The
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (
UCCS; formerly
CU-Springs) is a campus of the
University of Colorado SystemThe University of Colorado System is a system of public universities in Colorado consisting of three campuses: University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and University of Colorado at Denver...
, the
state university systemA state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual U.S. state or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia...
of
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
.
UCCS has about 6,150 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students, with 18% ethnic minority students and 58% female students.
In 2006, the
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek, it was for many years a leading news weekly, although it focused more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
college and university rankingsIn higher education, college and university rankings are listings of universities and liberal arts colleges in an order determined by any combination of factors. Rankings can be based on subjectively perceived "quality," on some combination of empirical statistics, or on surveys of educators,...
put the UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science as ranking the fourth-best among
public universitiesA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities...
and the 16th best overall among
bachelorA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and
master's degreeA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
schools.
U.S. News ranked UCCS as the 32nd in master's universities in the
WestThe Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
for the 2009 rankings. For public universities in the Master's Universities-West category it was ranked 6th. It has been ranked in the top ten on that list each year since 2002.
History
As early as the 1920s, CU offered classes in the Colorado Springs area at various locations, mostly Colorado College. By the 1960s, however, a permanent campus was desired.
Colorado GovernorThe Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...
John Arthur LoveJohn Arthur Love was a United States attorney and Republican politician who served as the 36th Governor of the State of Colorado from 1963 to 1973....
and Hewlett-Packard Company co-founder
David PackardDavid Packard was a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard , serving as president , CEO , and Chairman of the Board . He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969-1971 during the Nixon administration...
(whose company had a huge presence in the city) led a drive to establish a permanent home for the university. The solution came when George T. Dwire sold the Cragmor Sanatorium property for $1 to the state.
In 1965 UCCS moved to its current location on Austin Bluffs Parkway in the Cragmor neighborhood of northern Colorado Springs. The campus is located at one of the highest parts of the city.
Because of its ties to HP, initial university programs focused on engineering and business, and classes were held in the Cragmor Sanotorium building, what is now Main Hall, and Cragmor Hall, a modern expansion of Main Hall. The first building built exclusively for UCCS, Dwire Hall, was not complete until 1972.
A 1997 community referendum merged Beth-El College of Nursing with UCCS. In recent years, programs such as the Network Information and Space Security Center were added to connect the university with the military to improve
national securityNational security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy.Measures taken to ensure national security include:...
. Other programs, including the CU Institute for Bioenergetics and the Institute for Science and Space Studies, cast an eye toward the future.
In 2001 UCCS purchased an building at the corner of Union and Austin Bluffs to house the Beth-El College of Nursing.
While on his campaign trail, Presidential Nominee Barrack Obama made a stop on the campus. His agenda was helping senators with current Colorado budget issues and answering questions of
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
voters.
College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
The
College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences is the UCCS college of liberal arts and sciences. It is the largest college at UCCS, offering undergraduate programs in
anthropologyAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
,
art historyArt history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and look. This includes the "major" arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture as well as the "minor" arts of ceramics,...
,
biologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
,
chemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
,
communication Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules. Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of...
,
economicsEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
,
EnglishEnglish studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, film studies, gallery practice,
geographyGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and
environmental studiesEnvironmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them...
,
historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
,
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
,
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
,
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
,
political sciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
,
psychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
,
sociologySociology is the scientific or systematic study of human societies. It is a branch of social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, often with the goal of applying such...
,
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
, and
visualThe visual arts are art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature, such as traditional plastic arts , modern visual arts , and design and crafts...
and
performing artsThe performing arts are those forms of art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
. It offers graduate programs in biology, chemistry, communication, applied geography, history,
applied mathematicsApplied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with the mathematical techniques typically used in the application of mathematical knowledge to other domains.-Divisions of applied mathematics:...
, physics, psychology, and sociology.
Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences
The
Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences is the UCCS
nursing schoolA Nursing school is a type of educational institution, or part thereof, providing education and training to become a fully-qualified nurse. The nature of nursing education and nursing qualifications varies considerably across the world.-United Kingdom:...
. It has two departments, Heath Science and Nursing. The college is accredited with the Colorado State Board of Nursing and the
Commission on Collegiate Nursing EducationThe Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is an autonomous nursing education accrediting agency that contributes to the improvement of the public's health. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S...
. Both departments are primarily located in the upper levels of University Hall about half a mile east from the main campus and in the northwest corner of the Austin Bluff at Union intersection. Degrees granted:
- Undergraduate: Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in forensic science, nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, allied healthAllied health professions are clinical healthcare professions distinct from medicine, dentistry, and nursing. They work in a healthcare team to make the healthcare system function.-Professions:...
(self-defined), or sports health and wellness (Department of Heath Science); Bachelor of Science in NursingThe Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a four year academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by a tertiary education university or similarly accredited school...
(Department of Nursing)
- Graduate: Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in a large number of countries...
in forensic health, health promotion, or sports medicineSports medicine specializes in preventing, diagnosing and treating injuries related to participating in sports and/or exercise, specifically the rotation or deformation of joints or muscles caused by engaging in such physical activities.-See also:...
(Department of Heath Science); Master of Science in NursingA Master of Science in Nursing is an advanced-level quaternary education degree for Registered Nurses. It is required to become an advanced practice nurse, such as a Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwife, Nurse Administrator, or a Clinical nurse leader,...
and the Doctor of Nursing Practice (Department of Nursing).
College of Business and Administration
The
College of Business and Administration is the UCCS
business schoolA business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource management, and quantitative...
. It is located in the newly-renovated
Dwire Hall. The college established in 1965. It is accredited by the
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of BusinessThe Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business was founded in 1916 to accredit schools of business worldwide. The first accreditations took place in 1919...
. Degrees granted:
- Undergraduate: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in business studies. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations. The BBA program usually includes general business courses and...
; Bachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in accounting, financeFinance is the science of funds management. The general areas of finance are business finance, personal finance, and public finance. Finance includes saving money and often includes lending money. The field of finance deals with the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated...
, general business, human resource managementHuman resource management is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business...
, information systemsIn a broad sense, the term Information Systems refers to the interaction between people, processes, and technology. This interaction can occur within or across organizational boundaries...
, international businessInternational business is a term used to collectively describe all commercial transactions that take place between two or more nations...
, marketingMarketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities are informed or persuaded that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others....
, marketing/professional golf management; organizational management, and services management
- Graduate: Masters in Business Administration in accounting, finance, general business, health care administration, homeland defense
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect the United States against perceived internal and external threats. The term arose following a reorganization of many U.S. government agencies in 2003 to form the United States Department of Homeland Security after the September...
, information systems, international business, management, marketing, operations managementOperations management is an area of business concerned with the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resource as needed, and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements...
, project managementProject management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives...
, services management, and technology management.
College of Education
The
College of Education is the UCCS
school of educationIn the United States and Canada, a school of education is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences encompassing sociology, psychology, linguistics, economics, political science, public...
. The College of Education is located in Columbine Hall on the UCCS campus. It is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), the
Colorado Commission on Higher EducationThe Colorado Commission on Higher Education was established in 1965 by the Colorado General Assembly. The Commission replaced an association which met informally to consider matters related to higher education....
(CCHE) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). It is primarily a Colorado state
educator licensureA certified teacher is a teacher who has earned credentials from an authoritative source, such as the government, a higher education institution or a private source. These certifications allow teachers to teach in schools which require authorization in general, as well as allowing educators to...
program.
In addition to its primary degree and educator licensure programs the COE operates many other auxiliary programs that are integral to the mission and objectives of the College.
- Culturally Responsive Teaching, Leadership, and Counseling: CRTLC™ is a program designed to help prospective teachers and educators learn to customize curricula and fine-tune classroom interaction in order to maximize teaching effectiveness and increase cultural awareness. Annually the COE holds a symposium at UCCS for local teachers and administrators that discusses various sub-topics and special topics that involve culturally responsive education. Speakers at this symposium are nationally known for their research on CRTLC™.
- Quality and Excellence Community Learning Series: The QECLS series are biannual events that highlight various educational topics, everything from emotional literacy to an analysis of civil rights in the classroom and how they have evolved.
- Daegu Gyeongbuk English Village: In 2006 UCCS and Yeungjin College, a prominent national university in South Korea, joined forces to construct a world-class English language learning campus in Daegu. The English Village offers a full immersion curriculum for children to adults, complete with various miniature versions of everything from an airport to a bank to a police station where students can interact and utilize English in real-world situations and scenarios.
- Office of Global Education: The OGE is the newest COE endeavour. It was established in 2009 in order to facilitate the growth of the global educational endeavors of the College of Education by expanding on the Daegu English Village project. The Office oversees the English Village as well as sponsoring Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and Foreign Language (TEFL) certificates. Also, OGE co-sponsors a Yeungjin Summer College program and is in the process of implementing a new Oaxaca Spanish Language and Culture Tour in Mexico among other Summer Study and Culture Tours.
The COE is also active in a number of special programs, including but not limited to the following:
- EduStat: EduStat university is an annual conference for teachers and administrators from across the nation designed to facilitate modern education solutions. UCCS last hosted the event in 2008.
- Pikes Peak Educational Research Center: The PPERC was established to allow UCCS to collaborate with local school districts in order to meet accountability challenges. Currently, the associate dean directs two major research projects through the Center. The PPERC is an operating unit in the new campus-wide Education Outreach Center.
- Reading Clinics: The Graduate Reading Program of the COE biannually offers two programs designed to both provide assistance for teachers in diagnosis and remediation of reading difficulties for children K-12, and also to directly assist children in such a position.
- SuperSaturday: A program designed to cater to gifted children of elementary age. The program's purpose is to challenge students' intellectual and creative abilities in one academically-orientated Saturday.
- Teacher-in-Residence Program: A partnership with the Pikes Peak Board of Cooperative Educational Services, TIRP's purpose is to allow working professionals to make a career transition to education.
- Troops-to-Teachers: A cooperative program of the Department of Educaton and of Defense which provides referral and placement assistance to military personal interested in becoming a teacher.
- UCCS Teacher/Cadet Alliance: A project designed to encourage outstanding students to enter and complete undergraduate teaching programs offered by the COE.
Degrees offered
- Undergraduate: Licensure programs in elementary education, linguistically diverse education
ESL , ESOL , and EFL all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with a different native language. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below...
(LDE), secondary educationSecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
, and special educationSpecial education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
- Graduate: Master of Arts
A Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
in counseling and human services, curriculum and instruction, special education, and leadership; Ph.DDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
in educational leadership and research and policy.
Awards & Accomplishments
- President's Award: In 2007 the COE received the President's Diversity Award in the academic unit category from the Regents of the University of Colorado.
- Educator of the Year: The Colorado School Counselor Association awarded Assistant Professor Rhonda Williams the 2008 Educator of the Year award.
- National Board for Certified Counselors: In 2009 Professor Joseph Wehrman was appointed as a board member for the NBCC, an international credentialing body for professional counselors.
School of Public Affairs
The
School of Public Affairs offers degrees in
criminal justiceCriminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts....
and
public administrationPublic administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and study of branches of government policy. The pursuit of the public good by enhancing civil society, ensuring a well-run, fair, and effective public service are some of the goals of the field.Public administration...
.
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
The
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences is the UCCS
engineering collegeEngineering colleges generally refer to institutes of higher education which offer an engineering course at degree level. The duration of the course is four to five years depending upon the university to which the college is affiliated. The students learn little of basic science concentrating...
. In the
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek, it was for many years a leading news weekly, although it focused more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
"America’s Best Colleges," the 2008 college rankings edition, "the magazine’s editors ranked the UCCS undergraduate engineering program ninth in the nation among public engineering schools offering bachelor’s or master’s degrees."
UCCS Engineering is rapidly expanding and includes many research institutes and
laboratoriesA laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
. It consists of three departments: the Department of Computer Science (
computer scienceComputer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic processes that create, describe and transform...
); the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (
electrical engineeringElectrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after...
,
computer engineeringComputer Engineering is a discipline that combines both Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design and hardware-software integration instead of only software engineering or electronic engineering...
), and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (
mechanical engineeringMechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that was developed from the application of principles from physics and materials science. Mechanical engineering involves the analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of various systems...
,
aerospace engineeringAerospace engineering is the branch of engineering behind the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is broken into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
). The college is accredited by the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and TechnologyABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, is a non-profit organization that serves the public by accrediting United States postsecondary degree programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. Accreditation is intended to certify the quality...
(ABET). In conjunction with the College of Business it offers the unique Bachelor of Innovation™(BI) which won the 2008 ASEE new program innovation award
Because of its proximity to
U.S. governmentThe federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States with the governments of the individual U.S. states. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and...
and
militaryThe United States armed forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States.The history of the United States armed forces dates to 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States...
installations and the
technologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
private sectorIn economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private profit and is not controlled by the state. By contrast, enterprises that are part of the state are part of the public sector; private, non-profit organizations are regarded as part of the voluntary...
the college has partnerships several institutions, including
defense contractorA defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a defense department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...
s and
semiconductorA semiconductor is a material that has an electrical resistivity between that of a conductor and an insulator, that is, generally in the range 10
3 Siemens/cm to 10
−8 S/cm. Devices made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics, including radio,...
manufacturers (Intel,
BoeingThe Boeing Company is a major aerospace and defense corporation, founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Its international headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois, since 2001...
,
AgilentAgilent Technologies , or Agilent, is a company which designs and manufactures instruments and equipment for measurement and evaluation. The company's headquarters are in Santa Clara, California....
,
Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman Corporation is an American aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth largest defense contractor in the world in 2008, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over 122,000...
,
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a multinational aerospace manufacturer, global security and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 146,000 people...
),
national laboratoryThe United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology Centers are a system of facilities and laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy for the purpose of advancing science and helping promote the economic and defensive national interests of the United...
(
Sandia National LaboratoriesSandia National Laboratories, which is managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , is a major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratory with two locations, one in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the other in Livermore, California...
), and the military (
United States Northern CommandUnited States Northern Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States military. Created on October 1, 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, its mission is to protect the United States homeland and support local, state, and federal authorities...
,
Air Force Space CommandAir Force Space Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFSPC is headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base Colorado. Its current commander is General C. Robert "Bob" Kehler....
, and the
United States Air Force AcademyThe United States Air Force Academy , is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of commissioned officers for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
). It provides outreach services to the local community through
Project Lead the WayProject Lead the Way is a United States based Not-for-Profit Career and Technology Education curriculum development organization that promotes engineering and engineering technology courses in K-12 schools....
and the
FIRST Lego LeagueThe FIRST Lego League is an international competition for elementary and middle school students . It is arranged by the FIRST organization....
.
In 2006, the
American Society for Engineering EducationThe American Society for Engineering Education is a non-profit member association, founded in 1893, dedicated to promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education....
ranked the college seventh among U.S. public universities and 18th for all U.S. universities in the number of degrees awarded to woman.
The College is located in two buildings:
- The Engineering Building houses the Department of Computer Science, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, dean's
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
office, Advanced Development and UNIXUnix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
Laboratory, Specialized Software DevelopmentSoftware development is the set of activities that results in software products. Software development may include research, new development, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products...
Laboratory, Software Development Laboratory, Communications and Signal ProcessingSignal processing is an area of electrical engineering and applied mathematics that deals with operations on or analysis of signals, in either discrete or continuous time to perform useful operations on those signals...
Laboratory, Control SystemsA control system is a device or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or systems.There are two common classes of control systems, with many variations and combinations: logic or sequential controls, and feedback or linear controls...
Laboratory, Electronics Laboratory, ElectromagneticsElectromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field, a field that exerts a force on particles with the property of electric charge and is reciprocally affected by the presence and motion of such particles....
Laboratory, MicroelectronicsMicroelectronics is a subfield of electronics. Microelectronics, as the name suggests,is related to the study and manufacture, or microfabrication, of electronic components which are very small . These devices are made from semiconductors...
Research Laboratories (MRL), and VLSIVery-large-scale integration is the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistor-based circuits into a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when complex semiconductor and communication technologies were being developed. The microprocessor is a VLSI device...
Circuit Design Laboratory.
- The lower two levels of University Hall (about half a mile east from the main campus in the northwest corner of the Austin Bluffs at Union intersection) houses the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Fluid
A fluid is a substance that continually deforms under an applied shear stress. All gases are fluids, but not all liquids are fluids. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some extent, plastic solids....
s Laboratory, Wind TunnelA wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research. It is used to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
, Instrumentations Laboratory, and the PrototypingA prototype is an original type, form, or instance of something serving as a typical example, basis, or standard for other things of the same category...
and Machine ShopConventional machining, one of the most important material removal methods, is a collection of material-working processes in which power-driven machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, and drill presses are used with a sharp cutting tool to mechanically cut the material to achieve the...
.
A new $56.1-million Science and Engineering Building has been completed at the center of campus to add needed laboratory and lecture space for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as well as the Physics, Chemistry, and Biology departments. The building will be open for classes in fall 2009. It will hold an expanded computer, wind tunnel, fluids, instrumentation, and other mechanical engineering laboratories with an enlarged machine shop and research space, design studios with payload and project areas.
Campus
- Main Hall (1914) – Administration building containing admissions, student success center, etc.
- Cragmor Hall (1959) – Administration building containing bursar's office, orientation rooms, student recruitment, counseling, and financial aid.
- Dwire Hall (1972) – Renovated from 2006 to 2007, it serves as the building for classes in business, economics, languages and cultures, and film studies.
- The El Pomar Center (1975) – Home to the Kraemer Family Library and technical support. Renovated at the beginning of the millennium to expand the library and add the University Center.
- Science Building (1981) – Science and anthropology classes along with the student art gallery. Lower level renovated in 2006 with new classrooms.
- Engineering and Applied Sciences (1985) – Engineering, math, science classes, currently undergoing a massive expansion.
- Campus Services (1996)
- Columbine Hall (1997) – The new home for most LAS classes, also containing writing center, communications lab, and a lecture hall.
- Summit Village (1997) – This is the first of UCCS's student housing, now catering to freshmen only. Divided into Vail, Steamboat, Telluride, Aspen, Keystone, Monarch, and Brekenridge (laundry, computer facilities, and seminar rooms). Summit houses altogether about 800 freshmen.
- University Center (2001) – Addition to El Pomar, this is the center of campus life where activities and seminars are held. The information desk, bookstore, news room, and campus recreation offices are housed in the lower level. A basketball court and gym will soon to be expanded to include larger facilities for games and a multi-use area to help ease strain on the facility until permanent facilities near 4-Diamonds are constructed sometime during the mid twenty-teens.
- University Hall (2001) – Building purchased for Beth-El Nursing and other programs.
- Services/Campus Police/Health Clinic/Parking Garage (2004)
- Alpine Village (2004) – The second village in student housing, Alpine is divided into Shavano, Antero, and Crestone Houses, and caters now to all non-freshmen choosing to live on-campus. Students who live here must access campus via a trail or shuttle.
- Campus Recreation Center (2007) – Recently completed, this new state-of-the-art recreation building for students, replacing the current facilities at the University Center, features a swimming pool, a climbing wall, and a full basketball court, along with the full complement of equipment.
- Science and Engineering Building (2009) – Under final stages of construction this will provide two-fold expansion of science and engineering classrooms and facilities, and will connect via a bridge to the current building.
- Science Building (2010) – The building constructed in 1981 will be completely gutted and rebuilt inside with the exception of new classrooms added in 2006.
- UCCS Events Center (2010) – Money originally allocated to construct a temporary new home for Mountain Lion athletics was instead added to a larger budget to significantly expand the current athletics gym and create a new Events Center, which will, in addition to providing a larger gym for volleyball and basketball, will serve as a venue for conferences and large lectures when completed. The center is projected to open in early 2010.
- South Hall (2011) – Preliminary plans call for a new building to be constructed either where Lot 1 is currently adjacent to Cragmor Hall or on newly purchased property in between Campus Services and University Hall. The smaller facility would house general classrooms and be a new home for the Psychology department and a non-UCCS clinic that specializes in geriatric care.
- Summit Village Expansion (2011?) – Preliminary plans call for the construction of two additional dormitories adjacent to the current Aspen House, partially removing current Lot 6 to make room for the addition.
Master plan and future growth
In 2000, the CU Board of Regents designated UCCS as the CU growth campus. In 2003, the Colorado Legislature approved revisions in the university's statutory role and mission to remove geographic and program restrictions. In 2005, the Regents approved a seven-year plan that calls for the university to add to its base of 7,650 students (Fall 2004), 347 FTE faculty and 254 FTE staff.
The 2006-2012 plan calls for growth to 9,100 students with corresponding increases in faculty, staff, programs and campus infrastructure.
In addition to the completion of the recreation center, Dwire Hall renovation, and the third wing of the new science/engineering building, the seven-year plan also calls for the renovation and transition of the old
Heller CenterThe Heller Center at Eagle Rock, Colorado Springs, Colorado is a nature preserve bequeathed to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to support local arts and humanities education.-Introduction:...
on the other side of the bluff that campus sits in front of into a sort of "arts retreat." This project is expected to cost around $4.4 million. Also, by 2014, two new buildings are in the works for Summit, and by that year the Alpine Village should be built out with three additional buildings across from the current ones.
With construction on the new Austin Bluffs/Union interchange, the construction of a new frontage road from campus to University Hall began as well, enabling a closed circuit connecting Cragmor Campus with University Hall, making access to Austin Bluffs unnecessary.
From 2014 a new indoor athletics complex will be constructed along Nevada in the existing 4-Diamonds area. North Nevada is the 2nd phase of campus in the long-term, and extreme long-term build-out calls for dozens of new buildings, academic halls, and another resident village to be built along Nevada.
By at least 2050 the plan calls for UCCS to become the new main campus of the CU System, as Boulder has little room for expansion.
On March 5, 2009 UCCS announced they would be converting their entire fleet of patrol cars to the
Toyota PriusThe Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size car developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. It first went on sale in Japan in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in 2001. The Prius is sold in more than 40...
.
Athletics
The school
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is the mountain lion, with official colors of gold and black, the same de facto school colors of CU-Boulder (actual colors silver and black).
UCCS competes in NCAA
Division IIDivision II is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It offers an alternative to both the highly competitive level of intercollegiate sports offered in NCAA Division I and to the non-scholarship level offered in Division III...
in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic ConferenceThe Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a College Athletic Conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
(RMAC), fielding teams in
men's basketballThe NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship has been conducted since 1957. Like all other NCAA basketball divisions for men and women, the champion is decided in a single-elimination tournament, and like in Division I, the Division II tournament has 64 teams. However, the Division II...
,
women's basketballDivision II women's basketball champions for the NCAA2009 Minnesota State University 103-94 Franklin Pierce -See also:*NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship*NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship...
, women's volleyball, men's cross country, women's cross country, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, men's golf, men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's softball.
In addition to varsity sports, UCCS has a large number of club sports including a dance team and a cheerleading club, cycling, baseball, billiards, fencing, hockey, karate, kendo, kung fu, lacrosse, paintball, racquetball, rugby, tai chi, tennis, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, womans soccer, and an active intramural program. The intramural sports include flag football, ultimate frisbee, outdoor soccer, table tennis, rootbeer pong, volleyball, basketball, billiards, and a 3-point shooting contest. Snowboarding, skiing, rock climbing, bouldering, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and lesser common slack roping and 4-wheeling are popular student activities at UCCS due to the extreme proximity to
Pikes PeakPikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. At , it is one of Colorado's 54 fourteeners...
,
Garden of the GodsGarden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.-Genesis of the park:Entrance to the park is free according to the wish of Charles Elliott Perkins, whose children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909....
, and the surrounding mountainous terrain. It is not uncommon to see former or current professional or Olympic athletes on campus or training on the nearby trails also with the
United States Olympic Training CenterThe United States Olympic Training Centers are three campuses created by the United States Olympic Committee as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lake Placid, New York; and Chula Vista, California. Additionally there is a...
in downtown Colorado Springs.
Athletic facilities
Varsity basketball and volleyball are currently played in the Lions Den gymnasium at the University Center, which seats 400 and is the smallest venue in all Division II schools, the size of many smaller high school gymnasiums. With the recent success of men’s basketball, achieving the best record in UCCS history, amongst other things, led to an acceleration of plans to replace the facility with mounting pressure from students and athletes alike. A temporary fix that was completed in the spring of 2007 cost $40,000 and only slightly expanded and upgraded seating. Attempts at separating seating sections did not significantly help in alleviating overcrowding where students are often turned away at popular events. There also exists major problems with the lack of locker room space for use by the athletic teams during competitions. $2 million of CU Presidential Initiative funds were directed towards the construction of a new athletic field house. “Intercollegiate athletics is an important facet of student life and the campus experience, and we’re pleased to be able to help with a desperately needed new home for Mountain Lion student-athletics,” said CU President Hank Brown.
After projected costs for the field house more than doubled, the university decided that a permanent events center would be a better use of funds amid plans for a major sports arena to be built in less than 10 years. The events center to be completed by January 2010 will seat about 1,200 to 1,400 sporting event fans and have the ability to hold more conferences, camps, and convocation events. The new events center will not however, have an indoor track, weight room, as well as other athletic amenities promised with the field house.
An agreement between the university and the Colorado Springs Christian School nearby lead to the construction of a professional quality soccer and football field at the recently built 4-diamonds sports complex that also consists of three softball fields which are sometimes contracted for use by high school and little league teams. The varsity soccer and softball teams practice and compete at these facilities as well as club and intramural sports.
The varsity cross country, track and field, and golf teams find practice and competition spaces mostly off-campus often at nearby colleges, high schools, or other facilities and locations if required.
A brand new Student Recreation Center was completed in August and September 2007 which houses the Recreation Department overseeing club and intramural sports. The Recreation Center consists of a pool and hot tub, gymnasium, indoor jogging track, bouldering wall, aerobics room, and a cardiovascular and weight lifting floor as well as a small smoothie shop. The Recreation Center was certified as a LEED-Gold building in early 2009 by the U.S. Green Building Council. This was the first LEED-certified building in the campus' history and the first LEED-Gold public building in Southern Colorado. It is believed to be the second recreation center in the U.S. to receive LEED-Gold designation.
School publications
The official campus newspaper is
The ScribeThe Scribe is the official newspaper for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus, published since 1976.A typical issue has 26 to 30 pages, featuring Letters to and from the Editor; Opinion; Campus News, events and news relating to the student body; In Your World, a hodgepodge of...
, since 1976.
The university is home to
Writers' ForumWriters' Forum is a prominent American literary magazine founded by Alexander Blackburn in 1974 and based at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Stories that appeared in Writers' Forum received "honorable mention" for the O...
, a national literary journal founded in 1974.
Notable students, alumni, and staff
- Yusef Komunyakaa
Yusef Komunyakaa is an American poet who currently teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers...
(B.A. 1975) - first African-American to win Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
for poetry.
- John Herrington
John Bennett Herrington is an American astronaut and a veteran of one space shuttle mission. He is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space....
(B.A. in mathematics, 1983) - first Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
to go to space, aboard Space Shuttle EndeavourSpace Shuttle Endeavour is one of three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour is the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
in 2002.
International exchange
- Dual degree - Taiwan Ching Yun University
Ching Yun University（; Hakka: Ciàng-iŭn Tai-hok; abbreviation CYU）is a university in Jhongli City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan. CYU is also known as Ching Yun Tech .- Present Situation :...
, TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
（3-2 programs）
External links