Accreditation and Recognition

• University Accreditation
• Program Accreditation
• University Recognition and Awards

University Accreditation

The Metropolitan State University of Denver is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Program Accreditation

Individual academic programs within the following areas are accredited or approved by the following agencies: 

University Recognition and Awards

• MSU Denver is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is a federal designation by the U.S. Department of Education that acknowledges colleges and universities with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic/Latina/o/x full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment.

• MSU Denver has been named the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ Outstanding HACU-Member Institution for 2021. The national award recognizes and honors extraordinary support of HACU’s mission and MSU Denver’s important contributions to the educational success of underserved populations, particularly Latinx students. For 34 years, MSU Denver has been a supportive member of HACU, and accessibility, diversity and inclusion have been core tenets of the university’s mission since its inception. The university has hosted the HACU Emerging Leaders Summit, university staff have attended the annual Capitol Forum, and MSU Denver students have participated in HACU scholarship and internship programs.

• Metropolitan State University of Denver earned another prestigious honor for its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion when University leaders accepted a 2024 Leaders in Diversity Award from the Denver Business Journal. MSU Denver was one of 11 organizations honored at the June 20 awards ceremony, which also recognized 10 individual DEI leaders.
• MSU Denver earned a Gold Seal from the All In Campus Democracy Challenge for nonpartisan student-voter participation in the 2020 Presidential Election. Total student-voter participation at MSU Denver rose from 65.9% in 2016 (compared with a 50.4% voting rate among all higher-education institutions) to 75.4% in 2020 (compared with 66% across all institutions). This earned the University recognition in All In’s gold category, which honors institutions that achieve a student-voter participation rate of 70% to 80%. The award was announced during the organization’s third biennial awards ceremony Monday November 9, 2021.
• MSU Denver made the honor roll of Washington Monthly’s 2021 America’s Best Colleges for Student Voting. With the rise of youth voters, Washington Monthly sought to recognize universities whose administrations actively support student-voting organizers. To land a spot on this year’s Washington Monthly honor roll, institutions had to show repeated commitment to increasing student voting. Among several qualification requirements, MSU Denver made the University’s 2016 and 2018 National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement data publicly available.
• In 2020, Campus Compact recognized MSU Denver with the Richard Guarasci Award for Institutional Transformation for its demonstrated “efforts to address issues of public concern by aligning teaching, research, practice, and values in service of the common good.”  More specifically, the university was granted the award “for its comprehensive, institution-wide approach to planning for institutional change, which has included a Civic Action Plan, emerging assessment, connected efforts across departments, and clarity around institutional goals. As an urban land-grant institution, MSU Denver has committed to being an institution of the city, an integral, visible part of the communities within which it exists. MSU Denver demonstrates a clear and active commitment to strengthening its understanding of urban issues and to partnering with and serving its neighbor organizations in order to better meet the needs of the metropolitan area.”
• In 2017, MSU Denver received the award for the Highest Undergraduate Voting Rate from All In Campus Democracy Challenge with a total of 65.3% of undergraduate students who voted.

Page modified on July 18, 2024.