Academic Programs

Urban Education

Prepare to Teach in Urban Schools

At the Center for Urban Education (CUE), you’ll gain the skills and knowledge to become an effective educator in diverse urban classrooms. Our flexible academic programs combine real-world teaching experience with supportive mentorship and personalized coursework.

What You’ll Learn

Our four-year bachelor’s programs (or shorter for transfer students) are designed to give you a strong foundation in education, focused on the challenges and rewards of teaching in urban settings.

  • Classes are held weekday afternoons or evenings at the UNC Center at Lowry in Denver.
  • You can also take select courses online or at other UNC campuses.
  • Coursework is aligned with your chosen major and licensure path.

Real-World Teaching Experience

From your first semester, you’ll work as a paid paraprofessional in a local classroom each morning. This hands-on experience lets you apply what you’re learning and grow your teaching skills in real time.

Each student is paired with a mentor, a retired master teacher, who provides one-on-one support, classroom visits, and group coaching sessions. This built-in mentorship is a key part of your growth and success.

Flexible Class Schedules

We offer flexible course formats to fit your life:

  • 5-week blocks
  • 15-week weekday or weekend sessions
  • Online options

You’ll typically take 1–3 classes at a time, allowing you to dive deeply into your coursework while balancing field experience and life responsibilities. Courses are planned based on student needs, not just a fixed university calendar.

Our Programs

Choose Your Program

Early Childhood Education (Birth–Age 8)

Prepare to teach young children in a variety of public and private settings.
After graduation, you can:

  • Earn your Early Childhood Education teaching license
  • Choose an alternative path to lead a child care center or teach in pre-K–3rd grade classrooms
  • Add a K–6 Elementary Endorsement by passing the Elementary Content Exam

Elementary Education (Grades K–6)

Train to teach in elementary schools with the option to specialize in:

  • Culturally & Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education
  • Special Education

You’ll graduate ready to earn your teaching license or pursue alternative licensure.

Special Education (Ages 5–21)

Get specialized training to teach students with exceptionalities in K–12 classrooms.

Graduates earn a BA in Special Education and are licensed as a Special Education Generalist.

Optional: Add a K–6 Elementary Education Endorsement by passing the required content exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

One big difference is that all students at the Center for Urban Education work in schools during the day as paraprofessionals. They take their college classes in the afternoon or evening. By the time you finish the program, you will have over 3,000 hours of experience working with children.

No – UNC’s Center for Urban Education is a unique program. There is another program with the same name at Metropolitan State University in Denver, but it is not for teacher training.

UNC’s program is the only one in Colorado where students get classroom experience from their first day until they graduate.

It takes four years to complete a Bachelor of Arts program if you enter without any previous college credit. If you have eligible college coursework to transfer in, the time it will take you to complete the program will vary depending on the number of credit hours you transfer to UNC.

Students at the Center for Urban Education take between 3 to 6 credits of apprenticeship depending on their program.

Yes, you are an employee of the school district where you work and you get paid by the school district.

All classes are taught at the UNC Denver Center at Lowry.

Courses are offered in 5-week blocks or throughout the semester for 15-weeks.  The flexible schedule allows for in-person, online, and hybrid classes taught by highly qualified faculty.

Afternoon classes are from 1:15-4:00 p.m., evening classes are from 5:00-7:45 p.m., and Saturday classes are offered from 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:00-3:45 p.m.

Center for Urban Education applicants applicants are evaluated using the same admissions criteria as all other applicants. Current admission policies and minimum requirements can be found in the UNC Undergraduate Catalog (choose either First-Year Student Admission or Transfer Student Admission).

Yes, many students start their college career at other institutions.

Transferrable college credit may shorten the time you spend in academic courses. Courses with a grade of C- or higher from regionally-accredited institutions (that are not developmental courses) transfer to UNC. Students can transfer in up to 90 credit hours.

Review process: official transcripts are reviewed by the UNC Registrar. Transfer students are advised on placement in the program following the Transfer Evaluation Process.

Your Program Coordinator/Advisor can advise you on how transferred courses will impact your required coursework each term.

It is not necessary to earn an associate’s degree before transferring to UNC. You may take many of your courses at a community college and then transfer to UNC when you are ready. The Transfer Guide will help you understand how your classes from a Colorado public two-year institution will transfer to UNC.

The Center for Urban Education is open for information and visits year-round. We accept applications at any time and students can enroll at multiple points during the Fall or Spring semesters. You will apply to the University of Northern Colorado, designating Denver/Lowry (which is where the Center for Urban Education is located) when selecting both your Program and Site.

To be sure that you apply to the Center for Urban Education delivery of these program, please indicate one of the following programs on the application:

  • Early Childhood: Teacher Education Licensure (Ages Birth-8) B.A. (Denver-Lowry)
  • Elementary Education: Teacher Licensure (Cultural & Linguistic Diversity) B.A. (Denver-Lowry)
  • Elementary Education: Teacher Licensure (Special Education) B.A. (Denver-Lowry)
  • Special Education: K-12 Teaching B.A. (Denver-Lowry)

Your advisor will be the Program Coordinator for each program. You can find their contact information and other key resources on the page for each program that is linked from the Current Students page.

An individual plan is developed for each student in coordination with your advisor, so you will know which classes are appropriate for each semester. A list of all available courses appears on the page for your program (see the Current Students page link above) to help you register for the courses that you and your advisor determine.

Questions? Contact Us!