Certificates, Credentials, Licenses and Endorsements

Certificate, Executive Coaching for Equity

Degree Earned: Credit available Non-credit Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Learn the fundamentals of executive coaching including how to create the conditions to explore equity issues and to have the opportunity to have difficult conversations within professional coaching and supervisory relationships. Develop coaching strategies to build trust within teams, departments, and organizations.

Certificate, P-3 Leadership

Degree Earned: Credit available Non-credit Classroom Type: Fully Online Provides elementary and early learning leaders with skills and knowledge to lead cross-system improvements and to implement instructional reforms that benefit our youngest learners, preschool through 3rd grade.

Certificate, Prosocial Leader

New Degree Earned: Credit available Non-credit Classroom Type: Fully Online The Prosocial Leader certificate is designed for school leaders who are interested in leading schoolwide social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. This professional learning experience consists of three courses remotely facilitated in partnership with CREATE and the Prosocial Leader Lab.

Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Offers an opportunity to become a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) to those who are passionate about identifying and championing the strengths and assets of children with differing abilities.

Graduate Certificate in Applied Measurement

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Online and on campus classes Learn to measure the abstract variables used in daily decision-making. This involves deep critical thinking skills and the ability to combine statistical learning with understandings of human behavior. Individuals working in social sciences, education and mental health and who want to deepen their knowledge of diversity, respect, equity and inclusiveness may be particularly interested in this offering.

Graduate Certificate in Applied Statistical Modeling

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Online and on campus classes Learn advanced statistical modeling skills that have direct connections to practical educational issues and socially-just solutions for urban and diverse communities. Think and reason with quantitative data, especially using large scale datasets.

Graduate Certificate in Classroom Assessment

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Online and on campus classes Learn how assessments in education both support and hinder individuals in diverse groups. There are many biases to be aware of and overcome as we create more culturally inclusive assessments moving forward. We prepare students to be leaders in schools and districts who can advocate for change using data.

Graduate Certificate in Culturally Responsive Methods

New Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Learn how to conduct research studies and evaluations with a culturally responsive lens. We prepare leaders who can advocate for diversity, respect, and inclusiveness using data.

Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Education Pedagogy

New Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Provides Reggio-inspired experiential learning in ECE pedagogy to complement students’ current competencies and experiences. Courses can articulate into CU Denver and Boulder Journey School’s MA in Innovative ECE.

Graduate Certificate in Early Literacy

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Equips preschool and primary grade teachers and para-educators with advanced skills in the development, assessment, and instruction of literacy for young learners. The certificate includes methods that help all learners-including those who are linguistically or culturally diverse-gain important literacy skills.

Graduate Certificate in Leadership for Learning Design and Technology

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online CU Denver’s Leadership for Learning Design and Technology certificate focuses on transformative change, culture, and initiative for modern learning organizations; with distinct themes of vision building, culture shifting, innovation nurturing, business modeling, and knowledge management.

Graduate Certificate in Learner-centered Instructional Design

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online CU Denver’s Learner-centered Instructional Design certificate focuses on human centered design, learning engagement and motivation, and learning frameworks. You’ll explore distinct themes of design-thinking, learning aesthetics, universal design, and system usability.

Graduate Certificate in Literacy and Language Development for Diverse Learners

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Offers educators and leaders nationwide a deep dive into literacy development, assessment, and instruction and equitable educational access for all children.

Graduate Certificate in Mathematical Content Knowledge for Teaching

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Fosters educators' success by enhancing their ability to engage students in math reasoning while increasing their own knowledge of mathematical content.

Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Learning and Teaching PK-12

New Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: On campus Advance your career to support pre-K through 12th grade students’ mathematics learning.

Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online CU Denver’s Online Teaching and Learning certificate focuses on effective online & hybrid learning designs, high impact practices, and modern learners; with distinct themes of instructional design, inclusive pedagogies, active learning, and emerging pedagogies.

Graduate Certificate in Program Evaluation

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Online and on campus classes Experiences and connections with urban and diverse communities are at the heart of our online Program Evaluation certificate. Coursework involves helping real schools, community organizations and non-profits thrive through effective and culturally responsible program evaluation practices.

Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Methods and Analysis

New Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Develop your abilities to collect and analyze words, images, and observations to gain a deeper understanding of phenomena. We prepare leaders who can advocate for diversity, respect, and inclusiveness using data.

Graduate Certificate in Teaching for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Provides content-area teachers (math, science, social studies, etc.) with a foundation of teaching content for multilingual students. The certificate is also valuable to content-area coaches or administrators with a commitment to diversity and social justice, and who provide support for teachers with multilingual learners in K - 12 classrooms.

Graduate Certificate, Digital Teacher Librarian

Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Equips teacher librarians to lead the way in digital, media, and information literacy development in their schools and create an inclusive, future-ready learning culture for building essential student skills.

Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Education Pedagogy

New Degree Earned: Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Provides Reggio-inspired experiential learning in ECE pedagogy to complement students’ current competencies and experiences. Courses can articulate into CU Denver and Boulder Journey School’s MA in Innovative ECE.

Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Literacy for Family & Community Helping Professionals

New Degree Earned: Undergraduate Certificate Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes This undergraduate certificate offers individuals who will work in community-based organizations — including nonprofits, school-based, and local to international organizations — an in-depth understanding of the role literacy plays in diverse families and communities.

Undergraduate Certificate in Pathways2Teaching, Paraprofessional

Degree Earned: Undergraduate Certificate Classroom Type: On campus Strives to create a new generation of community-responsive educators as it begins the journey for high school juniors and seniors to become teachers. Students earn transferable college credits toward a teaching degree. The program helps meet the demand for teachers in urban and rural communities and address a lack of diversity in the teacher workforce.

Undergraduate or Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Education Coaching

Featured Degree Earned: Undergraduate Certificate Graduate Certificate Classroom Type: Fully Online Provides experiential learning in best coaching practices for teacher-leaders, coaches, directors, principals, home childcare providers, early interventionists, special education staff or anyone looking to strengthen their coaching competencies and understanding of systems thinking.

Graduate Credential in Neurosequential Model in Education

Degree Earned: Graduate Credential Classroom Type: Fully Online Provides trauma-informed knowledge and hands-on tools and strategies for educators, directors, principals, mental health professionals, early interventionists, and special education staff to use with PreK-12 students who present with a variety of challenging behaviors in educational and treatment settings. This credential is available only to graduate degree seeking students at CU, as well as graduate alumni.

Counselor License

Degree Earned: License Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Designed for graduates of the MA in counseling program in all three tracks- Clinical Mental Health, Couples and Family Counseling, and School Counseling-to prepare for several counseling licenses in Colorado and nationally. Advanced students are eligible to start taking licensure exams prior to graduation.

Early Childhood Special Education (License)

Degree Earned: License Classroom Type: Fully Online Online and on campus classes Offers a perfect fit for those interested in providing culturally responsive, family-centered, developmentally effective early education for children with disabilities in an inclusive setting. Specialists in early childhood special education are in high demand in Colorado and nationally, and play an important role as both lead teachers and specialists who support classroom teachers.

Executive Leadership Administrator License

Degree Earned: License Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Prepares educators to take all required licensure exams, opening the door to executive roles-such as president, superintendent, and others-at the district level. Educators receive the skills needed to lead districts to be inclusive, highly effective, and future-ready.

Endorsement, Bilingual Education Specialist

Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Designed for currently licensed teachers seeking career advancement and the knowledge and tools needed to work in dual language and bilingual education programs. The 10-credit-hour program requires that teachers already have the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) endorsement or are working toward that endorsement in conjunction with the Bilingual Education Endorsement.

Endorsement, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education

Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Designed for currently licensed teachers who are seeking career advancement and the knowledge and tools needed to support diverse languages, cultures, and abilities in the classroom. The endorsement is available with and without an MA.

Endorsement, Director of Special Education

New Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Fully Online University of Colorado Denver’s Director of Special Education endorsement program includes 150 clinical practice (internship) hours. It provides the coursework necessary for a practicing P-12 educator with a principal license and a master’s in Special Education or equivalent degree accepted by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to receive the Director of Special Education endorsement from CDE.

Endorsement, Early Childhood Special Education

Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Fully Online Online and on campus classes Designed for teachers with early childhood, elementary, or special education licenses to advance and deepen their expertise in educating young children with special needs and supporting their families. On-campus, hybrid, or fully online formats are available. Recipients become lead teachers in classrooms or specialists supporting classroom teachers.

Endorsement, ELEVATE Early Childhood Special Education

New Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Fully Online The ELEVATE – ECSE added endorsement program at University of Colorado Denver is designed for teachers holding a Colorado Early Childhood Education license and currently teaching in Colorado who seek to add the ECSE endorsement to their license. The program prepares educators to be leaders who will enrich the life experiences of young children (birth to eight years) with delays and disabilities and their families. It is a one-year (3 semester) added endorsement program with an option to complete the MA in Early Childhood Education.

Endorsement, Middle School Math

Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Fully Online Designed for currently licensed teachers seeking career advancement and a deeper understanding of how to engage middle school students in math. This endorsement gives teachers the unique qualifications needed to support and challenge students with diverse abilities and backgrounds.

Endorsement, Special Education Generalist

Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Online and on campus classes Prepares teachers holding an initial license to identify and champion the strengths and assets of individuals ages 5 - 21 with differing abilities, including those with identified disabilities. Designed for teachers who want an endorsement but are not seeking a master's, equipping them with impactful and effective skills for leading inclusive classrooms and collaborating with other professionals.

Endorsement, Teacher Librarian

Degree Earned: Endorsement Classroom Type: Fully Online The Teacher Librarian endorsement program will prepare you to meet the requirements from the Colorado Department of Education for an added Teacher Librarian endorsement to your current teaching license.