Course and curriculum development in CLAS originates with our faculty at the departmental and/or program level.

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Degree & Option Requirements

Undergraduate Degrees

The Bachelor's degree

  • A minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed in courses taught by faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at CU Denver.

  • A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for all classes taken in the CU System with no grade less than a C-. Individual departments may have additional and/or more stringent program requirements.

The CU Denver Academic Catalog with have the most up to date information about general graduation requirements and CLAS graduation requirements.

The major

  • Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science majors require a minimum of 30 credit hours in the major subject code (major discipline). Interdisciplinary and individually structured majors are exceptions.
  • A minimum of 16 upper division credits are required in the major subject code. Interdisciplinary and individually structured majors are exceptions.
  • Individual departments may have additional and more stringent major residency requirements.

Graduate Degrees

All graduate degree programs must follow the Graduate School Rules.

The Master's degree

  • Minimum credits 30, at least 24 credits must be completed at 5000 level or above.

  • If the program has a thesis, research paper or internship option as the culminating requirement, the thesis/research paper must count for three to six (3-6) credits, unless specified otherwise by individual programs. Independent study course work cannot exceed 20 percent (6 credits) of the 30 credits of coursework required for the Master's degree.

The Doctoral degree

  • Minimum credits 60, 30 must be coursework related and 30 must be dissertation credits. All courses must be completed at 5000 level or higher. (All students should check the specific requirements of their Program, since some Programs have adjusted their credit hour requirement to meet national standards)​ 

The CU Board of Regents requires that all new degree or curriculum proposals follow the established CU Board of Regents Format, laid out in APS 1038.

To create a new degree or a new option (track, concentration) within an existing major or degree or to revise an existing degree or option:
  • Complete and submit the appropriate form to the EPCC, outlining the request and the justification for the proposed curriculum, including
    • Required courses - list by course number and title; total no. of credits (may be interdisciplinary)
    • Elective courses - list number of credits describe how the option relates to the major or degree (may be interdisciplinary)

The process of approving new degrees and programs is lengthy and involves approval at the department,​ College, Campus, System, and Regents levels. Department chairs should discuss plans for a new degree with the Curriculum manager, the Associate Dean for Teaching Learning and Curriculum and the Dean before initiating the process. Proposals for new programs and curriculum must be approved by the EPCC and then passed to the Dean. Graduate programs also require approval by the CU Denver Graduate Council. All degree granting programs must have defined learning outcomes, plans for data collection and measurement and participate in annual outcomes assessment reporting.

For a brief overview of the degree approval process (for new degree programs), please see the Degree Approval Process Flow Chart.