New Directions Courses

♦ Registration is Now Open for Summer and Fall 2025! ♦

College students' hands at their desks

Guide to Course Numbering

At the University of Colorado Denver, courses for master's degree/graduate credit are numbered in the 5000s or above. Courses in the 4000s are for undergraduate credit. New Directions cross-lists many of our courses for both undergraduate and graduate credit, with undergraduates completing an adjusted level of work on assignments, or adjustments in the evaluation of those assignments, commensurate with their academic level. To ensure your credits count properly for your Master's degree, graduate students should always enroll in the 5000 level or above for all courses. 

Summer 2025

PSCI 5008/4002 American Labor Movement through Film (3 Credits)

This course utilizes several classic films about labor struggles to explore the history and politics of the larger movement, examining the many political and social barriers that workers have faced in their long struggle for a more dignified workplace. Instructor: Jim Walsh

Meets weekly on Monday nights, remotely on zoom.

Upcoming Fall 2025 Courses

PSCI 5008/4002 -  Special Topic: Urban Policy During Change  (3 Credits)

Course Dates:

- October 25 & 26
- November 15 & 16
- December 6 & 7

Cities have long been laboratories for policy innovation, necessitated by their roles on the front line of growing inequality. State and federal attempts to limit urban policy action are on the rise. Students will learn policy development skills at the intersection of legal, political and social dynamics influencing policy possibilities. Instructor: Robin Kniech

PSCI 5548 -  Labor Law and Collective Bargaining  (3 Credits)  

Course Dates:

- August 23 & 24
- September 13 & 14
- October 4 & 5

Explores the history, current status, and emerging developments in U.S. labor law. Examines how labor law structures worker organizing and collective bargaining efforts. Focus on labor/management relations in such processes as contract administration, workplace anti-discrimination efforts, and labor organizing rights. Explore new developments like labor law in relations to social media usage and independent contracting. 

PSCI 5914/4914 -  Community Organizing and Community Development  (3 Credits)  

Course Dates:

- September 20 & 21
- October 11 & 12
- November 1 & 2

The theory and practice of community organizing strategies and community development innovations. How can social activists build power at the grassroots to build equitable, sustainable, and healthy communities?

Upcoming Spring 2026 Courses

PSCI 5434 -  The Cooperative Movement: Politics and Policy  (3 Credits)  

Explores the history, current status, and emerging developments in the cooperative movement, both domestic and global. Topics include the political, organizational, and financial challenges and opportunities facing worker, producer, and consumer cooperatives. Examines how cooperative enterprises have adopted both reformist and revolutionary responses to the capitalist system, and how legal regimes and grassroots movements shape the future of cooperative enterprises. Lecturer: Dr. Minsun Ji

PSCI 5468 -  Research Methods in Political Science  (3 Credits)  

Required for all New Directions Master's students.

Additional courses TBD

Recently Completed Courses

Spring 2025

PSCI 4002/5008 - Special Topics: Local Government and Affordable Housing (new course - 3 credits)

Explore how local governments shape housing patterns and promote affordable housing through land-use, spending, policy and as property owners. Themes include: origins of housing segregation/discrimination, state/federal regulation of local efforts, land use reform to address the recent housing crisis, components of comprehensive affordability strategy, basic housing finance, affordability policies, resolution of homelessness, private market forces, and political tensions. Includes housing site visits. Lecturer: Robin Kniech, J.D. 

PSCI 4075/5075 - Gentrification and Social Equity (3 credits)

Study causes and consequences of urban gentrification, and explore strategies of grassroots resistance and social equity solutions that are being mobilized to challenge the forces of gentrification. Contrast common celebrations of the waves of capital reinvestment that are fueling urban revitalization with the frequent claim of many low-income neighborhoods: “Gentrification is Class War!” Includes neighborhood tours. Professor: Dr. Tony Robinson

PSCI 5468 - Research Methods (required for traditional and New Directions MA students - 3 credits)

 

Fall 2024

PSCI 5914/4914 Community Organizing and Community Development  (3 Credits) 

The theory and practice of community organizing strategies and community development innovations. How can social activists build power at the grassroots to build equitable, sustainable, and healthy communities? This is one of two courses required for a Master's degree from the New Directions program. This course examines diverse community development and community organizing practices engaged in by various governmental, civic and community-based organizations as well as differing strategies and outcomes associated with these various efforts. The overall goal of the class is to help students lay a foundation for a broader theoretical and practical understanding of community development and community organizing, both historically and current practice. Lecturer: Dr. Joyce Luján Martínez

PSCI 5008/4002 Special Topics - Public-Private Partnerships: The Process And The People (3 credits)

A public–private partnership is an arrangement often focused on financing projects that support the public vision. These partnerships can support  a broad range of efforts and allow for a creative dialogue around synergizing benefits for both the public and private sector. Public private partnerships or P3s generally consider how the private sector can contribute to solving community challenges. This course will explore the process for identifying potential partnerships and the people that will keep them successful and sustainable. It will cover a number of interrelated topics aimed at developing a solid understanding of why public-private partnerships are needed, the factors to consider in developing a partnership strategy, the tools used to assess partners, and the processes for developing agreements and evaluating success.  A primary goal of this course is to consider why challenges in the public realm might need private assistance for resolution, to explore the types of partners and partnerships to address different issues, and to understand the process for considering the feasibility of different partners or tools for different cases. Lecturer: Kat Correll

Frequently Used Forms

Find a Form

The following are examples of the most frequent forms used by New Directions students. 

CU Denver Special Processing Form: This form must be submitted to the CLAS Dean for all independent study and thesis/project proposals.

Transfer Credit Review Form: This form will initiate the faculty review of transfer course(s). The results from this review will be added to a student's transfer record on the student information system (SIS) and will be applied towards the appropriate degree requirement(s). Please contact your advisor to discuss the use of this form in more detail.

Name and Record Update Request: Use this form to let the Registrar's Office know of a name change or if the information on your student record is incorrect.

How to Register for New Directions Courses

Visit: https://passport.ucdenver.edu/login.php 

  1. Sign-in using your University username and password.

  2. Click UCD Access to proceed to the student portal.

  3. Click “Register” to view the drop-down menu. Then click “Register for Classes.”

  4. Select the registration term and continue to class search.

  5. Under the “Advanced Search” heading, click “Search.”

  6. Verify that you have selected the correct registration term, and proceed to course search by clicking “Extended Studies” under the “Campus” heading and “Political Science” under the “Subject” section. Hit “Search” at the bottom of the screen to browse the course list.

  7. Select your course by clicking on the arrow near the class name. Then hit “Select.”

  8. Your New Directions selected course(s) will now appear in your Shopping Cart and will be available when you are ready to enroll.

Reminder, graduate students should enroll in the 5000 level version of a course that is cross-listed with two different numbers. The 4000 levels are only for undergraduate credit. 

If you encounter any difficulties during the registration process, call the Registrar’s Office at 303-724-8059. Please note that unpaid University balances may impact the ability to register. All billing questions should be directed to the Bursar’s Office at 303-315-1800.