Bachelor of Applied Science: Professional Studies
Program Administrator: Olesia Stockhold
Email: olesia.stockhold@ucdenver.edu
Program Director: Paul Le
Email: paul.le@ucdenver.edu
Website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/bas-professional-studies
Overview
The Bachelor of Applied Science: Professional Studies (BAS-PS) degree is geared toward individuals who have earned an Associates of Applied Sciences (AAS) degree at any Colorado community college. In the BAS program, students stack credentials (i.e. applied/skills-based certificates), gaining transcript-verified certificates on their path to degree completion.
Our BAS-PS degree is more flexible than many other BAS degrees offered in the state and offers AAS holders the opportunity for further education and development to support their upskilling and/or leadership-focused career development goals. The certificates available in this program are all available fully online and can be designated on a transcript prior to graduation.
Recommended Pathways
Students will need to complete any of the two listed certificates on the Degree Requirements tab, along with the knowledge area courses and graduation requirements. We recommend that students follow the pathways outlined on the degree requirements tab for each certificate, as these pathways are designed to aid in reaching the required number of upper division and/or core courses.
It is highly recommended that students in the BAS-PS program work closely with the Program Administrator throughout their time in the program.
Taking Courses Outside the Recommended Pathway
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.
Professional Skills Certificates:
Communication and Leadership Certificates:
JEDI Certificates:
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 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 Essentials 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 | ||
| 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 Writing Skills | ||
| 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 Writing Skills | ||
| Technical Writing | ||
| Health Communication Certificate | 12 | |
| Introduction to Health Communication | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Designing Health Messages | ||
| Rhetorics of Medicine & Health | ||
| 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. | ||