway: admission to the university does not by itself mean admission to a selective professional program. Campus, clinical-placement, and prerequisite requirements also differ by program.

What is the location of University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus?

CU Denver is in downtown Denver, Colorado, on the Auraria Campus. CU Anschutz Medical Campus is in Aurora, east of downtown Denver. Students should identify which campus hosts their classes before making housing or commuting plans.

Auraria is shared with Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver. It has access to Regional Transportation District bus and rail service, although schedules and travel times depend on a student's route. The Anschutz campus is a separate health-care and research setting; traveling between the two campuses requires additional time. Parking arrangements and transit options should be checked for the campus and class times a student will actually use. Denver International Airport serves the region.

What is the mission and vision of University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus?

As a public university, CU Denver/Anschutz describes its purpose in terms of education, research, public service, and improving lives in Colorado and beyond. The downtown campus emphasizes access to education in an urban setting, while CU Anschutz places particular emphasis on health education, research, and care.

Those priorities help explain the institution's range of students and programs: an undergraduate studying film downtown and a doctoral student working in a biomedical laboratory at Anschutz may have quite different academic experiences. Mission statements express institutional aims; applicants can evaluate how those aims appear in the curriculum, advising, research opportunities, and services for their intended program.