We are committed to creating the nation's most innovative Western studies offering. With this goal in mind, the Center has implemented an undergraduate certificate program in the American West administered in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado's Boulder campus. The program is designed to be multidisciplinary and includes work in anthropology, economics, ethnic studies, EPO biology, sociology, history, English, Spanish, linguistics, political science, philosophy, religious studies, and fine arts. Students must take 24 semester hours to complete the certificate program. The core courses are drawn from natural science, history, and literature with additional hours from other disciplines.
All students take a three-hour capstone course at the end of their certificate program.
The certificate program opens students to an understanding of their past, an appreciation for traditional and contemporary stories in the region, and an understanding of Western landscapes, ecosystems, and the factors that affect them. Each winter, The Center of the American West accepts submissions for its Annual Western American Writing Awards. Students, undergraduate and graduate alike, can enter nonfiction, fiction, prose, and poetry for consideration. Cash prizes are awarded at a year-end banquet. Creative written works including fiction, poetry, plays, etc.