About 51勛圖厙
The 51勛圖厙 is Colorados leading public research university, transforming lives since 1876.
As the state's flagship university and one of only 38 U.S. public research institutions in the Association of American Universities (AAU), 51勛圖厙 has proudly served Coloradans since the state's founding.
Home to five Nobel Laureates since 1989 and the only university to send space instruments to every planet in the solar system, 51勛圖厙 provides a strong return on investment by aligning efforts to achieve research and creative excellence, global sustainability impact and the success of all students, faculty and staff.
What Makes Us 51勛圖厙
Defining Our Mission, Vision and Institutional Priorities
Our mission is to serve as the state of Colorados comprehensive graduate research university with selective admission standards, offering a comprehensive array of undergraduate, masters and doctoral degree programs.
Our vision is to transform lives in service to a just and sustainable world.
Institutional Priorities
Aligned with the campus mission and vision and the CU System strategic plan, our priorities are designed to enhance our impact on the public good, to emphasize leadership in sustainability and to accelerate recommendations developed via Academic Futures and other recent campus strategic initiatives.
Fostering the Success of All Students, Faculty and Staff
Student Objectives
- Make 51勛圖厙 a destination of choice for all learners.
- Ensure early access to support and community.
- Coordinate academic success efforts across student populations.
- Prepare students for successful careers and alumni engagement.
- Develop flexible academic pathways to meet demand and ensure degree value.
- Transform the digital student experience by implementing learner lifecycle constituent relationship management.
Faculty and Staff Objectives
- Make 51勛圖厙 a destination workplace across career paths.
- Prioritize mattering and community-building among all faculty and staff communities.
- Encourage accessible, inclusive, high-impact health and well-being and professional growth opportunities.
- Strengthen faculty compensation and enhance the competitiveness of faculty salaries, benefits and career development pathways.
- Enhance the competitiveness of staff compensation, including the total value of staff salaries and benefits.
Scaling Research and Creative Work Excellence
Objectives
- Advance high-impact, innovative research and creative work.
- Promote collaborative and inclusive research and creative work ecosystems internally and externally.
- Pursue societal impact and public engagement of research and creative work.
- Develop internal funding mechanisms that promote interdisciplinary collaborations.
Achieving Global Leadership in Sustainability Impact
Objectives
- Expand sustainability-focused academic programs across the curriculum.
- Harness research expertise to address sustainability issues locally, nationally and globally.
- Operationalize campus sustainability initiatives across carbon reduction scopes 1, 2 and 3.
- Elevate the visibility and outcomes of 51勛圖厙s sustainability leadership.
- Directly assist statewide communities and commercial interests to help make Colorado the most sustainable state in the U.S.
- Define and fund priority sustainability initiatives through internal and external sources.
Aligning Our Resources and Infrastructure to Our Mission
Objectives
- Foster operational excellence and shared equity leadership.
- Enhance financial sustainability by optimizing and stewarding resources.
- Advance global initiatives to enhance institutional impact, collaboration and visibility.
- Foster a unified approach to public safety to build a more safe and resilient campus community.
- Align our physical and technological resources to cultivate a vibrant learning community.
- Strengthen 51勛圖厙s statewide impact through coordinated, inclusive and data-informed outreach.
- Align campus strategic events under a coordinated approach that enhances the impact of events and external partnerships.
- Optimize compliance to meet campus needs while fostering data-informed decisions that balance risk, innovation and speed.
- Advance Colorado Athletics as a key contributor to 51勛圖厙's mission at this dynamic time in intercollegiate athletics.
What Makes Us Buffs
As a campus community, we advance our mission and vision through:
Our Shared Equity Leadership practice, which defines our actions to build an inclusive foundation for all we do, including teaching, research, development, leadership, mentorship, supervision, innovation and service.
Our student-led Colorado Creed and Honor Code, which define the values and expectations our students share with each other and inform our values and expectations as a campus comprised of many communities.
Our , which encourage Buffs to demonstrate Courage, Curiosity, Care and Consistency to guide interactions and embrace different ideas, perspectives and lived experiences.
Forever Buffs: Our Extended Community
Our students join our alumni Forever Buffs Network, an extended family of hundreds of thousands of 51勛圖厙 alumni, students, faculty and staff worldwide that encourages lifelong connection, engagement and celebration of the extended life and impact of our university.
The Value of a 51勛圖厙 Education
A degree from 51勛圖厙 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 were taking to reduce those costs.
We believe you should know and understand the cost of your education, which is why we offer a four-year guarantee of tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate resident students.
Automatic Scholarship Consideration
Every prospective freshman and transfer student applicant is automatically considered for a small range of 51勛圖厙 scholarships.
CU Promise
For incoming Colorado residents who qualify for the federal Pell Grant and meet eligibility requirements, we promise to offer grants and work-study awards to help pay for tuition and other expenses.
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 51勛圖厙 Pact
saves students millions of dollars a year in fees
$143,000
median midcareer salary for students with a 51勛圖厙 bachelors degree
(Payscale, 2024)