Policies & Requirements

Academic Excellence

Scholarships and Awards

A wide range of scholarships and awards are available to Environmental Design (ENVD) students. The awards are sponsored by the Program, the campus, the professions and other foundations and donors. 

In addition to these scholarships, interested students may participate in faculty-student research projects funded by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), in other research opportunities provided by the campus or in cooperation with the program's faculty. 

Recognition of Academic Achievement

Environmental Design provides an atmosphere for study and creative investigation. ENVD holds academic rigor and quality in the highest esteem. In recognition of high academic achievement and professional attainment, the Program grants scholarly honors at graduation. 

Honors Distinction

Students achieving a grade point average of 3.50 to 3.749 (distinction) and 3.75 to 4.00 (high distinction) are recognized at commencement. Honors distinction is based on coursework completed at the University of Colorado. A minimum of 70 credit hours of coursework must be completed at CU to be eligible for honors distinction. 

Dean's List

Students in Environmental Design who have completed at least 12 credit hours of CU Boulder coursework for a letter grade in any single semester with a term GPA of 3.75 or higher are included on the dean’s list and receive a notation on their transcript. 

Thesis Honors in Environmental Design

Environmental Design students may graduate with Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude or cum laude). Students with a high GPA propose an honors thesis project to work on under the guidance of a primary faculty advisor. Students defend their thesis to a committee of faculty in their senior year.  

Latin Honors candidates present work that is student initiated and student-directed well beyond the requirements for required class work. Program in Environmental Design Latin Honors projects fall into two major categories: research and design. 

Transfer students entering the program are admitted through CU Boulder's admission process directly into the Program in Environmental Design. A college-level GPA of 3.0 or higher is required. Preference is given to students who have taken college-level courses in the areas of architecture, planning, landscape architecture or product design. Completion of courses in related fields of social science, natural science, fine arts or humanities is also considered in admission review. All coursework except the last term, if in progress, must be completed and must be listed on the official transcript sent for admission consideration. 

Students are encouraged to transfer as early as possible in their undergraduate career due to the required sequence of design courses in the first two years of the curriculum. Students may declare their major in architecture, landscape architecture, sustainable planning and urban design, and environmental products of design when they transfer or after they complete the core program. While transfer students are admitted for the fall and spring terms each year, it is important to note that the core curriculum sequence begins in the fall semester with only limited opportunities to begin study out of sequence. Students who start the sequence in the spring semester will be required to complete summer classes in order to stay on track in the curriculum. All transfer students are required to take a minimum of 30 credit hours in the Program in Environmental Design. 

A maximum of 60 credit hours taken at a two-year college may be applied toward the baccalaureate degree. In general, credit hours in vocational-technical courses are not accepted for transfer. Transfer agreements between the University of Colorado and all Colorado community colleges outline approximately one year of prescribed general education courses that may be completed as preparation for transfer into the Program in Environmental Design. As noted above, students should plan to transfer to the University of Colorado as soon as possible to start the sequential curriculum. See Transfer of College-Level Credit for admission standards for transfer. 

Ordinarily, only students at 3000 or 4000 studio level and who hold at least a 3.00 GPA are permitted to register for Independent Study (ENVD 3909)  or Independent Study (ENVD 4909) . Independent study credit is supervised by a faculty member and may not be used to substitute for any required core education or design studio courses. 

Additional requirements may be established depending on the proposed topic. No more than 3 credit hours of independent study credit during one semester and no more than a total of 6 are given for the entire time the student is enrolled in the program, unless an exception is granted by the program. 

A complete description of the scope of the independent work, a summary of how it will be carried out and a definition of the intended outcomes must be submitted to the supervising faculty member no later than five days after the official beginning of a semester. Approval of the description must be by the faculty member and by program administration before permission is granted for enrollment in the independent study course. Students should make arrangements for the independent study course details during registration or well before the semester begins. 

Students matriculating in the Program in Environmental Design are eligible to participate in the ROTC programs on the Boulder campus. 

Students interested in such programs should contact the professor in charge of the ROTC program of their choice (Army, Navy, Air Force) and also their ENVD academic advisor for information on residence and curriculum requirements for graduation. No more than 8 credit hours of ROTC courses may be applied to the BEnvD degree. 

Credits transferred from other institutions are limited to the number of credit hours given for similar work in regular offerings at the University of Colorado and must meet the quality level expected at the University of Colorado Boulder. The program faculty, in conjunction with the ENVD Undergraduate Education & Student Success unit, may make exceptions to this policy. 

ENVD does not accept vocational/technical coursework in design, graphics or construction as meeting specific course requirements of the program; nor does it consider such coursework as acceptable in fulfilling the program's elective requirements. Only in exceptional circumstances may a student petition the program to request a transfer of such credits. 

A grade of C- or better is required in any course for which credit is granted in transfer from another institution to the university. However, in order for transfer credit to meet specific core degree requirements, a grade of B or better is required in the transferring class. Grades earned in other institutions (excluding other campuses of the University of Colorado system) are not factored in the CU grade point average. 

For more information on transfer credit policies, see the Transfer of College-Level Credit section. 

Academic Advising and Academic Coaching for students presently enrolled or anticipating enrollment in the program is provided in a variety of forms. High school students or prospective transfer students from other universities are encouraged to participate in our in-person and virtual visitation programs co-sponsored by ENVD and the CU Boulder Office of Admissions. For more information, see the Admission Visit Programs or ENVD Visit programs. 

Students already enrolled in Boulder campus programs who are interested in an intra-university transfer (IUT) into the Program in Environmental Design should refer to the ENVD IUT process. 

Students enrolled in ENVD receive academic advising and coaching from professional staff in the ENVD Undergraduate Education and Student Success unit through both appointments and open drop-in office hours. 

Incoming first-year and transfer students are required to attend New Student Welcome programming during the summer prior to the start of the fall semester. Visit the New Student & Family Programs website to learn more. 

All students are required to attend ENVD welcome sessions during New Student Welcome Week in August to receive an overview of educational opportunities and the philosophy of the Program, and to meet other new students and the faculty of the Program. Students starting their educational career in the spring semester are required to attend ENVD welcome sessions during New Student Welcome Week in January to receive an overview of educational opportunities and the philosophy of the Program, and to meet other new students and the faculty of the program. 

As a condition of admission, the Program in Environmental Design may retain student work submitted in fulfillment of class requirements. This retained work may be used to provide outside agencies with tangible evidence of performance, to serve as additional visual aid material in presentations to other students, and to contribute to possible educational exhibits and publications requested by the university community and the general public. The Program does not claim any copyright and intellectual ownership of the material but does retain rights to display student work for marketing and promotion, or for academic purposes. 

Students are responsible for recording their work for future use in their portfolios. When the Program retains students' materials for displays or presentations, the Program will ensure that students have the opportunity to reclaim and record their work for portfolio use. 

Environmental Design requires that all incoming undergraduate students have and use their own computers and software applications in their studies. Suggested computer specifications and standards are posted on the Office of Information Technology (OIT)'s Recommended Software and Hardware List webpage. 

Neither the Boulder campus nor the Program in Environmental Design endorse nor require students to buy a computer from a particular manufacturer. The configurations suggested by OIT establish high performance requirements that can be found in many different computers. Specialized software requirements for different classes in the Program in Environmental Design appear on the syllabi for those classes, and that software is generally available at discounted student rates.