City: Boulder, CO

Category: Education

Telephone: (303) 492-6301

Description: With all those red-roofed buildings, CU-Boulder is known as one of the nation’s prettiest campuses. It’s also close to recreational activities and home to top teams such as the CU Buffs football team and CU women’s basketball, both of which make attending CU-Boulder lots of fun. But for academics, it offers excellent opportunities, too.CU-Boulder is most renowned for its science programs. CU professor Thomas Cech won the 1989 Nobel Prize in chemistry. In 1995 professors Carl Wieman and Eric Cornell were awarded the Fritz London Award for their work in low temperature physics. In 2005 John Hall became the fourth University of Colorado at Boulder faculty member to win a Nobel Prize. More CU undergraduate and grad-school alumni have become astronauts than graduates of any other school, including the service academies. With such a history, it’s no surprise that CU-Boulder got more than $266.2 million in outside research funds in 2007.Boulder is the largest campus in a four-campus system. Other campuses are CU-Denver on the three-college Auraria campus; CU-Colorado Springs; and the Health Sciences Center, including the University Hospital, in Denver. Approximately 26,900 students attend CU-Boulder, with 24,473 undergraduates and 4,515 graduates. Psychology, biology, and English are among the most popular undergraduate majors. Classics and dance are among the smallest.As a state school, CU gives tuition breaks to in-state residents, who make up nearly 65 percent of the student population. Nondegree candidates may pay to attend university classes as part of the university’s continuing education program. People older than age 55 can audit most classes for a nominal fee, with the professor’s permission; call (303) 492-8484 for details.