University of Colorado Boulder
AC-3: Graduate Programs

- The PhD program in Environmental Studies (ENVS) at CU Boulder offers students a research-based degree that emphasizes cross-disciplinary perspectives and problem-oriented scholarship. Our program prepares students to become independent researchers, working closely with faculty advisors and committee members. PhD students complete coursework in the natural and social sciences, values and ethics, and policy, developing an independent line of research through their dissertation and collaborations.
- Master of the Environment (MENV) Graduate Program at the University of Colorado Boulder is an innovative, interdisciplinary professional master’s degree that equips students with the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to address the complex environmental challenges of the 21st century. This 21-month, immersive, cohort-based graduate program develops students into leaders in a wide range of careers in conservation, consulting, energy, natural resources, planning, policy, sustainability and more.
- ENVS Masters of Science (MS) program at CU Boulder offers advanced training with a focus on cross-disciplinary perspectives and problem-oriented scholarship. Our mission is to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to tackle 21st-century environmental challenges. MS students engage in coursework that encompasses the natural and social sciences, values and ethics, and policy. They also develop specialized research skills through the completion and defense of an original master’s thesis.
- Environmental Engineering MS, Professional MS, and PhD programs benefit from long-standing relationships of participating faculty and researchers in CU Boulder institutes and nearby federal laboratories. Furthermore, the program benefits from the strong reputation already held by the environmental engineering groups within the participating departments. To cover the broad base of knowledge required of environmental engineers, the degree program at CU Boulder draws on the expertise of more than 20 faculty from three departments: Chemical and Biological Engineering; Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering; and Mechanical Engineering. The required engineering courses in the program are offered in these three departments.

Social Innovation - Certificate trains students to be social innovation catalysts and maximize their social impact in a world that rewards professionals comfortable with change, experimentation and working across disciplines. Its two required classes are taught by faculty in business and the social sciences and with a focus on designing, implementing, evaluating and sustaining solutions to society's most pressing problems. This certificate may be of special interest to graduate students who do not plan to pursue a career in academia but are interested in working in nonprofits, public service, and other fields whose primary mission is to advance human welfare. All students enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program at CU Boulder are eligible to petition for admission to this certificate program.

We have chosen the following as the primary example that meets the criteria and includes sustainability-focused learning requirements:

- LLM - Colorado Law offers a one-year, full-time LLM degree in the following areas: Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law; International Law & Human Rights; Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy; Entrepreneurship & Business Law; Intellectual Property, Technology and Telecommunications Law; US Law for Foreign Lawyers. Colorado Law's LLM degree program is global in scope and is for talented lawyers from diverse backgrounds and countries. The LLM program fully immerses students in Colorado Law and offers inclusive access to programming, courses/modules, and the greater CU Boulder campus; our JD and LLM students learn side-by-side and from each other. At Colorado Law, we recognize that each of our LLM students have unique and diverse backgrounds and experiences, backgrounds and experiences that can enrich our community of scholars and students and help to advance Colorado Law’s intellectual leadership in the world." 

The following may also be considered:

- Juris Doctor (JD) - provides a strong, well-rounded legal education with a rich mixture of theory, policy, doctrinal analysis and professional skills. Students have broad flexibility to meet their individual interests and needs. Colorado Law’s mission is to be an outstanding public law school that provides students with a state-of-the-art legal education and prepares them to serve wisely and with professionalism; advances the development of knowledge through scholarship, testing of new ideas, and challenges to the status quo; and serves as a vehicle and catalyst for meaningful public service, all of which deliver high value to our students and have positive impacts—both locally and globally—on the legal profession and society.

- Education, Curriculum & Instruction (master’s) Humanities Education Track- This track is designed to support teachers and other education professionals who are interested in developing greater understanding and expertise in the teaching and learning of the humanities. Courses within this concentration provide opportunities for graduate students to strengthen discipline-specific content knowledge, knowledge for teaching humanities and a multidisciplinary understanding of how content, pedagogy and practice that supports teaching and inquiry focused on humans’ social and cultural experience as they navigate institutional, social and political systems, including education. In consultation with the advisor, this degree can be tailored toward students’ goals, interests and desired timeline to degree (typically ranging from 1–2 years)

- Masters in Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy (EBB) offers a course of study devoted to the critical examination of theory, practice and policy in two major areas of emphasis: the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students and the education of students with disabilities. The program stresses analysis, evaluation and implementation of educational programs for students who represent diverse learning needs within the public school system. School culture, language policies and the social and political context of schooling are examined across emphases. Policies that affect the assessment, placement and services provided for exceptional children also are examined.

- Master of Science in Outdoor Recreation Economy (MORE) is an interdisciplinary, applied master’s degree that prepares professionals to become creative, thoughtful leaders across the outdoor recreation economy sector. The program leverages University of Colorado Boulder’s academic excellence and experience in professional graduate education, as well as the State of Colorado’s deep connection with the outdoor recreation economy. The program is industry responsive, creates widespread access, and provides innovative, fully online learning opportunities.

- Master of Studies in Law (MSL) degree is a one-year, 28-credit, no-LSAT-required program that enables students who hold at least an undergraduate degree to obtain legal training short of a full Juris Doctor (JD). Increasingly, emerging job markets have openings that require some legal knowledge and employers are assigning a number of legal tasks traditionally performed by lawyers to non-lawyers. Colorado Law's MSL will prepare students to obtain and excel in those positions.

- Masters in Teacher Leadership (MATL) - To earn the master's degree, students must complete three graduate certificates. Each certificate blends together term-based online courses with a synchronous capstone course held in the summer. This affordable degree has been designed for educators looking to enhance their skills and capacities as classroom teachers and leaders and to make a difference in their schools and local communities. Teachers will become acquainted with and able to convey the relevant domain’s content knowledge to students, other teachers and community members. Teachers will become acquainted with and able to convey the distinct instructional strategies within each certificate domain to students, other teachers and community members. Teachers will be able to convey the relevant K-12 curricular content to their students. Teachers will be able to engage other teachers and community members so as to further their understanding of and see the value of their chosen certificate domain.

- Masters in Educational Foundations, Policy & Practice (EFPP) includes two possible concentrations, each with a different focus: community-based change, and evaluation and policy analysis. Both concentrations engage students in a critical examination of the relations among education, society, culture and government, with special emphases on issues of equity along lines of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual diversity, (dis)ability, and intersections of these. The program stresses analysis of educational theory, policy, and practice by drawing on the humanities and the social sciences. Its foundation is critical scholarship, which examines educational institutions within broad social, political, cultural, legal, and economic contexts in the United States. Program faculty members offer courses in social, cultural, historical, legal and philosophical foundations of education; in policy analysis; transnational, Latinx, African-American, gender and queer studies in education; and in evaluation. Additional related courses are available in other programs within the School of Education and in other departments of the university."