The PhD program at CU Boulder鈥檚 ATLAS Institute emphasizes out-of-the-box invention and radical inquiry. Suited to students whose interests transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, ATLAS is听a thriving academic community of researchers and students who blend engineering, design,听art and humanitarianism.听

The University of Colorado Boulder has one of the top 12听public engineering graduate programs in the U.S., according to听U.S. News and World Report鈥檚听听for 2024-25.

Application Deadline

The Creative Technology and Design PhD program application deadline is听December 1.

Info Session

The 2024 info session took place on October 29. To connect with our team to discuss the PhD听program, please email us:听atlas.admissions@colorado.edu

Structure

The ATLAS PhD program is structured like any other research-based doctoral program in which you:

  • Form听an advisory committee
  • Complete course听
  • Pass a qualifying examination
  • Propose听a dissertation
  • 颁辞苍诲耻肠迟听谤别蝉别补谤肠丑
  • Write and defend your听dissertation

Curriculum

Unlike most U.S. doctoral programs, the ATLAS PhD听has few required courses.听Instead, students craft the curriculum individually,听working with their advisory committees to identify the expertise needed to research their focus area.

Required classes (to be taken during the first two years of study)

  • ATLAS Graduate Research Methods听-听Students investigate a broad set of techniques for conducting theoretical, design听and experimental research and they explore how to formulate and investigate research questions using these methods.
  • ATLAS Research Career Development听-听A discussion-style class with brief lectures, expert panels, and research projects aimed at helping students to be competitive and successful in today鈥檚 job market.
  • ATLAS Colloquium听- Features dynamic speakers from academia and industry who work in fields of interest to the creative technology and design community.

    PhD FAQ

    Current PhD Student Bios

    笔丑顿听础濒耻尘苍颈

    Dissertations

    Apply Now - U.S. Students

    Apply Now - International听Students

    ATLAS Research Lab Directors

    ATLAS lab directors advise PhD students, create collaborative environments听and guide听research across a broad range of multi-disciplinary fields.

    ACME Lab Director Ellen Do

    ACME Lab
    Ellen Yi-Luen Do, Director

    The ACME Creativity Machine Environment Lab explores and develops computational tools for design, creativity, cognition, tangible and embedded interaction, and computing for health and wellness.

    Brain Music Lab director Grace Leslie

    Brain Music Lab
    Grace Leslie, Director

    The Brain Music Lab pursues research to promote health and well-being by combining new music technologies with biometric data from EEG brainwave data and other physiological measurement techniques.

    Emergent Nanotechnology Lab director Carson Bruns

    Emergent Nanomaterials Lab
    Carson Bruns, Director

    By synthesizing and combining nanoscale building blocks, the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab designs technologies that enhance the quality of human lives in health, sensory augmentation and self-expression.

    Living Matter Lab director Mirela Alistar

    Living Matter Lab
    Mirela Alistar, Director

    Working at the intersection of biology, engineering and art, the Living Matter Lab interfaces with biological matter, the micro-world and the environment in unique ways.

    The Programmable Reality Lab logo on the left and Ryo Suzuki's profile photo on the right over a filtered background image of a lab

    Programmable Reality Lab
    Ryo Suzuki, Director

    The goal of Programmable Reality Lab is to make our whole living environment dynamic, interactive, and programmable听to transform our living space into a dynamic medium.

    TYPO Lab director Joel Swanson

    TYPO Lab
    Joel Swanson, Director

    TYPO Lab is an experimental studio for creative work and research related to the technologies of language. It empowers faculty and students to explore and appreciate the media and methods of words.

    Unstable Design Lab director Laura Devendorf

    Unstable Design Lab
    Laura Devendorf, Director

    An advocate for the arts within engineering fields, the Unstable Design Lab focuses on advancing textile design and fabrication, including the integration of circuitry and other technologies.

    Utility Research Lab director Michael Rivera

    Utility Research Lab
    Michael Rivera, Director

    The Utility Research Lab invents and investigates digital fabrication technology, tools and techniques that empower us to create things that positively impact people, society and the environment.

    Diversity

    The ATLAS Institute encourages applications from students who will broaden the diversity of our graduate community. Diversity is essential to academic and workplace success, and we are committed to creating an inclusive and collaborative community.听Learn more about how听the ATLAS Institute听pursues diversity.听

    Professor Rivera standing in his lab

    Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries

    鈥淎TLAS is a community where the curious come together to cross disciplinary boundaries and push the limits of our knowledge. As a lab director, I鈥檓 excited to connect with people who can bring new perspective to our research, and are eager to positively impact people, society, and the environment.鈥�

    鈥� Assistant Professor and Utility Research Lab Director, Michael Rivera

    PhD Application Fee Waiver

    The College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder is once again offering a program that allows qualifying PhD applicants to waive their application fees until November听15, 2024.

    The program is intended to support our college's听strategic vision听to become a premier destination for U.S. graduate students.

    Minimum requirements:

    • Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident
    • Applicant must be applying for a听PhD program in the College of Engineering and Applied Science
    • Applicant must be applying to enroll in fall 2025
    • Applicant must have at least a 3.4 GPA from their accredited undergraduate institution
    • Applicant must meet all department requirements for their PhD programs
    • Application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. MST听on Nov. 15, 2024

    The offer will be applied automatically to qualifying students in the application portal; no code is needed. Questions may be directed to听Meredith Canode, senior听director of graduate programs, at听meredith.canode@colorado.edu.

    Further details can be found on the College of Engineering and Applied Science Fee Waiver page.

    Additional Opportunities

    Combined PhD in Cognitive Science:听ATLAS PhD students can earn a combined degree听with the Institute of Cognitive Science.

    Opportunity for underrepresented students:听The Colorado Advantage Graduate Preview Weekend听gives underrepresented students a chance to visit campus, meet faculty, and preview doctoral programs in science, math, and engineering departments at CU-Boulder.

    Opportunity for U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and permanent residents: The 听provides three years of support over a five-year fellowship period for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.听Deadlines in October.

    Clement Zheng standing in front of a windowThe ATLAS Institute is a rare place...

    The ATLAS Institute is a rare place with a truly multi-disciplinary setup of research labs. As a PhD student, all I had to do was to walk next door to learn from, be inspired by, and collaborate with my colleagues who were working on robotics, textiles, biodesign, engineering, fabrication鈥攜ou name it. This has fundamentally shaped my view on how a productive and successful research institute should be as a design technologist, and is the model that I aim to recreate with my current position.

    鈥斕�Clement Zheng, ATLAS PhD;听Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore