Bachelor of Applied Science: Professional Studies
Program Director: Paul Le (paul.le@ucdenver.edu)
Program Administrator: Olesia Stockhold (olesia.stockhold@ucdenver.edu)
Website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/bas-professional-studies
Overview
The Bachelor of Applied Science in Professional Studies (BAS-PS) is a transfer degree program designed for students who have completed an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree from an accredited community or junior college. This program builds upon the technical foundation of the AAS by offering a flexible and customizable professional skills-centered curriculum that supports career advancement and academic growth.
Program Requirements:
- Completion of two approved 12-credit professional certificates
- Completion of two additional Knowledge Area upper-division courses chosen by the student
The professional certificates are selected to align with each student’s individual career goals, with a focus on upskilling, professional, and leadership development. All certificate options are available fully online and also available on campus. Completed certificate credentials may be formally recorded on the student’s transcript before graduation.
Taking Courses Outside the Approved Certificate Programs
Though not recommended, students may complete the certificate using any of the courses listed on the linked certificate catalog pages. To do this, students will need to work with the BAS-PS Program and CLAS Advising to be granted an exception.
Note that courses not listed on the recommended pathways list may have additional prerequisite requirements in addition to the 12 credit hours for the certificate or may not align as neatly with the CU Denver and CLAS core requirements, resulting in additional required credit hours. All courses on the recommended pathway are available online or in-person, while courses outside the recommended pathway might not be available in all instruction modes.
Program Delivery
This certificate can be completed in-person, hybrid, fully online, or a combination of all three.
Declaring This Major
- Click here to go to information about declaring a major.
General Requirements
To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.
- CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
- CU Denver Core Curriculum
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements
- Click here for information about Academic Policies
Program Requirements
To earn a BAS degree:
- Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of approved courses, including two, 12 credit-hour applied/skills-based certificates and two, 3 credit-hour knowledge area courses.
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Students must complete a minimum of 15 upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours.
- Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements.
- Students must complete a minimum of 6 credit hours per certificate with CU Denver faculty. Note that some certificates may require more than 6 credit hours to be completed with CU Denver faculty. Students should consult the linked certificate pages below for individual certificate requirements.
Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations
- Enrollment in the BAS degree requires prior completion of an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.), Associate of Arts (A.A.), or Associate of Science (A.S.) degree at a Colorado community college, or by program director permission.
- Students will not be required to complete the CLAS Second Language Requirement as part of the CLAS Graduation Requirements.
- Students will be awarded the completed certificates in addition to the major, as long as they have completed all of the requirements for the certificate and are certified by the designated faculty advisor. Students intending to complete certificates as stackable credentials prior to program completion should consult corresponding certificate catalog pages for a full list of certificate requirements.
- Although single courses may be approved for multiple certificate programs, certificate programs may impose restrictions around double counting courses. Students should consult catalog entries for CLAS programs to learn about program specific restrictions.
- Students may choose classes to complete the certificates outside of the recommended pathways listed below, but students should note that this may require additional coursework beyond what is listed in order to meet pre-requisites and/or graduation requirements.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete the following program requirements: | ||
| Students must complete all certificate requirements for two of the 12 credit-hour certificates listed below. Students intending to complete certificates as stackable credentials prior to program completion should consult corresponding certificate catalog pages for a full list of certificate requirements. Certificate pages are linked below. | (24) | |
| Data Science Certificate | 12 | |
| Programming for Data Science | ||
| Introductory Statistics | ||
| Data Wrangling & Visualization | ||
| Applied Statistics | ||
| Technical and Professional Writing Certificate | 12 | |
| Grammar, Rhetoric and Style | ||
| Technical Writing | ||
| Internship (or another applicable internship course) | ||
| Proposal and Grant Writing | ||
| Professional Skills Certificate | 12 | |
| Professional Presentations | ||
| New Media Production and Management with AI | ||
| Business Writing | ||
| Introduction to Digital Studies | ||
| Mediation Certificate | 12 | |
| Communication and Diversity | ||
| Negotiations and Bargaining | ||
| Communication and Conflict | ||
| Mediation | ||
| Strategic Communication Certificate | 12 | |
| Introduction to Strategic Communication | ||
| Media Communication Skills with AI | ||
| Internship | ||
| Advanced Strategic Communication | ||
| Civics, Public Policy and Equity Certificate | 12 | |
| Introduction to Legal Studies | ||
| Justice, Freedom, and Power: Social and Political Philosophy | ||
| American Political System | ||
| Race, Gender, Law and Public Policy | ||
| Cultural Diversity Studies Certificate | 12 | |
| Introduction to Ethnic Studies | ||
| Global Media | ||
| Culture, Racism and Alienation | ||
| Cultural Diversity Awareness in the Workplace | ||
| Justice, Allyship, Diversity and Equity Certificate | 12 | |
| Mediation | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Health | ||
| Theories of Social and Political Change | ||
| Inequalities in Social World | ||
| Spanish for the Health Professions Certificate | 12 | |
| Spanish Medical Conversation for Beginners | ||
| Spanish Medical Conversation for Beginners II | ||
| Spanish for the Healthcare Professions I | ||
| Spanish for the Healthcare Professions II | ||
| Writing and Editing with AI Certificate | 12 | |
| Introduction to Digital Studies | ||
| Writing and Editing with Generative Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Media Communication Skills with AI | ||
| Technical Writing | ||
| Health Communication Certificate | 12 | |
| Introduction to Health Communication | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Designing Health Messages | ||
| Rhetorics of Medicine & Health | ||
| Entrepreneurship Certificate | 12 | |
| Communication and Diversity | ||
| The Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship | ||
| Leadership for New and Innovative Ventures | ||
| Real Life Entrepreneurship: The Founder's Journey | ||
| Complete two knowledge area courses (minimum of six credits total): | 6 | |
Knowledge Area Courses are intended to prepare students with depth of knowledge in specific disciplines aligned with academic and professional interests. Knowledge Area Courses must be selected in consultation with and approved by the major advisor. | ||
To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.