Your path to becoming enrolled
Next steps after admission
Please accept our congratulations on your admission into a program at the School of Public Affairs! Below are the steps that you will need to complete before your first day of classes. The faculty and staff wish you well as you pursue your academic and professional goals. Have a great semester!
Undergraduate degree-seeking students: If you are a bachelor's student and you haven't already done so, accept your offer of admission by logging in as a returning user to the online application portal, using the login credentials you selected when you applied for admission. Once logged in, click on the “Reply to Offer of Admission” link, select “I ACCEPT my offer of admission” and submit the form.
You must accept your offer of admission in order to enroll at CU Denver.
Undergraduate certificate students: Student admitted to undergraduate certificate programs do not need to accept your offer of admission.
Graduate degree-seeking students: If you are a master's or doctoral student and you haven't already done so, accept your offer of admission by logging in as a returning user to the online application portal, using the login credentials you selected when you applied for admission. Once logged in, click on the “View Update” link in the "Status Update" section, select “I ACCEPT my offer of admission” and submit the form.
You must accept your offer of admission in order to enroll at CU Denver.
Graduate certificate students: Student admitted to graduate certificate programs do not need to accept your offer of admission.
The College Opportunity Fund (COF), created by the Colorado Legislature, provides a stipend to eligible undergraduate students. The stipend pays a portion of your total in-state tuition when you attend a participating college.
Eligible undergraduate students must apply, be admitted and enroll in classes at a participating college to receive this benefit. Both new and continuing students are eligible for the stipend.
Qualifying students may use the stipend for eligible undergraduate classes. The stipend is paid on a per credit hour basis directly to the college at which the student is enrolled. The credit-hour amount is set annually by the General Assembly.
Domestic degree-seeking students who would like to be considered for federal, state and institutional financial aid should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine their eligibility. Applications are accepted each year beginning October 1. Be sure to enter the school code for CU Denver (004508) so that your information will be provided to CU Denver’s Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.
The priority FAFSA deadline is March 1. Need-based grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis to those who apply before the priority date.
Note: International students, non-degree seeking students and students in certificate programs are not eligible for federal, state and institutional financial aid.
The UCDAccess student portal is your one-stop shop to complete many of your student transactions. Through the portal, you can register for courses, access your student center account, pay tuition and student fees, and much more.
The University assigns all enrolled students with a firstname.lastname@ucdenver.edu email account. Your university email address is provided to you when you activate your UCDAccess student portal.
Faculty and staff are required to use students’ university email addresses when communicating with you, so it is very important that you either check this account regularly or set up the account to forward to another email account that you check regularly. You are responsible for reading the messages that are sent to your student email account.
To log into both the UCDAccess portal and your CU Denver email account, you will use the same login credentials that you received when you applied to your program. Activate your UCD Access account at myaccount.ucdenver.edu and log in to your email account.
If you remember your user name but not your password, you can reset your password. If you don’t remember your username or password, contact OIT:
OIT SERVICE DESK
303-724-4357 or 303-724-HELP
Start a chat (Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. MT)
CU Denver has boosted cybersecurity efforts by implementing Duo Security, a multi-factor authentication (MFA). The CU Denver community is now required to use Duo Security to connect remotely to any university Office 365 app, including your Outlook email. You will not be able to access these applications without registering for Duo Security. Visit the Office of Information Technology's web page on CU Secure and Multi-Factor Authentication for more information and for instructions on how to install and register for Duo.
Nonresident domestic students living outside the state of Colorado and enrolled in online classes only are eligible for a special tuition rate that is 120% of the regular resident rate. CU Denver has an automated process for applying this tuition rate if students meet the following criteria:
- You have an online sub-plan in your student record. This is automatically done for you upon admission, if you indicate in your admission application that you intend to complete your program fully online.
- You are enrolled in online classes only.
- You are a domestic student living outside of Colorado.
Students classified as international students or students of the Anschutz Medical Campus do not qualify for this tuition rate at CU Denver.
Completion of the Immigration Clearance Form is required for international students to be able to register for classes. For more information about pre-arrival forms that must be submitted by international students, visit the International Student and Scholar Services website.
Students admitted to CU Denver have access to Scholarship Universe, a database of scholarship opportunities for CU Denver students. Students interested in applying for CU Denver scholarships (including School of Public Affairs scholarships) must complete the General Application for scholarships, which can be accessed in Scholarship Universe. The General Application is available November 15, with rolling deadlines starting on March 1.
Then, students can search the database and apply for scholarships for which they meet the eligibility criteria. Additionally, students may be automatically considered for scholarships that are not displayed in Scholarship Universe based on information in their completed General Application for scholarships.
Note: Search for scholarships throughout each academic year that you are enrolled, because deadlines can vary, and new scholarships may be added to Scholarship Universe at any time.
In order to protect the campus community from illness and disease, all CU Denver degree-seeking students (including students who are on active military duty and students who are studying online) are required to comply with the campus’ Immunization Policy.
The federal government has ended the COVID-19 public health emergency and CU Denver is ending its COVID-19 vaccine requirement effective July 1, but still recommends the vaccines. Studies show that the vaccines are effective tools to minimize the impact of the disease, which can cause serious illness and death. That’s why we will continue to encourage our community members to get vaccinated following CDC guidelines. The safety of our community is always our number one priority, which is why the university’s public health response team will continue to monitor health conditions that potentially impact our campus.
Learn about on-campus housing options, including floor plans, amenities, dining options and more.
New on-campus/in-person undergraduate students: Register now for First-Year Orientation or Transfer Orientation.
New undergraduate online-only students: Please email spa.advising@ucdenver.edu to schedule an academic advising appointment and self-enroll in the SPA Orientation & Student Resources. You will have access to the orientation materials throughout your program should you need to refer back to particular areas for information and support.
New graduate students: Please self-enroll in the SPA Orientation & Student Resources. It is a robust orientation and may take several sessions to complete it. You will have access to the orientation materials throughout your program should you need to refer back to particular areas for information and support.
Accelerated Master of Public Administration students: An orientation will be held in August. Please continue to check your CU Denver email for detailed information.
PhD in Public Affairs students: The next School of Public Affairs orientation for new students in the PhD in Public Affairs program will be held in August. Please check your CU Denver email for detailed information from the Program Director, Dr. Deserai Crow.
In addition, you will be invited to an optional in-person Graduate Education New Student Orientation that will provide a general overview of support services for all graduate students on campus.
New international students (undergraduate and graduate): In addition to the orientations above that pertains to you, all new international students are required to complete an International Student Orientation. Please contact an International Services Coordinator in the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at 303-315-2230 to register for International Student Orientation. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time).
Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor prior to registering for courses. If you live outside the Denver metro area, you can set up a telephone advising session. Your advisor can help you plan your courses, answer registration questions, refer you to resources as needed, and assist you with University policies and procedures.
When to register for courses:
- Students admitted for the fall term can register beginning in April.
- Students admitted for the spring term can register beginning in November.
- Students admitted for the summer term can register beginning in March.
Consult CU Denver’s Academic Calendar to identify the exact date that registration opens for your term of admission. Also, take a moment to note important registration and other deadlines listed in the calendar.
How to register for classes:
First, schedule a time to meet with your academic advisor. If you are unsure who your academic advisor is, please email spa.advising@ucdenver.edu for assistance.
After you meet with your academic advisor to discuss which courses to take during your first semester, log in to the UCDAccess student portal to register for classes. Select “All Student Functions” from the “Student Center” menu and click on the “Register for Classes (add/drop)” icon. From there, you will have the option to search for and add classes. Students register for both online and on-campus courses through the same process.
Graduate students only: Please be sure to reference the SPA graduate completion plans as you register for courses.
Please refer to the Auraria ID Station website for updated information on how to obtain a student ID.
You can access textbook information from the Tivoli Station Bookstore, usually one to two weeks before classes begin. You have the choice of purchasing them through the Tivoli Station Bookstore or through private retailers like Amazon, Big Dog, Book Byte, etc.
Graduate students admitted to CU Denver must have official transcripts on file no later than the first half of their initial semester of enrollment to prevent a registration hold from being placed on their student accounts. (Holds are placed on accounts in October for students admitted for a fall term, in February for students admitted for a spring term, and in June for students admitted for a summer term.)
All the while the hold is on a student's account, the student is unable to register for the next semester. This increases the likelihood of courses filling before the official transcript arrives at CU Denver and the hold is removed.
One set of official transcripts is required from all higher education institutions attended. The preferred method to submit official transcripts is through a secured, electronic delivery system. If your degree-bearing institution has the ability to send official transcripts electronically, please have them sent to spa.admissions@ucdenver.edu.
For institutions not set up to do this, please have sealed, official transcripts mailed to:
University of Colorado Denver
School of Public Affairs
Attn: Admissions
CB 142, PO Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364
School of Public Affairs
CU Denver
Lawrence Street Center
1380 Lawrence Street
500
Denver, CO 80204
303-315-2228
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