CU Boulder offers more than 150 academic programs across nine colleges and schools, including arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, law, music, and communication. The university provides undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, with over 5,160 courses available across 270 fields of study, and delivers term-based and self-paced online programs through CU Boulder Online.
Research institutes span disciplines from behavioral genetics and cognitive science to atmospheric and space physics, environmental science, and renewable energy. The university enrolls over 38,000 students, including more than 32,500 undergraduates and 6,200 graduate students, supported by approximately 3,600 academic staff members.
CU Boulder operates within a rapidly evolving higher education landscape marked by shifting demographics, state funding fluctuations, and increasing competition for research dollars. The university faces national enrollment pressures while maintaining its commitment to accessibility, student success, and public service as Colorado's flagship public research university.
The university is responding through strategic investments in online education, interdisciplinary research, sustainability initiatives, and infrastructure alignment. CU Boulder's 150th anniversary in 2026 provides an opportunity to reinforce its position as a leading public research institution and expand its impact on Colorado, the nation, and the globe.
CU Boulder holds the distinction of being the only academic institution in the world to have sent scientific instruments to every planet in the Solar System. The university receives more NASA astrophysics technology grants than any other academic institution and is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, classified as an R1 doctoral university with very high research activity.
The university has been referred to as a Public Ivy, and its faculty and researchers include 12 Nobel Prize laureates, 10 Pulitzer Prize winners, 11 MacArthur Fellows, and 20 astronauts. In 2021, CU Boulder attracted over $634 million in research support and spent $536 million on research and development, ranking 50th nationally according to the National Science Foundation.
