The Grand Cañon of the Colorado is a great innovation in modern ideas of scenery, and in our conceptions of grandeur, beauty, and power of nature. As with all great innovations it is not to be comprehended in a day, or a week, nor even in a month. It is to be dwelt upon and studied, and the study must comprise the slow acquisition of the meaning and spirit of that marvelous scenery which comprises the Plateau Country … Great Innovations, whether in art or literature, in science or in nature, seldom take the world by storm. They must be understood before they can be estimated, and must be cultivated before they can be understood.
Clarence Dutton, Tertiary History of the Grand Cañon District, 1881

The Program in Colorado Plateau Studies is an inter-disciplinary program in the arts and sciences focused on topics pertaining to the Colorado Plateau. The program provides students with a transferable two-year degree that includes the Arizona General Education core curriculum.

The program in Colorado Plateau Studies can provide:

• Transfer to academically relevant university degree programs
• Professional and occupational preparation
• Opportunity for collaboration with public and private organizations, and agencies such as The Museum of Northern Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Grand Canyon Trust, National Park Service, The National Forest Service, Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, local artists and scientists, United States Geological Survey, etc.