General Rules
Proper nouns and official names are capitalized.
Common nouns and informal forms of official names are not capitalized.
Academic and Nonacademic Units and Bodies
Capitalize only the official and complete names of colleges, schools, departments, divisions, offices and official bodies.
Examples: Department of Modern Languages; Center for Education Policy Analysis; Office of Admissions; School of Education and Human Development; Board of Regents
Do not capitalize informal and shortened versions of the abovementioned names.
Examples: the modern languages department; education policy analysis center; admissions office; school of education; regents
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Committees, Groups, Centers, Programs, Initiatives and Institutes
Avoid capitalizing a committee, center, group, program, institute or initiative unless it is officially recognized and formally named.
Example: search committee, admissions committee
Capitalize the official, proper names of long-standing committees and groups and formally developed programs and initiatives.
Examples: Blue Ribbon Commission, Executive Committee of Faculty Assembly
Course Titles
When referring to official course titles, use initial caps. Do not use quotation marks, italics or any other formatting with course titles.
Examples: It is recommended that English majors take Introduction to Literary Studies during their freshman year.
When referring to a course using the course title and course number, use commas to set off the course title.
Example: Six students who registered for CMMU 4760, Computer Mediated Communication, were placed on a waiting list because the course was full.
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Degrees / Programs of Study
Capitalize degree abbreviations.
Example: He has an MA in music.
Do not capitalize degree names when spelled out.
Example: She earned a bachelor of science degree from UC Denver.
Do not capitalize major names, minor names or programs of study.
Example: He studies biology and math, but his minor is music.
Job Titles
Capitalize a job title if it immediately precedes a name.
Example: Professor Ann Jones; Chancellor M. Roy Wilson
Do not capitalize titles that follow names or stand alone.
Example: John Smith, professor in biology; the chancellor of the university
Publication and Presentation Titles
Capitalize the first word, last word and all words that are more than four letters in length of publication titles (includes books, newspapers, magazines, movies, etc.). See names and titles for more rules.
Capitalize the first word, last word and all words that are more than four letters in length of titles of articles, chapters, episodes, etc.
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Schools and Colleges / Department Names
Capitalize only the official and complete names of colleges, schools, departments, divisions and offices.
Example: Department of Biology, School of Dental Medicine
Do not capitalize informal or general references.
Example: biology department, dental school
Seasons and Semesters
Do not capitalize semester names or seasons.
Example: spring semester, spring 2008, fall commencement
Structures and Places
Capitalize the full, official names of buildings and places on campus.
Capitalize the word campus when using the proper names of the UC Denver campuses.
Example: Downtown Campus, Anschutz Medical Campus
If listing both, capitalize the plural form of campus.
Example: Downtown and Anschutz Medical Campuses
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University
Do not capitalize university unless using the complete proper name of the university. See university references for a list of proper names.
Examples: He is a senior at the University of Colorado Denver.
There are more than 1,000 university alumni in the Denver metro area.
NOTE: This rule also applies to schools, colleges, departments, centers, institutes, etc.
Commonly Used Proper Nouns
List of commonly used proper nouns
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Questions, comments or suggestions?