University of Denver

University of Denver, private, coeducational institution affiliated with the Methodist Church and located in Denver, Colorado. The school was founded in 1864 as Colorado Seminary by John Evans, the second governor of the Colorado Territory. Evans also founded Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In 1880 the seminary was reorganized as the University of Denver. It is the only privately endowed university in Colorado.

The University of Denver confers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts and offers professional degrees in business administration, psychology, education, international studies, law, and social work. The school houses a number of research centers, including the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Laboratory, the Infant and Child Research Center, and the Center for Marital and Family Studies. The school’s main campus covers about 50 hectares (about 125 acres) in suburban Denver, southeast of the downtown area. A second campus, on the grounds of the former Colorado Women’s College about 13 km (about 8 mi) northeast of the main campus, houses the university’s law and music schools.