| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public technical college operated by Denver Public Schools; one of Colorado’s area technical colleges; campus-based, most programs hybrid |
| Campuses | 2 in Denver: Main Campus (1860 Lincoln St.) and Branch Campus (1205 Osage St.), plus the Community Media Center for video production |
| Credentials | Certificates; registered apprenticeships; an Associate of Applied Science for registered apprentices (since 2025) |
| Typical length | 2 to 19 months for certificate programs; 2 to 5 years for apprenticeships |
| Accreditation | Council on Occupational Education (next visit 2027); Practical Nursing: ACEN |
| Federal aid | Yes, for programs the college lists as aid-qualified |
| Cost | $1,085 to $15,970 for most programs, for Colorado residents (current program pages, checked October 2026); nonresidents pay $2.50 more per clock hour |
| Students | 6,123 in fall 2024, 80% part-time (IPEDS) |
| Founded | 1916, as the Opportunity School |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Emily Griffith: Denver Public Schools’ technical college
Emily Griffith Technical College opened in 1916 as the Opportunity School and took its founder’s name in 1933. It is a public college operated by Denver Public Schools and one of Colorado’s area technical colleges. It is not a member of the Colorado Community College System, although that system authorizes the transfer of its credits. Federal data count 6,123 students in fall 2024, all undergraduates and 80% of them part-time.
Most career programs are certificates of 2 to 19 months, taught at a Main Campus on Lincoln Street and a Branch Campus on Osage Street for the trades. The college also runs registered apprenticeships with employers. The college plans to move its IT, health care and esthetician programs into a renovated building on the former Johnson & Wales campus in east Denver by early 2028, Chalkbeat reported in September 2026.
Programs and where they are taught
The table shows the main career programs. Costs are the Colorado resident figures on the current program pages (checked October 2026); clock hours are from the 2025-26 catalog and may have changed for 2026-27.
| Program | Credential, clock hours | Length | Campus and schedule | Prepares for | Colorado resident cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical Nursing (LPN) | Certificate, 907.5 hrs | 12 mo FT / 18 mo PT | Main; FT days, PT evenings and weekends | NCLEX-PN | $15,970 |
| Nurse Assisting | Certificate, 107 hrs | 2 mo day / 3 mo evening | Main; part-time | Colorado CNA exam | $1,085 |
| Medical Assisting | Certificate, 735 hrs | 11 mo FT / 18 mo PT | Main; FT days, PT evenings | National medical assistant exam (review course) | $6,745 + supplies |
| Barbering | Certificate, 1,125 hrs | 11 mo FT / 17 mo PT | Main; FT days, PT evenings | Colorado barber license | $10,230 |
| Cosmetology | Certificate, 1,440 hrs | 11 mo FT / 19 mo PT | Main | Colorado cosmetologist license | $13,050 |
| Esthetician | Certificate, 660 hrs | 5 mo FT / 9 mo PT | Branch | Colorado esthetician license | $5,915 |
| Massage Therapy | Certificate, 667.5 hrs | About 11 mo PT | Main; afternoons | MBLEx, Colorado license | $7,021 |
| Culinary Arts | Certificate, 952.5 hrs | 6 mo FT / 11 mo PT + internship | Main | – | $8,325 |
| Vehicle Maintenance and Repair | Certificate | 5 mo FT / 10 mo PT | Branch | ASE G1 (written) | $8,500 |
| Automotive Collision Repair 1 | Certificate, 622.5 hrs | 5 mo FT | Branch; noon to 9 PM | I-CAR Pro Level 1 pathway | $6,300 |
| HVAC | Certificate, 660 hrs | 5 mo FT / 10 mo PT | Branch | EPA 608 (included) | $7,810 |
| Welding 1 | Certificate | 8 mo FT / 18 mo PT | Branch; FT days, PT evenings | – | $12,950 |
| Accounting | Certificate, 645 hrs | 10 mo PT | Branch | QuickBooks Certified User | $5,145 |
| Electrician, Carpenter and other apprenticeships | U.S. Department of Labor credential; AAS option | 2 to 5 years | Employer job site plus evening classes with partners | – | Varies by sponsor |
Practical Nursing is accredited by ACEN; the Medical Assisting and Massage Therapy pages list no programmatic accreditation. Barbering, Cosmetology and Esthetician are approved by the State Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, Massage Therapy by the Office of Massage Therapy Licensure, and Practical Nursing and Nurse Assisting by the State Board of Nursing. Computer Networking, Water Quality Management, Multimedia and Video Production and Entrepreneurship Studies are also offered; ask the college for their costs. Dental Administrative Assistant is a 4-week, mostly online front-office course.
Registered apprenticeships include Bricklayer, Carpenter, Certified Line Cook, Commercial Truck Driver, Electrician, HVAC, Ironworker, Pipefitter, Plumber, Sheet Metal Worker, Steel Fabrication and Voice Data Video Technician. Under Colorado’s HB25-1221, passed in 2025, the college can award an Associate of Applied Science to registered apprentices.
What the main programs cover
Practical Nursing
Before applying, students need anatomy and physiology (BIO 1006, taken within seven years), medical terminology (HPR 1040, within two years) and an active CNA or a completed medical assisting program. They must be 18, pass a background check and drug test and show vaccinations, and admission is by portfolio and not guaranteed. The program is 907.5 clock hours, 405 of them clinical. Full-time students attend Monday and Tuesday from 6 AM to 6:30 PM and Wednesday and Thursday 8 to 4 for 12 months; part-time students attend Tuesday and Thursday evenings and weekends for 18 months.
Medical Assisting
The 735-hour program includes a 180-hour clinical internship and includes a review course for a national medical assistant exam. Classes are in person: full-time students attend Monday to Thursday, 8 to 4, for 11 months, and part-time students attend Tuesday to Thursday evenings, 5 to 9, for 18 months. The next full-time start is 5 January 2027. Supplies are not included in the program cost. Finishing medical assisting is also one of the routes into the college’s Practical Nursing program, alongside an active CNA.
Barbering and Cosmetology
Both programs are at the Main Campus, where students practice on clients in the student-run salon and barbershop. Barbering is 1,125 clock hours: 11 months full-time, Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 4, or 17 months part-time, Monday to Friday evenings 5 to 9. Cosmetology is 1,440 hours over 11 months full-time or 19 months part-time. Both lead to license exams set by Colorado’s State Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists, which students can take from age 16. Licensed cosmetologists can take a separate Barbering Crossover course.
Welding
Welding 1 is taught at the Branch Campus, full-time Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 4 for 8 months, or part-time Monday to Thursday evenings, 5 to 9, for 18 months. Full-time starts are 29 October 2026 and 7 and 28 January 2027, and the part-time start is 18 February 2027. The college says about 46 credits will likely transfer into Front Range Community College’s AAS in Welding Technology. Welding 2 is also listed, and steel fabrication is also taught as a registered apprenticeship for students with a sponsoring employer.
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies
This program replaced the older Automotive Service program. It runs 5 months full-time, Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 4, or 10 months part-time with three time options. It trains for entry-level maintenance and light-repair work, the express or C-level technician jobs in a shop, and prepares students for the written ASE G1 Maintenance and Light Repair test. The program page also lists Ford, Subaru and Toyota training. Starts are 12 November 2026, 16 February 2027 and 26 May 2027.
Electrician apprenticeship
Apprentices are hired first, then work for their sponsoring employer by day and attend classes in the evening. Registered apprenticeships here run 2 to 5 years, with at least 144 classroom hours and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training a year. The electrician program takes 3 to 5 years, in residential or industrial tracks covering wiring, instrumentation and process controls, solar PV and wind turbines, and is taught with Independent Electrical Contractors Rocky Mountain. Applicants must be 18 with a diploma or GED, algebra skills and two forms of state ID.
What programs cost and how students pay
Emily Griffith has two tuition rates: one for Colorado residents, who need a full calendar year of residency before classes start, and one for nonresidents, who pay $2.50 more per clock hour of their program, according to the college’s tuition and payment page. There is no separate rate for Denver residents. Certificate program costs on the current program pages (checked October 2026) run from $1,085 for Nurse Assisting to $15,970 for Practical Nursing for residents; the 4-week Dental Administrative Assistant course is $910. The college gives its average program tuition as $7,243, its average aid award as $6,188 and its average out-of-pocket cost as $1,055.
The 2025-26 catalog adds a technology fee of $1.32 and a facility fee of $0.23 per clock hour for career-program students. Payment is due within 10 business days of registering, a payment plan costs $25 or $50 depending on its length, and students who withdraw before classes start get a full refund. Federal aid covers the programs the college lists as aid-qualified; Dental Administrative Assistant, Qualified Behavioral Health Assistant and the noncredit courses are not eligible. Apprenticeship costs depend on the sponsor, and employers often pay most of the tuition. The Emily Griffith Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1990, also supports students.
Open admission, with waitlists and a selective nursing program
Most career programs admit applicants who meet the program’s requirements, but many program pages warn of a waitlist, and Practical Nursing admits by portfolio. Licensing sets some minimum ages: 16 to sit the barber, cosmetology and esthetician exams, and 18 for massage licensure, Practical Nursing and apprenticeships.
Full-time day programs usually meet Monday to Thursday from 7:30 AM to 4 PM and part-time evening programs from 5 to 9 PM; Collision Repair runs from noon to 9 PM. Most programs combine in-person labs with online coursework, while Nurse Assisting and Medical Assisting are taught in person. Denver Public Schools high-school students can take classes through concurrent enrollment.
Accreditation and results
Emily Griffith is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, which lists its status as accredited with the next team visit in 2027, according to the Council’s April 2026 member list. That accreditation covers the postsecondary career programs only: the catalog says apprenticeships, English language classes, high school equivalency and continuing education are outside it. No sanctions or regulatory actions against the college were found. Practical Nursing also holds ACEN accreditation.
| Measure | Result | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Practical Nursing, NCLEX-PN pass rate | 84.21% | 2022, college program page |
| Practical Nursing, NCLEX-PN pass rate | 67.31% | 2023, college program page |
| Practical Nursing, NCLEX-PN pass rate | 70.97% | 2024, college program page |
| Practical Nursing, completion | 66% (2022), 87% (2023), 86% (2024) | College program page |
| Practical Nursing, employed as a PN one year after graduating | 100% (2022), 92% (2023), 85% (2024) | College program page |
| Graduation rate | 97% within 150% of normal time | Full-time, first-time students who began in 2021-22, IPEDS |
| Retention | 93% of full-time and 91% of part-time students returned | Fall 2023 to fall 2024, IPEDS |
The nursing figures are the college’s own, published on its Practical Nursing page, which does not say whether pass rates count first attempts only. The pass rate fell from 84.21% in 2022 to 67.31% in 2023 and 70.97% in 2024, and the share of graduates working as practical nurses a year later fell from 100% to 85% over the same years.
The 97% graduation rate, from College Navigator, counts only full-time students starting college for the first time in 2021-22 who finished within 150% of normal program time. Most Emily Griffith students study part-time and are not in that group. We found no licensing pass rates on the college’s barbering, cosmetology, esthetician, massage or nurse assisting program pages.
Before you enroll
- Carpentry, electrician, plumbing and the other registered apprenticeships need a sponsoring employer first; you cannot enroll in them on your own, and they are outside the college’s COE accreditation.
- The Practical Nursing pass rate on the NCLEX-PN was 67.31% in 2023 and 70.97% in 2024 by the college’s figures, down from 84.21% in 2022.
- Start dates move. When checked in October 2026, the next full-time HVAC start had been cancelled and the Accounting start had not been set, and many program pages warn of waitlists.
- Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies runs 5 months full-time or 10 months part-time and trains for entry-level maintenance and light-repair jobs; it replaced the longer Automotive Service program.
- Nonresidents pay $2.50 more for every clock hour, so the surcharge grows with program length: Cosmetology runs 1,440 hours and Barbering 1,125.
Two Denver campuses, and where the trades are taught
| Campus | Address | Programs taught there |
|---|---|---|
| Main Campus | 1860 Lincoln St., Denver, CO 80203 | Practical Nursing, Nurse Assisting, Medical Assisting, Barbering, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Massage Therapy; adult education and English classes |
| Branch Campus (College of Trades and Industry) | 1205 Osage St., Denver, CO 80204 | Welding 1 and 2, HVAC, Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, Collision Repair 1 and 2, Computer Networking, Water Quality Management, Accounting, Esthetician; noncredit woodworking and DIY courses |
The Community Media Center at 2101 Arapahoe St. teaches only Multimedia and Video Production. Apprenticeship classes are held with partners such as the Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado in Wheat Ridge, and some adult English classes already meet on the former Johnson & Wales campus in east Denver.
Student-run businesses and career help
There is no student housing. Culinary, beauty and massage students get live practice in Emily’s Cafe, the student-run salon, barbershop and spa, and the Massage Clinic. Career coaching and workforce development services are moving to Centennial Hall, a building on the former Johnson & Wales campus that Denver Public Schools approved buying for $11 million, and the college offers entrepreneurship support for graduates starting small businesses in Denver.
What students say
On Niche, Emily Griffith Technical College is rated 4.04 out of 5 from 52 reviews (checked 12 October 2026). Reviewers praise hands-on instructors who are closely involved in their learning, supportive classmates and low cost, and some say they finished without debt. Complaints include disorganized instructors and administration, and poor communication. The reviews cover the whole college, 52 is a small number for a school of this size, and we could not tell whether they were invited by the school or posted in bursts.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Health Science
- Practical Nursing (LPN)
- Nurse Assisting (CNA)
- Medical Assisting
- Dental Administrative Assistant (front office)
- Qualified Behavioral Health Assistant
Barbering, Beauty and Massage
- Barbering
- Barbering Crossover (for licensed cosmetologists)
- Cosmetology
- Esthetician
- Massage Therapy
Culinary and Media
- Culinary Arts
- Multimedia and Video Production (Community Media Center)
Trades and Technology
- Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies
- Automotive Collision Repair 1
- Automotive Collision Repair: Level II
- HVAC
- Welding 1
- Welding 2
- Computer Networking
- Water Quality Management
Business
- Accounting
- Entrepreneurship Studies
Registered Apprenticeships (employer sponsor required)
- Bricklayer
- Carpenter
- Certified Line Cook
- Commercial Truck Driver
- Electrician
- HVAC
- Ironworker
- Pipefitter
- Plumber
- Sheet Metal Worker
- Steel Fabrication
- Voice Data Video Technician
Continuing Education (noncredit)
- Woodworking
- DIY for the Homeowner
- Clock Repair
- Quantum Technician Program
Campus Locations
Denver, CO 1860 Lincoln St., Denver, CO 80203
Denver, CO 1205 Osage St., Denver, CO 80204