Course Numbering and Description Guide

Current course descriptions are updated daily at 9 a.m. Published current courses have been approved by the UCLA Academic Senate. Descriptions are listed alphabetically by subject area. Classes offered in a specific term are published in the Schedule of Classes.

Undergraduate Course Numbers

Undergraduate courses are classified as lower division and upper division.

Lower-division courses (numbered 1–99) are often surveys of and preliminary introductions to the subject field. They are designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores, though upper-division students may enroll for unit and grade credit. Lower-division courses may not be applied toward graduate degrees.

Upper-division courses (numbered 100–199) are open to all students who have met the requisites indicated in departmental requirements or the course description. Preparation generally includes at least one lower-division course in the subject or two years of college work. With approval of the major department, graduate students may take 100–series courses toward satisfaction of master’s degree requirements.

Undergraduate Seminars and Tutorials

Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars

Fiat Lux freshman seminars (numbered 19) are taught by faculty in areas of their expertise. They introduce freshmen to topics of intellectual importance, and enable them to participate in critical discussion of these topics with a small group of peers. The seminar series takes its name from the motto of the University of California: Fiat Lux—Let There be Light!

Sophomore Seminars

Sophomore seminars (numbered 88) are department-sponsored courses designed to give sophomores the opportunity to participate in small seminars that enhance writing, verbal, and analytical skills.

Honors Seminars and Tutorials

Honors seminars and tutorials (numbered 89/189 and 89HC/189HC) are primarily designed for students in the College Honors Program. They are adjunct to lecture courses and explore lecture topics in more depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities.

Student Research Program Tutorials

Student Research Program tutorials (numbered 99) offer students entry-level research experiences. Students serve as apprentices working with an individual faculty member or in a research group. Students are graded P/NP based on the number of hours they participate in research.

Upper-Division Seminars

Upper-division seminars (numbered 190–194) are small seminars, with between 15 and 20 students, that focus on research practice or issues. Many are designed to be taken along with a tutorial course in the 195–199 series.

Upper-Division Tutorials

Upper-division tutorials (numbered 195–199) offer advanced opportunities for research through faculty-supervised internships and apprenticeships as well as honors research, directed research, and senior projects. Courses are structured by the instructor and student at the time they are initiated and are open to juniors (with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average in the major field), seniors, and graduate students. To enroll, students submit a contract through MyUCLA and have it approved by both the instructor and department chair.

Graduate Course Numbers

Graduate courses numbered 200–299 are generally open only to graduate students who have completed basic undergraduate courses in the subject. Courses and seminars in the 200 series can fulfill the minimum graduate course requirement for any advanced degree.

With department and instructor consent, and subject to requirements in the appropriate College or school, undergraduate students may enroll in 200-series courses for unit credit toward the bachelor’s degree. If students take a graduate course as an undergraduate, they may not apply that same course later toward a higher degree.

Teacher Training

Graduate courses numbered 300–399 are highly specialized teacher-training courses that are not applicable toward University minimum requirements for graduate degrees. They are acceptable toward the bachelor’s degree only at the discretion of the individual College or school.

Professional Courses

Graduate courses numbered 400–499 are designed for professional programs leading to graduate degrees other than the M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. These courses may not be used to satisfy minimum graduate course requirements for the M.A. or M.S. degree but may apply as electives.

Individual Study and Research

Individual study and research courses (numbered 500–599) are reserved for advanced study and are not open to undergraduate students. Courses are numbered as follows: 595/596, directed individual study or research; 597, preparation for master’s comprehensive or doctoral qualifying examination; 598, master’s thesis research and preparation; and 599, doctoral dissertation research and preparation. Courses numbered 501 are not individual study and research but are cooperative programs held in conjunction with USC. See individual departmental listings for specific limitations on 500-series courses.

Note: These definitions do not apply to the schools of dentistry, law, or medicine, which maintain their own course numbering systems.

Other Course Numbering Conventions

Variable Topics

Variable topics courses do not have a specifically assigned course number. The course title usually indicates that it is a variable topics course (e.g., Spanish 130: Topics in Medieval Studies). Variable topics courses cover material within a defined topic area. They have a general catalog description, but specific topics vary by term and instructor. See the Schedule of Classes for topic descriptions offered in a specific term.

Concurrent Courses

Concurrent courses (identified by a capital C before the course number) are pairs of courses, usually within a single department or program, for which credit is given at two levels—undergraduate and graduate. Concurrent courses are offered at the same time and place with the same instructor, but work levels and performance standards are evaluated differently for students at each level.

Multiple-Listed Courses

Multiple-listed courses (identified by a capital M before the course number) are courses offered jointly by more than one department. They do not need to have identical course numbers, but all other aspects of the course must be the same, including title, units, requisites, format, and level. For example, Language in Culture is offered by the Anthropology department as course M140 and the Linguistics department as course M146. The course is listed in both departments.

UCLA Extension XL/XLC

UCLA Extension classes are listed in the Extension catalog available in print and on the Extension website. In general, students may not attend UCLA Extension for degree credit if they are enrolled in UCLA regular session (fall, winter, spring) at the same time.

Certain Extension courses (numbered 1–199), prefixed by XL or XLC in Extension class listings, yield credit toward the bachelor’s degree. Graduate students may petition to apply up to two XLC courses toward the master’s degree.