Assignment of new course numbers
The heads of the academic units proposing courses should request the assignment of new course numbers. Any of the following changes requires the assignment of a new number:
- New course added
- Significant change in content of established course
- Significant change in credits of established course
Changing course numbers
When the number of an existing course is changed, the catalog description must include a note with the former number (“Formerly offered as…”) for two academic years.
Course Level Descriptions
| Course Numbers | Description |
|---|---|
| 100-999 | Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture courses |
| 1000-1999 | Introductory courses, usually with no prerequisites, primarily intended for freshmen and sophomores |
| 2000-2999 | Courses, usually with no more than one prerequisite, primarily intended for sophomores |
| 3000-3999 | Advanced undergraduate courses, primarily intended for juniors and seniors |
| 4000-4999 | Advanced undergraduate courses, primarily intended for seniors |
| 5000-5999 | (1) Entry-level and intermediate graduate courses, or (2) Doctor of Pharmacy (PHRX) courses |
| 6000-6999 | Advanced graduate courses |
| 7000-7999 | Law School |
| 8000-8999 | School of Medicine |
Reserved course numbers
Course numbers xx80 to xx99 are reserved for special topics, thesis, internships, etc. as follows:
| Number* | Course type | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| xx90 | Field study/Field experience | Credit awarded for applied academic work done in the field and supervised by a faculty member as a component of a student’s academic program. |
| xx91 | Internship | Credit awarded for professional work done in the field, supervised by an external expert and coordinated by a faculty member, which may or may not be part of a student’s academic program. |
| xx92 | Practicum | Credit awarded for work done where the primary purpose is to apply information from coursework in a practical setting and aid a student’s professional development (may be used for licensure programs). |
| xx93 | Foreign Study | |
| xx94 | Seminar | |
| xx95 | Special Topics | |
| 1×96 | Undergraduate Research | Introduction to Research: Introduction to the practice of research for beginning students, which may be individualized or taught to a group. |
| 2×96 | Undergraduate Research | Directed Research 1: Introductory research conducted under the supervision of the instructor, which may be individualized or conducted by a group. |
| 3×96 | Undergraduate Research | Directed Research 2: Individualized research conducted under the supervision of the instructor. |
| 4×96 | Undergraduate Research | Independent Research: Student-initiated research activities supervised by the instructor. |
| xx97 | Thesis | Credits earned by students for engaging in the process and production of a thesis. |
| xx98 | Variable Topics | |
| xx99 | Independent Study | Credits earned by pursuing individual academic interests under the supervision of a faculty instructor. |
* S/U versions of these courses may be offered by substituting an 8 for a 9 in the third digit (e.g., Independent Study xx89 [S/U] instead of xx99 [graded]).
Course Suffixes
Courses which satisfy certain Common Curriculum requirements will have numbers with a one or more of the following letters as suffixes:
- E: Environmental Literacy Competency*
- W: Writing Competency
- Q: Quantitative Competency
See the Common Curriculum website for more information.
* Beginning with the 2025-26 catalog, the Environmental Literacy Competency has been replaced by the Environmental Literacy Topic of Inquiry (TOI-4).
Reusing course numbers
Once a course number has been assigned to a course, it may not be reused for another course until the previous course has been formally dropped (not suspended/archived) and inactive for at least eight years. When a number is used, the Registrar’s Office will append an ‘X’ to the end of the course number of the inactive course to indicate that it has been reused.