DENVER, UNIVERSITY OF

private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Denver, Colo., U.S. Though the university is supported by the United Methodist Church, it maintains a nonsectarian approach to education. It offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in arts and sciences, and in professional areas such as engineering, business, social work, and law. The university also includes the Graduate School of International Studies and the Lamont School of Music. The Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Laboratory, the Infant and Childhood Research Center, and the Neurobiology Laboratory are part of the university's research facilities. Total enrollment is approximately 8,500. John Evans, a founder of Northwestern University and, later, a territorial governor of Colorado, founded the Colorado Seminary in 1864. The seminary became the University of Denver, a four-year, degree-granting institution, in 1880. The university first offered graduate instruction in 1891. It is the oldest university in the state of Colorado.