Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in downtown Denver, adjacent to Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. In the fall 2025 semester, MSU Denver had an enrollment of 17,111 undergraduate students and 1,225 graduate students.
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History
Metropolitan State University of Denver was founded in 1965 as an opportunity school. By design, MSU Denver is required to be accessible to all, which is why it consistently has some of the lowest tuitions of four-year Colorado colleges and universities. Nearly 54% of the student body are students of color.
MSU Denver was the first university to advocate for DREAMers to have a chance at higher education by providing in-state tuition rates under the ASSET bill, signed by then Gov. John Hickenlooper in the Jordan Student Success Building lobby. It made national headlines.
Campus
MSU Denver shares the Auraria campus with two other higher education institutions, the University of Colorado Denver and Community College of Denver. The traditional main entrance to campus is Speer & Lawrence between the North and Science buildings.
The campus is located in the heart of the central business district. The reclaimed Callie Maher brewery, which closed in 1969, now operates as the Tivoli Student Union.
Organization and administration
Janine Anne Davidson became president of MSU Denver on July 24, 2017.
Matthew Makley was named provost effective April 2025.
On June 7, 2002, Governor Bill Owens signed House Bill 1165 – Concerning the Establishment of an Independent Governing Board for Metropolitan State College of Denver – and named his appointees to MSU Denver's board of trustees.
MSU Denver's student government operates under the name "The Student Advocacy Council" (TSAC).
Schools and centers
MSU Denver contains four colleges and two schools.
College of Aerospace, Computing, Engineering and Design
College of Business
College of Health and Human Sciences
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
School of Education
School of Hospitality
Metropolitan State University of Denver is also home to a variety of projects, research centers, and institutes.
Accreditation
MSU Denver is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Several programs and units are accredited by disciplinary-specific organizations, including:
The Department of Art is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
The College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems programs are accredited by ABET.
University names
Colloquially referred to as Metro State or Metro, MSU Denver formally became a university on April 18, 2012.
1965–1990: Metropolitan State College
1990–2012: Metropolitan State College of Denver
2012–present: Metropolitan State University of Denver
Name change controversy
The then-Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees on March 9, 2011, approved a legislative proposal to change the institution's name to "Denver State University" following a vote among students and faculty.
University of Denver administration and faculty publicly objected to "Denver State University" as MSU Denver's new name, arguing that the name would cause confusion between the two institutions and encroach on DU's longstanding identity. As a result of this, the board of trustees decided to cancel the planned name change. Some community members objected and viewed this change of plans as allowing a private university (University of Denver) to decide the fate of a public one (MSU Denver).
Student life
Greek life
The institution has various fraternity and sorority chapters.
Student media
The Office of Student Media supports four student media productions:
The Metropolitan (newspaper)
Met Radio – KMET
Met TV
Metrosphere
Athletics
MSU Denver has produced 239 All-Americans and was one of the seven charter members of the Colorado Athletic Conference in 1989 before joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 1996. MSU Denver competed as a NAIA member until 1983, when the Roadrunners jumped to the NCAA Division II ranks. Since 1998, MSU Denver has captured 32 regular season conference titles, 35 conference tournament championships, as well as the 2000 & 2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball, the 2004 and 2006 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer, and the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball National Championships.
Basketball/Volleyball – Auraria Events Center
Baseball/Soccer/Softball – Regency Athletic Complex
RMLC/MLCA Men's Lacrosse - Dick's Sporting Good Park
Camps and clinics
MSU Denver Soccer Camps
Domestic relationships
† = private
‡ = London Consortium
International relationships
China – Open University of China
Ethiopia – Aksum University (AkU)
Mexico – University of Guadalajara
United Kingdom – University of London
Notable students
Individuals of note who have attended the institution include: