International College Beijing (ICB)

Welcome to the College of Arts and Sciences (CLAS) at the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver). We are excited to have you join us as part of the International College Beijing (ICB) program. The following information will help you to navigate your transition to CU Denver and your progress toward earning your bachelor’s degree.

Students are responsible for:

  • Understanding CU Denver and CLAS expectations
  • Learning CU Denver degree requirements, including CU Denver Core Curriculum and graduation requirements, CLAS graduation requirements and major, minor and certificate curriculum requirements
  • Setting academic goals and study plans for each semester – your advisor can assist you with this
  • Knowing academic deadlines and policies
  • Learning how to manage your time
  • Understanding the importance of professionalism and ethical behavior
  • Asking for help!

Please read all the information on this webpage, including all of the linked documents below. You will receive information about your next step at the conclusion of this information.

Bachelor's Degree Requirements

To receive a bachelor’s degree from CU Denver, students must satisfy all of the following requirements:

University Graduation Requirements

To receive a bachelor's degree from CU Denver, students must satisfy the following University Graduation Requirements:

  • A minimum of 120 credits earned
  • A minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA required for all University of Colorado courses
  • At least 30 credits taken at CU Denver

CU Denver Core Curriculum

CU Denver subscribes to a liberal arts philosophy of education in order to develop a broad set of academic skills for the baccalaureate student and to establish a foundation for lifelong learning. Since 1990, the CU Denver Core curriculum of general education has been a campus-wide program for all undergraduate students, independent of the student’s major.

  • Core English Composition – 6 credits with C- or higher grade
  • Core Mathematics – 3 credits with C- or higher grade
  • Core Arts – 3 credits
  • Core Humanities – 3 credits
  • Core Behavioral Sciences – 3 credits
  • Core Social Sciences – 3 credits
  • Core Natural and Physical Sciences, Mathematics* – 7-10 credits
    Note: between CU Denver Core Curriculum and CLAS Graduation Requirements, students are required to complete a total of 2 biological or physical science courses with labs
  • Core International Perspectives – 3 credits [this requirement is typically already satisfied for students in the ICB program]
  • Core Cultural Diversity – 3 credits 

CLAS Graduation Requirements

In addition to the CU Denver Core Curriculum and major requirements, students are required to satisfy CLAS Graduation Requirements before being awarded a bachelor’s degree. These requirements include:

  • CLAS Upper-Division Requirement – 45 credits upper-division (3000 or 4000-level) courses
  • CLAS Residency Requirement – 30 credits taken at CU Denver within CLAS disciplines
  • CLAS Communicative Skills – 3 credits with a grade of C- or higher [this requirement cannot be satisfied by taking a course using pass/fail grading]
  • CLAS Second Language Proficiency – 0-10 credits [this requirement is typically already satisfied for students in the ICB program]
  • CLAS Humanities – 3 credits [ENGL1010 does NOT satisfy this requirement]
  • CLAS Behavioral Sciences – 3 credits
  • CLAS Social Sciences – 3 credits
  • CLAS Natural and Physical Sciences, Mathematics – 3 to 5 credits
    Note: between CU Denver Core Curriculum and CLAS Graduation Requirements, students are required to complete a total of 2 biological or physical science courses with labs

Major Requirements

Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Minor Requirements (optional)

For additional information regarding your degree requirements, please refer to the CU Denver 2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog (for Fall 2024, Spring 2025 and Summer 2025 admits).

Advising

CLAS creates and sustains an inclusive and supportive learning environment where students are engaged to author meaningful academic and professional plans through collaborative advising relationships that foster student success and degree completion. CLAS utilizes a shared-advising system, which means all undergraduate students in a CLAS major have at least two academic advisors whom they should regularly connect with throughout their time at CU Denver.

  • CLAS Academic Advisors - support students with their completion of University Graduation Requirements, CU Denver Core Curriculum and CLAS Graduation Requirements. Additionally, they provide guidance with navigating CU Denver and CLAS policies and procedures.
  • Faculty Advisors - assist students with their major/minor/certificate requirements within their respective academic departments.

Your advisors are also here to:

  • Connect you with campus resources
  • Supply you with information to make informed decisions
  • Help you ask effective questions
  • Monitor students’ degree progress and approve graduation eligibility
  • Discuss career/graduate school opportunities
CLAS Advisors:
Dr. Leslie Bai at leslie.bai@ucdenver.edu  (ICB-Beijing Students)
Erick Chavez at erick.chavez@ucdenver.edu (ICB-Denver Students)
Jenny Fam at jenny.fam@ucdenver.edu (ICB-Beijing Students)
 

COMM Advisor:
Miroslav Atanassov at miroslav.atanassov@ucdenver.edu
Pearl Zhang at zhenzhu.zhang@ucdenver.edu 

ECON Advisor:
Enoch Cheng at enoch.cheng@ucdenver.edu

Registration Tips

Click here to learn about how to register for courses and understanding registration holds and errors. Please make sure you are referring to the ICB Academic Calendar and Registration Dates as the dates/deadlines are different for the ICB Beijing program and Denver campus. When registering for ICB courses in China make sure you are selecting sections of the course that are taught in Beijing and not in Denver.

ICB Academic Calendar

Click here to access the ICB Academic Calendar & Registration Dates - any adjustments to the ICB Academic Calendar will be announced via email.

Academic Standing

Click here to learn about how students at CU Denver are expected to maintain “Good Academic Standing". Good Academic Standing requires minimally a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 on all University of Colorado courses. Failure to maintain Good Academic Standing can affect eligibility for enrollment, graduation and financial aid.

Academic Honors Requirements

Click here to learn about how CLAS recognizes outstanding achievement through Academic Honors, which can be separated into four distinct categories:

  • College Honors
  • Departmental Honors
  • Dean's List
  • Outstanding Undergraduate

Plan Your Degree

Click here to learn more about Degree Planning Tools

  • Degree Audit
  • Transfer Credit
  • Planner & Scheduler

Graduation Application Process

Click here to learn how to apply for graduation when the time comes. In order to graduate as an undergraduate student in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS), you must complete several steps that are outlined on this link. See the ICB Academic Calendar for specific deadlines.

Forms & Resources

Click here it access important forms and other CU Denver and CLAS Resources.

Access CU Denver Email Account and Student Portal

If you haven't already accessed your CU Denver email and the student portal, please make sure to do this immediately. As a reminder, you will need to setup Duo for the multi-factor authentication (MFA) for additional security. 

  1. Accessing your CU Denver Email
    Make sure you can access your official CU Denver email account immediately. You will need to use this email account to communicate with your academic advisors, faculty and other CU Denver staff.

    You will receive an email from IdentityManagement@ucdenver.edu with the subject “Your new CU Email!”  which contains your CU Denver email address and instructions on how to access your email account. If you don’t see this email in your inbox, please double check your junk email folder to make sure this email didn’t go there instead.

    Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) via Duo Security
    Part of logging into your email account is a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) security process using “Duo.” Duo links your CU Denver credentials to an alternative device of your choice – a smartphone (preferably), a tablet, or a landline – for an extra layer of security to make sure that the person logging in with your credentials is actually you, and not someone with your CU Denver information. Be prepared for Duo to pop-up and require authentication every time you login to an online resource.

    To set up Duo, you will need to download the app on your device of choice, and then link your device with your CU Denver account. Click here to instructions to install and register for Duo.
     

  2. Login to your CU Denver Student Portal
    The CU Denver Student Portal is used to access online tools for registration, email, degree audit and validate your access to Canvas. 
    Login to the CU Denver student portal: http://www.ucdenver.edu/UCDAccess 

Username: you received an email from apply@ucdenver.edu at the time you submitted your online application which contains your username.
Password: use the same password you created when you submitted your online application.

If you can’t remember your password, you can reset it here.

It is very important that you remember your email address, your CU Denver username, and the password that you decide on as these credentials grant you access to EVERY online resource you will need to complete your classes.

Need Assistance with CU Denver Email Setup or Accessing your CU Denver Student Portal?

Please contact the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Help Desk if you have any issues. You can email the OIT Help Desk at oit-servicedesk@ucdenver.edu, or you can reset your password yourself online.

Please note sometimes there are delays in our systems between Denver and Beijing. If you can’t get in your account, don’t panic! Please contact the Office of Information Technology and allow 24 hours for your accounts to become active.

Next Step

Once you have completed the review of all the linked documents on this page, please send an email to: ICB.advising@ucdenver.edu with your name, CU Denver ID number and a statement acknowledging you have read and understand the linked documents. Upon receipt of this email, the CLAS Advising office will remove your mandatory advising hold and you will be permitted to register for courses. Please allow 2-3 business days for the hold to be processed and removed from your record.