University of Colorado Denver

The University of Colorado Denver

A stop on the Denver audio-guided tour, one of the buildings of the University of Colorado Denver runs alongside your path. In the United States, higher education was conceived from the outset as a pillar of a society to be built.

A young but ambitious history

In Europe, universities such as Oxford or the Sorbonne were born in the Middle Ages. In the United States, everything is more recent: Harvard was founded in 1636, barely sixteen years after the arrival of the first colonists, on the idea that a strong country needed educated citizens. In Colorado, the history begins later: long the territory of Indigenous nations, then of trappers and gold seekers, the region saw Denver born in 1858.

What to see

It was in 1876, when Colorado officially became a State, that the University of Colorado was founded, first in Boulder. It was not until the early twentieth century that a branch developed in Denver. Today, the urban campus enlivens downtown and symbolises the importance given to knowledge in the State's young history.

Practical information

The University of Colorado Denver has a campus in the centre of the city. An active educational institution, its buildings can be viewed from outside; access conditions should be checked depending on the season.

When was the University of Colorado founded ?

In 1876, the year Colorado became a State, first in Boulder.

What is the oldest university in the United States ?

Harvard, founded in 1636, shortly after the arrival of the first colonists.