University of Colorado Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
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- CU Denver is a public university accredited by HLC
- CU Denver tuition is $10,383 in-state and $29,391 out-of-state
- 51% of CU Denver students earn a credential within eight years
- Business and nursing produce most CU Denver graduates
- Who CU Online fits, and the watch-outs
- Check your own aid before you apply to CU Online
University of Colorado Online has no federal data of its own, so this profile uses CU Denver’s: tuition and fees were $10,383 for Colorado residents and $29,391 for others in 2024-25, according to College Scorecard’s June 2026 data. 51% of CU Denver students who started in 2016-17 earned a credential within eight years.
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Check your aid before you choose CU Online
Pell, state grant, campus aid and federal loan limits for your income in about two minutes, shown before any email. The CU campus you enroll at sets your actual offer.
Start the aid checkCU Online is the University of Colorado’s portal to online programs at four campuses: Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs and Anschutz. CU Denver reports together with the Anschutz Medical Campus and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
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CU Denver is a public university accredited by HLC
| Fact | CU Denver |
|---|---|
| Control | Public |
| Accreditor | Higher Learning Commission (HLC) |
| Location | Denver, CO (reports with the Anschutz Medical Campus) |
| Undergraduates studying fully online (fall 2024) | 12% |
| Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024) | 10,519 |
| Graduate students (fall 2024) | 9,203 |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 19% |
| Admission rate (fall 2024) | 75% |
| Federal school ID (UNITID) | 126562 |
| Graduate students studying fully online (fall 2024) | 29% |
CU Denver tuition is $10,383 in-state and $29,391 out-of-state
Scorecard lists $10,383 in tuition and fees for Colorado residents and $29,391 for other students in 2024-25. These are campus rates, so confirm the online rate for your program with the campus that runs it.
Net price is the full cost of attendance, including housing and living costs, minus grants and scholarships. Scorecard’s average covers full-time, first-time undergraduates who got federal aid in 2023-24: 821 students at CU Denver.
| Family income | Average net price, 2023-24 |
|---|---|
| $0 to $30,000 | $6,743 |
| $30,001 to $48,000 | $9,472 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $10,834 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $15,232 |
| $110,001 and up | $22,475 |
Net price rises with income at CU Denver: $6,743 for families earning under $30,000 and $22,475 above $110,000.
For 2026-27, Pell pays up to $7,395 a year to eligible undergraduates, and your own net price depends on your income, family size and state. The aid check stacks Pell, state grants, campus aid and federal loan limits for your numbers in about two minutes, and shows the result before it asks for an email.
51% of CU Denver students earn a credential within eight years
| Measure | CU Denver |
|---|---|
| Earned a credential within 8 years (all students who started in 2016-17) | 51% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time students only) | 47% |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting | $52,475 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting | $64,270 |
| Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing | $74,059 |
| Graduates’ median federal loan debt | $20,500 |
| Undergraduates with a Pell Grant (2023-24) | 26% |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan (2023-24) | 24% |
The all-student rate (51%) is higher than the first-time, full-time rate (47%), which suggests transfer and part-time students finished more often here than students who started as full-time freshmen.
These are school-wide medians. Your payoff depends on the program, the job you target and what you pay.
Business and nursing produce most CU Denver graduates
These are CU Denver and Anschutz’s five largest fields by graduates in 2022-23, from Scorecard’s field-of-study file. Scorecard marks the business and nursing rows as partly online and public health and biology as not offered online.
| Field and credential | Graduates, 2022-23 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (bachelor's) | 431 | $75,142 | $19,949 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (bachelor's) | 267 | $84,950 | $21,875 |
| Public Health (master's) | 236 | $78,998 | $60,145 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (master's) | 230 | $129,423 | $56,311 |
| Biology, General (bachelor's) | 210 | $58,231 | $20,358 |
Field names are the federal Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) categories Scorecard uses, not CU program titles. Earnings are medians for graduates who got federal aid, four years after finishing, and debt is their median federal loan balance.
Who CU Online fits, and the watch-outs
It fits if
- You live in Colorado. CU Denver tuition and fees were $10,383 for residents in 2024-25, against $29,391 for others.
- You want online study with a campus option. 36% of CU Denver undergraduates mixed online and campus courses in fall 2024.
- You have a lower family income. CU Denver’s average net price was $6,743 for families under $30,000 in 2023-24.
Watch-outs
- The data is mostly campus students. Only 12% of CU Denver undergraduates studied fully online in fall 2024.
- Graduate debt runs high in some fields. The public health master’s median federal debt is $60,145.
- Half do not finish. 49% of students who started in 2016-17 had no credential eight years later.
Check your own aid before you apply to CU Online
CU Denver’s averages describe what other students paid, mostly on campus. The aid check applies the 2026-27 federal rules to your income and family, takes about two minutes, and shows the result before any email or school contact.
For an online-only public unit with its own federal data, see Arizona State University Online (43% eight-year rate). For a nonprofit online school, see Western Governors University (52%, $12,548 net price).
Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional and comes after you see your aid result. The figures here come from federal data, and this profile does not rank schools.
See your aid stack before you apply to CU Online
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Start the aid checkWant your finish-line plan by email? Go to the quick check
Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these pages. How we check sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (UNITID 126562)
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard data files, June 10, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data documentation: field definitions and cohort years
- NCES College Navigator: University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (distance education and age, fall 2023 and 2024)
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
- University of Colorado: CU online programs
- CU Denver Online: fully online programs
- NCES College Navigator: University of Colorado Boulder (distance education, fall 2024)
- NCES College Navigator: University of Colorado Colorado Springs (distance education, fall 2024)
Related Resources
Arizona State University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
ASU Online: 43% of students finish within 8 years and graduates owe a median $19,500. Scorecard lists no tuition or net price for the online unit.
Western Governors University Online: Cost, Outcomes (2026)
WGU tuition was $8,658 for 2024-25 and its average net price $12,548. 52% of students finish within 8 years; graduates owe a median $11,116.
Best Online Technology Programs 2026: CS and IT Degrees
Seven online computer science and IT degrees compared on College Scorecard outcomes. Software developers earned a $135,980 median in May 2025 (BLS).