University of Colorado at Denver

The University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus (sic) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system.

The university has two campuses — one in downtown Denver at the Auraria Campus, and the other at the Anschutz Medical Campus located in neighboring Aurora. The single university is the result of the 2004 consolidation of the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

The University of Colorado Denver is located on Auraria Campus in Downtown Denver, Colorado while the CU Anschutz Medical Campus is located on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado nearly 10 miles away. CU Anschutz shares the campus with the Children's Hospital, University of Colorado Hospital  and with the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. There are currently more than 18,000 students at the school's two physical campuses in downtown Denver and in Aurora. The school also offers classes via CU Online.

The University of Colorado Denver is the largest research institution in Colorado, attracting more than $375 million in research grants annually, and granting more graduate degrees than any other institution in the state. CU Denver, along with University of Colorado Hospital and University Physicians, Inc., employs more than 12,200 Coloradans, making it one of the metro Denver area's top employers. The university serves more than 500,000 patients a year through its hospital and clinical services.

• School of Medicine

  The CU School of Medicine operates on the Anschutz Medical Campus, the nation's newest health care campus in Aurora, Colo. The campus' integrated design fosters collaboration among researchers, clinicians and students from all health care disciplines.

  Our approximately 2,300 fulltime and 2,800 volunteer faculty members educate students, participate in research and assume considerable responsibility for patient care.

  The School of Medicine curriculum is divided into four phases: Essentials Core (Phases I and II), Clinical Care and Advanced Studies. Basic science and clinical opportunities for medical students are located throughout Colorado in a number of hospitals and clinics.

  A Colorado Springs branch became available for students entering the School of Medicine MD program in 2014. The branch allows an increase in MD graduates, addressing in part the physician shortage in Colorado and the nation. The 2014 incoming class increased from 160 to 184 students, and the additional 24 students will receive all of their third-year training in Colorado Springs.

• School of Dental Medicine

  The University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine is nationally-recognized for the quality of its educational programs, its interdisciplinary research and its excellent clinical care programs that contribute to the health and well being of many of Colorado’s most underserved citizens. 

  Situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountain West, the School of Dental Medicine is located on the growing University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, CO.

  As a vibrant member of the campus and local community, the School of Dental Medicine educates more than 400 students, receives about $5 million in external research funding and provides nearly 100,000 clinical visits both on the Anschutz Medical Campus and across the state of Colorado.

  Initiatives to expand the reach of the school's educational and clinical programs are helping to bring healthier, brighter smiles to communities across Colorado and around the world. With our expansion comes new opportunities to connect with the school as a potential student, volunteer or other valued member of our community.

The University of Colorado created the Department of Medicine and Surgery in September 1883 in the Old Main building on the Boulder campus. The Department of Nursing opened in 1898.

By 1892, the last two years of classes were taught in Denver because the larger population afforded more practical experience. This practice triggered something of a turf battle with the University of Denver’s medical school and the subsequent legal battle went to the state Supreme Court. In 1897, the court found that CU’s charter restricted them to Boulder. However, in 1910, CU got an amendment to the state Constitution passed which allowed them to move back to Denver. In 1911, the School of Medicine combined with the Denver and Gross Medical College to form a larger school with a more comprehensive program, paving the way for the school's permanent move to Denver. In 1925, the School of Medicine moved to the campus on Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Denver. This would become the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center ("UCHSC").

In 1995, the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center was officially put on the Base Realignment and Closure list, after which officials from the Health Sciences Center, University of Colorado Hospital and the City of Aurora presented a proposal to the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. to repurpose the decommissioned base as an academic health center. In 1999, the Army base was closed under the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure action. In 2004, the first UCHSC labs moved from Denver to the research towers on the Fitzsimons campus. In 2006, the Fitzsimons campus of UCHSC was renamed the Anschutz Medical Campus in recognition of philanthropic donations from Philip and Nancy Anschutz. By the end of 2008, academic and research operations of all CU Denver health sciences schools and colleges relocated from the Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard campus to the new Anschutz campus, joining the affiliated University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital. In 2011, the Regents approved the name University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus.

University of Colorado Denver has over 100 student organizations, honor societies, professional organizations and faith-based groups, that offer social, service, and professional opportunities for their members within the university and community. First time freshmen and first time international students at the downtown campus are generally required to live on campus, in the Campus Village, a student housing complex at the Auraria Campus for students, faculty and staff from any of the three schools that share the campus. CU Denver provides a variety of sports and recreation activities to students, faculty and staff, including personal training, intramural basketball, volleyball, soccer, squash, and tennis, and sports equipment check out for on or off campus use.

The CU Denver student newspaper, the Advocate, comes out weekly during the school year. The Distinguished Lecture Series hosts an array of speakers, that have included David Horowitz and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The Tivoli Student Union serves as a student center for the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and University of Colorado Denver.