University of Colorado Boulder
AC-2: Undergraduate Programs

The overall objective of the Common Curriculum: SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: SELF, SOCIETY, WORLD:  At CU Boulder, students will gain an understanding of the interdependence of individual, societal and environmental wellbeing and of the necessity for stewardship and solutions to advance balanced and equitable futures for all. Throughout their CU Boulder education, students will cultivate skills and habits of mind that enable them to thrive as individuals and contribute to a thriving world.

- Discern their role in advancing resilient communities and demonstrate the ability to act as stewards for sustainable futures. 

- Explain different discipline-specific definitions of and approaches to sustainability and how sustainable solutions may be achieved through collaboration among different disciplines.

- Articulate how specific actions foster individual well-being, social equity, long-term economic vitality, and the health of the natural environment.

- Integrate diverse ideas in creative and innovative ways to craft novel insights, new conceptual models, and/or solutions to problems.

- Apply ethical reasoning to comprehend how their actions affect themselves and others, and how the policies, functions, and actions of systems and institutions affect individuals and groups of people.

- Define a personal approach to leadership and community engagement and an orientation to the public good with respect to different communities and cultures.

- Participate in respectful and empathetic dialogue to explore barriers to inclusion, equity, and sustainable futures.

- Engage in activities that positively contribute to their communities, such as community-based learning, volunteering, and internships and publicly engaged research, scholarship, and creative work.

- Practice inquiry as an open-ended, social process of evaluating information and participating ethically in communities of learning.

- Analyze how social, legal, technological, and economic factors affect the creation, dissemination, accessibility and use of information.

- Recognize that information evolves and emerges from particular contexts and that authority and ways of knowing are legitimized within particular situations.

- Evaluate sources of information, recognizing the different perspectives, identities, and social positions that may inform those sources.

- Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (BS) - The atmospheric and oceanic sciences (ATOC) Bachelor of Arts degree is the first of its kind at CU Boulder for students interested in an in-depth understanding of the physical basis for the role of the atmosphere and oceans in Earth's climate system. An ATOC degree will prepare students to pursue a wide range of careers in areas as diverse as the energy sector, insurance, military, air and water quality monitoring, weather and aerospace industries. It will provide a solid foundation for advanced degrees in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and for professions in scientific research and academia. ATOC's curriculum responds to demands of current students for more interactive learning opportunities and to demands of employers for graduates who have been trained to provide quantitative solutions to real-world problems. It is designed to provide students with a core set of knowledge and skills related to atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and to engage students in hands-on, interactive learning early and often. To that end, it requires students to take several "methods" courses that emphasize quantitative problem-solving by focusing on some combination of data analysis, observations and/or modeling; all of these courses will incorporate some level of computer programming or scientific computing.
- Ecology and Evolutional Biology (BS) - The undergraduate program in ecology and evolutionary biology offers a highly interactive, intellectual environment that prepares students for a career in the natural sciences. Our program was specifically designed for students who are interested in a broad exposure to the concepts and methodologies of the biological sciences, as well as those interested in a more specific sub-discipline. We offer a broad range of learning opportunities, including traditional classroom experiences, field and laboratory research opportunities and independent study.
- Environmental Engineering (BS) - Environmental engineering plays a vital role in maintaining the quality of both public health and the natural environment. Environmental engineering encompasses the scientific assessment and development of sustainable engineering solutions to environmental problems impacting the biosphere and land, water and air quality. Environmental issues affect almost all commercial and industrial sectors, and are a central concern for the public, for all levels of government and in international relations. This course of study fulfills the academic requirements for registration as a professional engineer. In common with other engineering fields, courses in solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, and thermal sciences are central to the environmental engineering degree. Coursework specific to environmental engineering includes environmental chemistry and microbiology, as well as treatment processes and approach.
- Environmental Studies (BS) - The Environmental Studies Program (ENVS) is an interdisciplinary program that combines and integrates different types of knowledge to address the complex environmental, resource, and sustainability challenges in coupled human environment systems. This is accomplished by addressing the grand challenges related to sustaining the planet and its people. How do we meet the needs of a growing human population while sustaining our life support systems—climate, air and water systems, natural resources, species assemblages, and ecosystems on land and in the oceans? How do we increase the well-being of those at risk of global environmental change in an unequal world while not compromising future generations? Our research expertise includes food systems; dimensions of global change; conservation biology, restoration ecology; ecosystem biogeochemistry; environmental governance, science and policy interactions; environmental inequality and climate justice; environmental ethics; sustainable livelihoods; and behavioral dimensions of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Undergraduate students acquire an awareness of the complexity of factors relating to human interaction with the environment. They become acutely aware that environmental problems have both human and biophysical components, and gain knowledge of the general principles of human-environmental interactions, global habitability, environmental change and sustainable societies. The ENVS major includes introductory coursework in natural sciences, economics and mathematics; intermediate coursework in policy, ethics, economics and writing; and advanced coursework offered by several departments and programs across CU Boulder.
- Global Environmental Studies (Certificate) - The certificate in global environmental affairs links and develops knowledge of global environmental policies and practices. From climate change to industrial needs, be at the heart of conservation with an understanding of economic factors. Our students enrich their educational experience through applied learning and fieldwork, which also prepare them for career success after graduation.
- Environmental Design (B-ENVD) - Built on strong traditions within the design fields, the Program in Environmental Design (ENVD) offers an integrative approach to education and research. The program offers the Bachelor of Environmental Design (BEnvD)—a four-year, pre-professional degree that prepares students for the practice of, and advanced study in, four majors: environmental product of design, architecture, landscape architecture and sustainable planning & urban design. From analyzing the design of individual buildings to the planning of entire regions, the majors within ENVD offer coursework and projects addressing the diverse scales of environmental design. Course content ranges from building materials and prefabricated building systems to open space issues, political systems and institutional arrangements.

A minor is offered in ecology and evolutionary biology. Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU Boulder, regardless of college or school. We offer a broad range of learning opportunities, including traditional classroom experiences, field and laboratory research opportunities and independent study.

The energy engineering minor provides energy-minded students with a foundational understanding of energy technologies and the energy industry, including technological, policy and economic considerations related to conventional and renewable energy systems. Required courses include a fundamentals-based energy course, an energy policy/society focused course and 12 credits of energy-focused technical elective courses. Elective courses, selected from across the CU campus, allow students to specialize according to their specific interest in the energy field. The energy engineering minor has strong connections with industry through an industry advisory panel and guest speakers.

Environmental planning directs decision making for urban planning, urban design, land development and natural resource conservation with consideration given to environmental, social, political and economic factors. The field applies the natural and social sciences to promote environmentally sound growth, effective management of natural resources and solutions to urban development to offer the frameworks necessary for achieving sustainable outcomes. In this sense, environmental planners might enlist the traditional skills of landscape architects and urban planners, such as physical planning and site design, to inspire more creative and ecologically informed plans and help mitigate the detrimental effects of development. The Environmental Planning Minor provides non-ENVD students experience with the process, technical skills and professional practice of environmental planning. To this end, students software applications (primarily Geographic Information Systems/GIS), theoretical and conceptual materials, and take a planning studio. The minor is directed at students interested in obtaining a graduate degree in planning, urban design or landscape architecture and those wishing to employ interdisciplinarity into their major using the tools of planning and landscape architecture.

A minor is offered in ethnic studies. Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU Boulder, regardless of college or school. The minor emphasizes engaged scholarship that examines how race and the interrelated categories of culture, ethnicity, indigeneity, gender, class, sexuality, religion, disability, and legal status impact the past and present lives of people locally, regionally, and globally.

Global Engineering - Engineers of the 21st century will be working in a globalized industry in which a growing number of engineering firms are transnational. Moreover, advances in engineering and applied science offer immense promise to solving some of the most challenging global issues of our time, making exposure to other cultures and contexts crucial for a well-rounded engineering education. The global engineering minor will prepare students for international practice in multiple ways: It will reveal the profession’s global impact on economies, society, and the environment; It will make students more sensitive to and aware of other cultures; It will help students recognize the issues at the core of development challenges and how to partner holistically will local communities to implement engineering solutions that improve quality of life. 

Chemical Engineering: Alternative and renewable energy. Carbon capture and CO2 emissions reduction. Semiconductor and microprocessor fabrication. Novel nanomaterials and polymers. Plastic upcycling. Data science. Chemical engineers are on the front lines of all of these cutting-edge technologies. Chemical engineering students at CU Boulder learn the skills necessary to address the energy, climate change and technology challenges of tomorrow. Learn from world-class faculty leveraging innovative, award-winning education practices and hands-on lab experiences. Benefit from department connections to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the BioFrontiers Institute, the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute and more."

Civil Engineering: within the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering has been designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in professional practice or for graduate study in the following subdisciplines of civil engineering: construction engineering and management; environmental engineering; geotechnical engineering and geomechanics; structural engineering and structural mechanics; water resource engineering and management.

Integrated Design Engineering: is a process defined by its use of highly collaborative, multidisciplinary teamwork and consideration of all aspects of an engineering project. The Integrated Design Engineering program (formerly Engineering Plus) provides students with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of engineering and both instills and is structured by integrated design. Our majors customize their degree plans through their choice of one of six engineering emphases (selected from aerospace, architectural, civil, electrical, environmental or mechanical engineering), and a concentration in an approved second area such as entrepreneurship, environmental planning, pre-medical or CU Teach Engineering. At the core of our program are three hands-on iterative design project courses that explore and reinforce engineering principles, which jointly form a continuous experiential thread uniting the four-year IDE curriculum. These team-based projects showcase individual students’ growing multidisciplinary knowledge and expertise toward developing vital skills in communication, innovation and leadership, as well as reinforce engineering methodologies required by the emphasis area capstone design experience. Our students graduate with the knowledge, skills and confidence required for success in a diverse and changing world.

Leadership and Community Engagement (LDCE) - prepares ethical, skilled leaders committed to addressing complex public challenges. The major integrates theory and practice. Students will learn about theories of leadership, applied research and learning in community settings. This knowledge is put into practice through structured experiences working with communities to diagnose social problems and design innovative solutions. This major prepares students for careers in community or nonprofit organizations, higher education, international development, urban planning, social work and government, as well as for graduate study.

The Certificate in Peace, Conflict and Security Studies (PACS) - designed to help students explore why conflict and violence occur, and to develop practical, nonviolent skills to analyze, intervene and resolve conflicts in their personal life, in their communities and between countries. The certificate is granted by the College of Arts and Sciences. All enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students, regardless of school or major, may apply for and earn the PACS Certificate. The program utilizes an interdisciplinary perspective on the study of conflict, cooperation, violence, war and peacemaking. Coursework focuses on theorizing and analyzing various levels of conflict, from the interpersonal to international, and related possibilities for personal and social change. Coursework also emphasizes the development of transferable skills and experiential learning in conflict resolution and civic activism. The program encourages hands-on, “in the field” engagement through volunteer service, enrollment in study-abroad programs and internship placement with related agencies and programs. 

For 2.1, the documentation provides links to the effort behind the new common curriculum.  The proposal was adopted and approved and is undergoing a multiyear implementation process.  The proposal for learning objectives and outcomes for a common undergraduate curriculum at CU Boulder, submitted to Provost Russell Moore in October 2022 by the Common Curriculum Planning Committee, won approval at the end of the fall 2022 semester in nearly all faculty governance groups in the schools and colleges, the Libraries and the Program in Environmental Design, as well as in the Boulder Faculty Assembly. 

On Feb. 1, 2023, Moore directed BFA Chair Tiffany Beechy, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Assessment Katherine Eggert, and Dean and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Daryl Maeda to proceed toward implementing the proposal, beginning with developing a set of implementation principles in concert with the BFA and to map the common curriculum goals and learning outcomes onto existing degree programs and the First-Year Experience program. In fall 2023, a campuswide faculty curriculum committee was formed to evaluate the map and to work with colleges, schools and Student Affairs to identify opportunities to fill any gaps in order to achieve the common curriculum’s goals. The committee will ultimately be responsible for maintaining the common curriculum after it has been fully implemented. https://www.colorado.edu/academicfutures/sites/default/files/attached-files/2023-02-01_rmoore_let.pdf AND https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/02/13/common-curriculum-proposal-receives-green-light-enters-implementation