Most college courses are identified by three to four numbers. For example, the first digit may indicate the class year, the middle two digits may identify the subject and the last digit may indicate the number of credit hours. Course Levels 101
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The final two digits serve to establish the sequence in which courses are generally taken. In the course description sections of the catalog, the common course number is shown in parentheses, for example, (ENGL 1301).
Most college courses are identified by three to four numbers. For example, the first digit may indicate the class year, the middle two digits may identify the subject and the last digit may indicate the number of credit hours. Most colleges identify introductory classes at the 100-level.
For other institutions, if two courses share the same common course number, no matter what their actual institutional number is, they will be accepted as equivalent for transfer. The following is a list of all the common course numbers currently adopted by Texas State.
In the course description sections of the catalog, the common course number is shown in parentheses, for example, (ENGL 1301). In most cases, the common course number is also the course number at the community or junior college.
Courses are designated by two numbers, separated by a colon. The first number refers to the department or area of the course; the second number refers to the specific course.
Usually the college's course calendar won't list course reference numbers, as they change every semester due to enrollment. You can only find your course reference numbers after you have registered in a course.
Typically, a course code includes a letter or number for each specific department; a letter or number for each specific subject (i.e., American history in the history/social studies department OR biology in the science department.)
Course Numbers These numbers are the main way colleges organize their course catalog. No two courses at a college will share the exact same course number. The most useful thing for students to understand about these numbers is how to distinguish between upper-level credit and lower-level credit.
The word "class" is used to identify the days/times that a specific course meets (i.e. BIOL 1408 8001). These specific class meetings are called class sections. The word "course" is used to identify a common topic or subject area. These courses will share a common course number (i.e. BIOL 1408).
A four-digit number designates each course. The first digit denotes the level of the course.
Courses are designated by two numbers, separated by a colon. The first number refers to the department or area of the course; the second number refers to the specific course. For example, in the course designated 600:111 the "600" refers to the Department of Art and the "111" refers to the course.
The course prefix is a three-letter disgnator for a major division of an academic discipline, subject matter area, or sub-category of knowledge. The prefix is not intended to identify the department in which a course is offered. Rather, the content of a course determines the assigned prefix used to identify the course.
The course name is the title of the course. The names of IIPS and classroom courses are closely connected to the registration lists for the courses.
A course is a series of classes. These classes are all in one area of study. Therefore, when choosing a major, you will take courses geared towards that major. Courses are assigned credits. Colleges dictate how many credits you need to take to graduate.
A subject code is a letter-combination used to designate the area of study in a course. It precedes the course number.
The first digit of the course number indicates the level of the course: roughly,
Within the MATH subject area, the second digit often indicates the subject matter:
In the MATH subject area, conversion of courses numbers from the old 3-digit system to the new 4-digit system was accomplished in most cases by adding a 0 as the 4th digit. Exceptions are as follows:
College course numbers may mean different things depending on the individual institution. There are standard formats that many colleges use to signify dates, levels and titles. Most college courses are identified by three to four numbers. For example, the first digit may indicate the class year, the middle two digits may identify ...
These classes will acquaint students with the basic terms, methods, ideas and language of the subject. 200-level courses are actually 100-level courses that focus on particular areas within a discipline. Students must have finished a 100-level writing or English class, so they can recognize concepts, read detailed texts, use quantitative skills and articulate themselves with peers. These classes will require students to progress through academic explorations towards conclusions and experiments. Students who take 200-level classes must be able to keep up at a reasonable pace without encountering comprehension difficulties.
Students should have acquired a sufficient knowledge in the major to pursue independent study and research with methodological tools and models. These students must be able to obtain relevant information the proper use of resources and libraries. They must be able to assimilate valid information, combine findings into cohesive statements and ultimately produce term-papers. 400-level courses will likely include tutorials, seminars, guest lectures and honors courses reserved only for upper-division students finishing their major. These students must have completed enough 300-level classes to work independently under the supervision of faculty. Many of these 400-level classes include capstone projects that require students to synthesize all relative information into a final presentation.
Students must have finished a 100-level writing or English class, so they can recognize concepts, read detailed texts, use quantitative skills and articulate themselves with peers. These classes will require students to progress through academic explorations towards conclusions and experiments.
These basic or survey classes will have titles like general biology, world history or writing fundamentals. These 100-level courses are usually taken by freshman, although some will be sophomores meeting general education requirements. 200-level classes will be more strenuous and focused on specific topics like Asian history, Western literature and computer programming. Some of these classes may require students to have taken the prerequisite 100-level class. 300- and 400-level classes involve in-depth coursework and require greater knowledge of a certain field. These classes are usually taken during the final two years of college. Some 400-level classes include first-year graduate students who are preparing to take 500- and 600-level classes offered through graduate schools.
The one thing to remember about course numbers is that the first digit indicates what level of study your course is . That is likely the only uniform (and truly helpful) piece of information these numbers will provide for you. 3. Course Name. The third element of a course code is obvious: the name of the course.
While there isn’t a universal rule for what each number means in relation to each other, the main idea is just to distinguish different courses that are from the same department at the same level.
1. Course Prefix. The first part of a college course code is simple: a series of letters indicating the course's general subject. This is the course prefix, and it’s fairly intuitive. Tip: if you get stuck wondering what a particular set of letters means, compare several courses sharing the same prefix. Or Google it.
These are often three digits long, but many colleges use four digits (or even five). These numbers are the main way colleges organize their course catalog. No two courses at a college will share the exact same course number.
Colleges use course codes to describe and organize their courses in a way that can be easily understood by both colleges and students (if said students have translation guides, that is). They consist of four important blocks of information. 1. Course Prefix.
The third element of a course code is obvious: the name of the course. A course's name tells you what that course is about, and is actually the most useful way to compare courses.
The last thing you'll read about a course is its description. A course description is a general explanation of its topics and teaching methodology. This will give you added information about the course and the way it’s taught.
In most cases, the common course number is also the course number at the community or junior college. For other institutions, if two courses share the same common course number, no matter what their actual institutional number is, they will be accepted as equivalent for transfer. The following is a list of all the common course numbers currently ...
The first digit identifies the course as either freshman level (1) or sophomore level (2). The second digit identifies the number of credit hours a student will earn upon completion of the course. Most often this digit will be a 1, 2, 3, or 4.
With approval of the major department, graduate students may take 100–series courses toward satisfaction of master’s degree requirements.
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.
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.
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.
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.