Non-Degree: Certificates and Courses

Minimum Education Requirements

You must hold, or expect to hold before enrollment at CU Denver, a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its international equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing.

English Proficiency

If your first language is not English, you must provide proof of English language proficiency (ELP) to be considered for full admission. Some graduate applicants will be considered for conditional admission if they apply without adequate proof of ELP. Please visit the International Admissions website for more details.

Minimum Education Requirements

You must hold, or expect to hold before enrollment at CU Denver, a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its international equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing.  

You must have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.0 or higher (A is equal to 4.0) or a GPA of 2.0 or higher in twelve credits or more of a partially completed master’s degree program.

English Proficiency

If your first language is not English, you must provide proof of English language proficiency (ELP) to be considered for full admission. Some graduate applicants will be considered for conditional admission if they apply without adequate proof of ELP. Please visit the International Admissions website for more details.

Complete and submit CU Denver’s graduate non-degree application form. 

Complete and submit CU Denver’s graduate non-degree application form. 

The application fee is automatically waived for individuals from the following groups:

• CU Denver alumni (must indicate CU Denver as a school on the Academic History page)
• Current CU Denver student (must indicate CU Denver as a school on the Academic History page)
• Members of the military, including active duty, reserve and guard forces, or veterans and retirees (must indicate military affiliation on the Personal Information page)
• Registered members of a federally recognized American Indian nation or Alaska Native entity (must indicate tribal affiliation and provide supporting documentation on the Personal Information page). 

How to apply for this waiver:

There is no need to apply for an automatic fee waiver. As long as you fall in one of the groups above and provide supporting documentation (if necessary), then your fee will automatically be waived by our system within 24 hours of submitting your application.

Please be patient and wait for the fee to be waived automatically; we do not issue refunds to applicants who paid the application fee while waiting for a fee waiver decision. You are also welcome to reach out to your program directly to inquire about the status of your waiver. 

The application fee is reviewed and manually waived by Graduate Admissions personnel in each school/college for individuals from the following groups:

• Applicants experiencing financial hardship
• Applicants with a disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities
• Applicants who have attended a Central Graduate Admissions/Recruitment event, either on- or off-campus
• Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting payment due to sanctions in their country
• Applicants who are current students, staff, or faculty members at another University of Colorado institution (CU Anschutz, UCCS, CU Boulder)
• Applicants who are/were participants (in good standing) of a graduate preparation program, scholar program, service organization, or public service program (must provide documentation)
• Applicants who are/were participants (in good standing) of a University of Colorado-affiliated research program (must provide documentation)

How to apply for this waiver

For both graduate degree-seeking applicants, and graduate non-degree/certificate applicants, please do NOT submit this form unless you have already submitted your application; your program application allows you to submit without making a payment, as you are not prompted to pay until AFTER you submit your program application. 

1. After submitting your application, start the Graduate Application Fee Waiver Request Form and under “Reasons for Fee Waiver,” select the option that best applies to you.
2. For applicants who are/were participants (in good standing) of a graduate preparation program, scholar program, service organization, public service program, or a University of Colorado-affiliated research program, you must complete and upload a signed Program Participation Verification Form.
3. Submit the Graduate Application Fee Waiver Request Form. 

Upon submitting the form, you will receive a decision on your fee waiver request within 3-5 business days, so please ensure that you are submitting your fee waiver request with enough time to meet your program’s deadline. Please be patient and wait for a decision on your request; we do not issue refunds to applicants who paid the application fee while waiting for a fee waiver decision.

NOTE: As we have a limited number of fee waivers to grant, not all requests are approved. If your fee waiver request is denied, you will be instructed to pay the application fee. Application fee waiver decisions are final, and do not affect your likelihood of admission into a graduate program. 

You must list and provide your unofficial transcript for every post-secondary institution where you were enrolled—or are currently enrolled—in an undergraduate or graduate degree program. Even if you did not earn a degree from that institution, a transcript is still required.  

• CU Denver considers unofficial transcripts to be sufficient for the review process. Upload transcripts as scanned copies or PDFs (no larger than 10 MB) when submitting the online application. Please refrain from uploading a secured PDF/transcript with a digital signature, as our system cannot upload these properly.  
• If you earned a degree at the institution from which you are submitting a transcript, please ensure that the degree that was conferred and the degree conferral date are clearly visible on the document. If your transcript does not include your degree conferred and your degree conferral date, please submit a scanned copy of your diploma, a conferral statement, or a conferral document in addition to your transcript. Combine this documentation and the transcript into a single PDF. If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the degree by the time you submit your application, submit your most recent in-progress transcript.  
• If you are offered admission to CU Denver and accept the offer, you will be required to submit official transcripts/degree conferral documents during your first term as a student. If you do not submit your official transcripts, an enrollment hold will be placed on your account and you will be unable to enroll in future terms.  

Unofficial vs. Official Transcripts 

Unofficial transcripts are copies or downloads of official transcripts that are easily accessible to the student, such as a scanned copy of a printed official transcript, screenshot of an electronic official transcript saved as a PDF, or PDF copies downloaded via a self-service from a student or alumni portal. Unofficial transcripts generally have no associated cost. At CU Denver, unofficial transcripts are sufficient for application review purposes. 

Official transcripts are transcripts that come directly from the issuing school, institution, or agency. Printed/hard copies of transcripts must remain in a sealed envelope from the issuing school; transcripts that are removed from their sealed envelope are not considered official. Electronic copies of official transcripts are typically sent directly from the institution, or via a clearinghouse that the institution uses, with a passcode for the recipient to open in a secure manner; transcripts forwarded to CU Denver as an email are not considered official. At CU Denver, official transcripts are only required if you are offered admission and decide to enroll.  

Study Abroad  

If the transcript from your home institution reflects your study abroad coursework and grades, you do not need to submit original transcripts from your abroad institution.  

Foreign Institutions  

An International Credential Evaluation Report is required for any applicant who attended one or more academic institution(s) located outside the United States. All international credentials from academic institution(s) located outside the United States will need to be verified for authenticity and evaluated by CU Denver or an external evaluation provider (ECE or WES). Please visit the International Admissions website for details.

There are a variety of ways for you to provide proof of English proficiency if your first language is not English. View these methods on the International Admissions website.

Since Certificates are offered by schools and colleges, they will have their own unique deadlines (similar to a degree program). Reach out to the school/college that houses your certificate for information about the deadline.

Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) certificates

Similarly, certificates administered through Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) have their own deadlines. Reach out to the school/college that houses your CPE certificate for information about the deadline.

If you are applying to take a course in our Business School, the deadlines are as follows:

Please visit the Business School’s Graduate Non-Degree Classes website for more information. Questions can be directed to bschool.admissions@ucdenver.edu.

For courses in Architecture & Planning, Education, Engineering, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Public Affairs, the deadlines are as follows:

Questions can be directed to graduateadmissions@ucdenver.edu. From there, the Graduate Admissions team will either respond or may forward your inquiry along to the specific school/college that houses your course.

Classes can be offered in-person, online, or both. Please view our Academic Catalog for course listings, and our CU Denver Program Finder for certificate options.

The only credential, endorsement, and license options offered at CU Denver are housed in our School of Education & Human Development (SEHD). Please visit the SEHD website for more information.

First, identify the program you would like to apply to and make sure you meet their admission requirements. Then, you must complete a new application, this time as a graduate degree-seeking student. If you have already submitted official transcripts as part of your application to your non-degree course or certificate, you will not need to submit them if you are admitted to your degree program. However, if you submitted only unofficial transcripts for your non-degree application, you will be expected to send official transcripts to CU Denver from every institution where you were a student. Please visit our Before You Apply page for more details.

Non-degree students are not eligible for financial aid, student loans, scholarships, or tuition assistance.

Tuition is charged by credit hours, so the cost of your graduate course or certificate will depend on: 

• How many credit hours it is 
• If you are taking the course fully online 
• Whether you are classified as a Colorado state resident, or if you are a resident of a WICHE state and your certificate participates in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). 

Tuition rates are determined by each school and college, and are approved annually by the Colorado Board of Regents. In addition to tuition costs, you should factor in any relevant fees.

Residency status will be determined during the application process. It is important to complete all dates and information requested on the Tuition Classification Form to ensure you are classified properly as either a resident or non-resident for tuition purposes. For more information about residency, please visit the Registrar website.

The only difference is that there are limits on when you can register for class. Employees may register seven calendar days prior to the first day of the semester or the first day of class, whichever is earlier. This applies to both undergraduate and graduate courses. Registering prior to the designated times will deem you ineligible for the pre-registered course(s) for that semester. Please refer to the Employee Services website for more information.