Business

The new innovation economy requires—and rewards—richer knowledge, sharper skills and a global mindset. Ultimately, the edge belongs to those who are principled leaders who bring inspiration and purpose to their work and in this way drive value for society.

Within this climate, the Leeds School of Business offers an innovative agenda designed to leverage our unique assets: the intellectual capital of Leeds faculty, our innovative and best-in-class curriculum, our focus on the "whole student" experience, our strong network of alumni and industry partners and our firm commitment to student support.

Accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB-International), Leeds awards four types of degrees: Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Undergraduate students can specialize in accounting, finance, management and entrepreneurship, business analytics, marketing, and real estate. Leeds further offers certificates in a variety of areas to provide opportunities for students to explore additional areas of interest and distinction.

World-class faculty provide the foundation for breakthrough thinking—creating knowledge from research, disseminating knowledge through teaching and applying knowledge in collaboration with the business community. Faculty discoveries are frequently published in prestigious academic journals and discussed in media outlets such as the Wall St. Journal, the New York Times, CNBC and more. The cutting-edge research we produce enhances the school's reputation for innovation.

From orientation to graduation, Leeds faculty and staff guide students to discover and optimize their potential. Through an array of targeted services, students create an individualized journey that maximizes the impact of their experience and leads to future opportunities. Ethics and social responsibility are hallmarks of a Leeds education, and the school's commitment to professional development is unrivaled.

Leeds alumni and industry partners collaborate to offer a meaningful level of engagement with students and faculty. Alumni provide the support and resources that ensure graduates are poised for maximum impact. Corporate partners infuse relevance to Leeds' curriculum innovation, supporting new programs and providing the school access to professional talent. Both communities are the backbone of one of the largest mentoring programs in the world.

Leeds joins the University of Colorado and the Boulder community to generate extraordinary opportunities for students. Cross-campus collaborations with fields like engineering and science link Leeds faculty and students with more resources to put innovation into action. Our location in Boulder provides inspiration with its physical beauty as well as the intellectual energy of a thriving start-up community and high concentrations of advanced technology and socially responsible industries.

Together, these assets make Leeds uniquely qualified to deliver on our mission of educating principled, innovative leaders who drive value.

Graduation Recognition Ceremony

Every May, the Office of the Dean and the Leeds Business Student Government sponsor a recognition ceremony honoring the graduating class, in addition to the university-wide commencement. Graduates and their families are invited to attend.

Facilities & Research

The Leeds School of Business houses resources for the specific needs of business students:

• Burridge Center for Finance
• Business Research Division
• Career Strategy
• Center for Education on Social Responsibility
• Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making
• Office of Diversity Affairs
• Real Estate Center
• Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
• Smart classrooms
• Student lounges
• Undergraduate Student Services
• Graduate Student Services
• William M. White Business Library and Information Commons

The William M. White Business Library and Information Commons

The White Business Library and Information Commons provide students with a wealth of information pertaining to the business world. Students have access to the business and other libraries via the university libraries online catalog. Many databases are accessible through the wireless network and off campus. These databases contain a myriad of full-text magazines and journals; business periodical indexes; corporate annual, 10-K and proxy reports of all the public companies in the United States; short profiles of both American and international companies; demographic and business statistics; industry and market information; and investment reports written by Wall Street analysts. Over 50 computers provide access to the databases and the internet, and technology-outfitted team rooms are available for group study. Knowledgeable librarians are always available to help navigate the search for information. The Information Commons is open 24 hours, seven days per week and contains 30 of the 50 computers with a full suite of software. These are accessible to students, faculty and staff of the university. In addition, Leeds has 25 technology equipped team rooms. These rooms support group study and project work, and are available for reservation through University of Colorado Scheduling.

The White Business Library is part of the University of Colorado library system, which includes more than two million volumes, more than five million microforms and more than 24,000 periodicals and serials. The system is also a full depository for United States government, international and state documents.

All classrooms in the Leeds School of Business are equipped up to campus "smart" classroom technology standards. Technologies in a typical Leeds classroom include: a desktop computer loaded with Microsoft Office Suite applications, video projection system, ceiling speakers for audio, DVD/VCR, iClicker base station, campus cable and both wired and wireless Internet connections. All classrooms have the flexibility to support a personal laptop with connectivity in place to integrate with the video projection and sound system.

Business Research Division

Established in 1915, the Business Research Division is one of the earliest organized state service-oriented bureaus in the country.

The Business Research Division conducts business, economic and market research that contributes to the efficient use of Colorado's resources and increases interest in and awareness of the Leeds School of Business. It also is the umbrella organization for the Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Center (RMTAAC). Through its annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum, held in December, the division has established a base of knowledge that adds value to its work in other areas. In addition to providing businesses, government and nonprofits with information to help them make better-informed business and policy decisions, the division specializes in economic and fiscal analysis, market research and custom research projects. It also prepares a Colorado leading economic indicator series, the Leeds Business Confidence Index. Research results are distributed through presentations and reports; a quarterly newsletter, the Colorado Business Review; and the division's website.

Funding for center activities comes from the Leeds School of Business, the university, state agencies, the federal government, state and local business firms and from the sale of research products and services.

RMTAAC is one of 11 centers across the nation funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce to manage the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms Program, which helps import-impacted U.S. firms develop and implement business recovery strategies to strengthen their competitiveness in the global marketplace. The TAA for Firms Program is a cost-sharing federal grant program that pays a portion of professional consultant expenses or industry-specific expert services for projects that improve a firm's competitiveness, thereby increasing sales and creating U.S. jobs. Benefits of the program include up to $75,000 in grant funds and 50/50 cost sharing for strategic projects.

Academic Centers

In addition to the Business Research Division, the school has five centers linking academic programs and the business community—the endowed Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, the Center for Real Estate, the Burridge Center for Finance, the Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR) and the Center for Business Integration.

The Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship

As part of the Leeds School of Business, the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship's mission is to inspire and empower students, community, alumni, faculty and staff through entrepreneurship education and partnership with the community. The Deming Center does this in part by educating, engaging and partnering and focusing on student experience.

Cutting-Edge Curriculum

Our progressive curriculum and interdisciplinary programs include:

• courses in entrepreneurial finance, marketing and business planning,
• interdisciplinary programs in engineering, business, law and environmental studies,
• undergraduate business minor with a certificate of entrepreneurship for students across campus,
• undergraduate certificate of entrepreneurship for Leeds students,
• High Growth Ventures Pathway, and
• world-renowned PhD program in entrepreneurship.

The Deming Center supports the entrepreneurial curriculum and advances the Leeds School's leadership agenda through our collaborative initiatives across campus and in the business community in these key areas:

• Education. Our entrepreneurship students have access to a world class entrepreneurship faculty. The faculty are involved in collecting, curating and making available the latest research and thinking on entrepreneurship in the world. These faculty are inspiring and directing new research and thought leadership in entrepreneurship and constantly working with thought leaders to develop and stay ahead of the latest trends and tools for entrepreneurship education.
• Real-world experience. Our entrepreneurship students are challenged to turn accepted thinking on its head—in the classroom, in real-world industry projects, and by the business innovators serving as student mentors and advisors. The center helps connect students with projects, advisors and internships that challenge them to use their new skills creatively.
• Student experience. Staff and faculty at Deming are focused on delivering an outstanding student experience. Deming promotes the development of entrepreneurial thinkers and doers. Entrepreneurial thinkers and doers are optimistic, resilient, resourceful, persistent, calculated risk-takers, efficient, creative problem solvers and effective workers. These are teachable skills any student is capable of learning.
• The community. Boulder is consistently named one of the best places in the country to launch a startup. The center connects students to industry leaders via the Deming Network—an active group of world-class entrepreneurs and innovators who are accessible and hands-on. CU Boulder is also a top research university. Across campus, the Deming Center helps students access opportunities in technology transfer and the engineering, law, biofrontiers and environmental science programs

CU Real Estate Center

The Real Estate Center, founded in 1995, is supported by an industry council with the goal of advancing academic excellence in real estate education and scholarship. The center oversees the school's real estate teaching programs and advises the faculty in designing an integrated curriculum at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Coursework is drawn from the law school, the colleges of architecture and engineering, construction management and others.

The center creates real-world experiences for students by providing project coursework and being a resource for securing internships, mentors and jobs. It also provides support for faculty teaching and research activities in real estate and, through the Real Estate Foundation, assists the university with its real estate portfolio.

Burridge Center for Finance

The Burridge Center for Finance is dedicated to encouraging and supporting the creation and dissemination of new knowledge about the world financial markets with an emphasis on the U.S. financial markets by:

• facilitating the exchange of ideas and knowledge between professional investment managers, finance scholars, policy makers and the investing public,
• identifying critical research issues in the theory and practice of security analysis and valuation, and
• encouraging and supporting rigorous qualitative and quantitative research on topics relevant and useful to money managers, valuation experts and finance academics.

Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR)

CESR's goal is to help students become outstanding business leaders of tomorrow by preparing them to meet the ethical challenges posed by a highly competitive, globally-connected business world. Accordingly, CESR oversees the infusion of values and social responsibility discussions throughout the undergraduate and graduate curricula at the Leeds School of Business. As part of the central mission at Leeds, CESR creates pedagogies that are national models and plays a leadership role carrying out the school's commitment to developing leaders of conscience. Although the Center's primary focus is on excellence in curriculum development and delivery, CESR also undertakes a broad spectrum of initiatives including a certificate program, student organizations, conferences and other extracurricular offerings as well as providing funding and administrative support for faculty research.

Courses

CESR is directly responsible for course development, staffing and coordination of the Business requisite introduction course World of Business, and collaborates on the design and delivery of the requisite business core courses; Business Law and Business Ethics & Social Responsibility. CESR also offers leading edge electives such as CESR 4000, CESR 4005, CESR 4850, and CESR 4828.

Certificate and Graduate Pathways

CESR offers specialized recognition for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Undergraduates wishing to focus on CESR-related topics may earn the certificate in social responsibility and ethics (SRE). At the MBA level, MBAs can participate in CESR-designed co-curricular pathways in Natural & Organics, Clean Energy, and ESG Integration and Sustainability.

CESR Co-Curricular Activities

ESR routinely hosts events aimed at our students, our local business community and educators and industry leaders throughout the academic year. Guest speakers change each semester, but recurring events are included here:

• CESR Business Ethics Case Competition (BECC). The CESR BECC is an interactive way to deepen the Leeds undergraduate students' understanding of the importance of creating ethical as well as profitable business cultures. Teams are provided with a business case in the weeks leading up to the competition which they will have to analyze, create recommendations for course of action and present their solutions to a panel of professional judges. Cash prizes are awarded to the top three teams.
• Student Center for Social Entrepreneurship. CESR provides faculty sponsorship for SCSE, the student branch of Social Entrepreneurship for Equitable Development, an interdisciplinary, inter-generational campus group that is involved in researching, teaching and generating student involvement in the areas of social entrepreneurship and sustainable community development.
• Net Impact Club. CESR is home to a graduate chapter of Net Impact, an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.
• New Venture Challenge Social Impact Track. CESR developed and continues to support the Social Impact Track of the CU New Venture Challenge, a campus-wide initiative connecting students and faculty with teammates in a broad range of disciplines and with mentors from the business community. The goal is to provide knowledge and experience making entrepreneurship accessible to anyone on the CU Boulder campus with the enthusiasm and creativity required to start a new business.

Career Opportunities

Leeds School of Business graduates are prepared for positions in the following fields:

• Accounting—public, private, nonprofit and governmental
• Banking and other financial institutions
• Consulting
• Corporate financial management
• Entrepreneurship and small business management
• Financial analysis
• Human resources management
• Information systems
• International business
• Investment management
• Management consulting and organization management
• Marketing and sales management
• Nonprofit management
• Operations management
• Real estate
• Retailing
• Taxation
• Technology management
• Transportation
• Venture capital

Other graduates hold positions in fields as diverse as business journalism, public relations, city planning, chamber of commerce and trade association management, college administration and government. The entrepreneurial area of application prepares students to start their own business ventures to take positions in emerging growth companies and the venture capital industry.

Programs & Leadership

Professional Mentorship Program

The Professional Mentorship Program (PMP) is a unique program that offers one-on-one professional mentoring to current undergraduate students. The program's mission is to enhance business education at the Leeds School by offering hands-on learning, professional skills development, leadership opportunities and a sense of connection and community among current students, Leeds alumni and corporate partners. PMP mentors prepare and inspire our students to become the next generation of strong business leaders.

This two-year program matches students with executives or high-level business professionals who align by industry, geographic location or functional area. To ensure a quality experience for both students and mentors, the PMP provides workshops, training and additional support for participants throughout the program.

Program Benefits

Through this program, students gain an additional level of advising and career counseling from a business professional. Through the mentoring relationships, students can explore choice of majors, potential for graduate school, work-life balance and effective networking and job search strategies.

Other potential benefits of being involved in the PMP include:

• advice and assistance on academic questions, career options, life beyond college and more,
• access to the PMP network and networking opportunities and the opportunity to start building the student's own professional network,
• opportunities to practice and strengthen professional communication and presentation skills,
• help in defining personal and professional goals, and the strategies to achieve them,
• unique internship and job opportunities, and
• development of a life-long friend and connection in the business world.

Contact Information

Website: leedsmentoring.colorado.edu/about
Email: leedspmp@colorado.edu
Office: Koelbel 201
Phone: 303-492-5881

Study Abroad

Study abroad programs are available for students interested in international business or in cultural experiences abroad. The college-sponsored London Seminar in International Finance and Business is a five-week-long program held each summer in the financial district of London and is open to juniors, seniors and graduate students.

Student Organizations

Listed below are undergraduate organizations that promote professional interests and provide recognition of scholastic attainment:

• Alpha Kappa Psi
• Athletic Business Club
• CU Fashion Club
• Beta Alpha Psi
• Collegiate DECA
• CESR Fellows
• CU Energy Club
• CU Finance Club
• CU American Marketing Association
• CU Investment Club
• CU Society for Human Resources Management
• Delta Sigma Pi
• International Business Club
• Leeds Ambassadors
• Leeds Association of Information Systems
• Leeds Council (Undergraduate Student Government)
• Multicultural Business Student Alliance
• Music Industry Club
• Real Estate Club
• Women in Business Club

Leeds School of Business Student Government

Leeds Council is the governing body of the Leeds School of Business that strives to serve, support and represent the student body. The council also works to make Leeds a better business school through social, academic and professional programming. The council is made up of five primary committees and an executive board that control a significant portion of the Leeds student fees.

Two members of Leeds Council also serve as representatives on University of Colorado Student Government (CUSG) to voice the interests of business students at the main campus.

Career Development

The Office of Career Development's mission is to advance Leeds students' career competencies through co-curricular exploration and development.

From dedicated industry coaching and professional skills development to real-world experiences and employer and alumni connections, Leeds students are equipped with all the support and resources they need to successfully transition from academia to a rewarding career after graduation.

Industry Coaching and Career Readiness Programs

All Leeds students are assigned an industry coach by their area of emphasis. Coaches work with each student to create a four-year career development plan that allows them to develop the professional competencies and business connections needed to pursue their goals. Key services that support career readiness include, but are not limited to:

• one-on-one industry coaching sessions
• skill development workshops
• personal and career assessments
• mock interviews

Global Programs

The globalization of the marketplace demands employees who can compete in a multicultural business environment in the United States and around the world. To prepare students for this, Leeds offers immersive programs and experiences designed to deepen students’ understanding of global cultures and international business. Through these opportunities abroad, students develop a heightened level of intercultural competence and other critical skills needed for a successful career in business.

•  First Year Global Experience (FGX): The First-Year Global Experience (FGX) program is a spring semester elective that includes a short-term global experience during Spring Break or May term.
• Global Business Certificate: Students can add to their Leeds academic journey with 3 global core courses, 2 approved international courses and a global experience.
• Global Seminars: With a Global Seminar, students can study various topics in international business though a three to five week course taught abroad by Leeds faculty.

Experiential Learning

Students can develop their professional skills through signature events, shadow days, micro-internships and internships. At Leeds, students are encouraged to explore career opportunities in business through hands-on learning.

• Professional Assignments: The World of Business course and integrated sophomore year assignments provide all Leeds first- and second-year students with a strong foundation to pursue their career interests and goals.
• Career Treks: Visits focused on an industry, functional area or location with in-depth opportunities for job search and connections. Previous visits have included Boulder, Denver, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and San Francisco.
• Micro-internships: Micro-internships are short-term, paid, professional assignments that enable students to demonstrate skills, explore career paths and build their network as they explore interests and seek the right full-time role.
•  Internships: Dedicated support includes an internship advisor, internship-focused workshops and networking events.
•  Leeds Professionalism Summit: The Leeds Professionalism Summit is a one-day professional development training delivered as part of the academic curriculum for Leeds BASE students. Students will participate with mentors, alumni, and corporate partners in panels and interactive sessions oriented around professional and business etiquette skills.

Mentoring Programs

Participate in Leeds’ award-winning mentoring pipeline that spans the entire four-year experience, pairing students with peer, alumni and professional mentors for personalized support. More than 1,500 undergraduates and 1,050 professional mentors participate in mentoring through these programs:

• Peer2Peer: Connects new Leeds students with trained student mentors to help students build a strong foundation and sense of belonging at Leeds.
• Young Alumni Mentors Program: Partners sophomores with recent Leeds graduates to provide major and career exploration, academic preparation and professional skills development.
• Professional Mentorship Program: Pairs juniors and seniors with experienced business professionals providing opportunities to develop and practice critical professional skills and build their professional network.

Employer Relations

The Leeds School has created strong partnerships with more than 2,000 companies from diverse industries and locations. Our office connects students of all interests with the resources, organizations and people necessary to facilitate career success, including:

• on-campus, instant, and virtual interviews
• employer panels and webinars by industry or topic
• employer information sessions and recruitment days
• Leeds-specific career fairs and treks

Women’s and Leadership Programs

Students can harness their strengths and develop leadership skills through special programs and a leadership certificate. By offering a unique approach to creating an inclusive business environment for all students, Leeds students enter the workforce prepared to shape and influence the future of business in every discipline.

• BE Tech Scholars: The BE Tech Scholars Program is a unique and comprehensive effort to inspire more CU undergraduates to explore the technology industry and choose careers at the intersection of business, technology and engineering. BE Tech centers around the idea that relationships, mentorship and hands-on experiences make the difference in recruiting and retaining women in technology fields.
• Women’s Empowerment Initiative:  This one-year program for incoming first-years will engage students in leadership development both inside and outside of the classroom while examining issues of gender equity in the field of business.
• Business Leadership Certificate: The Business Leadership Certificate provides students with the foundations of theory and research on leadership, but emphasizes professional experiences such as mentoring, internships, and engaging in leadership roles.

Contact Information

Website: Career Development, Leeds School of Business
Email: leedscareer@colorado.edu
Office: KOBL 201
Phone: 303-492-1808