Research Institutes and Centers

Some important graduate study at CU-Boulder is done through, or in partnership with, research institutes and centers.

Research Institutes

CU-Boulder has developed a longterm tradition of interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the university community and beyond. At the heart of this tradition is a system of world-class research institutes that create a dynamic environment for discovery and learning.

Since the first institutes emerged a half-century ago, research teams of faculty, students and external partners have tackled complex questions from multiple perspectives, leading to important advances in human knowledge. These learning enterprises offer common ground for scholars and students to collaborate on issues that confront the world—in such areas as climate; energy resources; atmosphere; outer space; human behavior; solar energy; the human mind; and atomic, molecular and optics studies.

CU-Boulder's 11 research institutes account for more than half of all sponsored research dollars at the university, and they employ some of the most productive researchers in the country. With more than 900 researchers and supporting staff, the institutes make a major contribution to the university's research and education missions as well as the local and area economy. Numerous graduate students are employed by the institutes, which contribute to the quality of graduate education at CU-Boulder.

• Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS)
• BioFrontiers Institute
• Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
• Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
• Institute for Behavioral Genetics (IBG)
• Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS)
• Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS)
• JILA (formerly the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics)
• Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)
• Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI)
• University of Colorado Museum of Natural History