Course Numbering Policy

Approved by the:

Faculty Senate - October 4, 2007
Administration - PENDING
Board of Regents - no action required

Semester courses will have four digit numbers. The first number designates the course level. The numbering system is as follows:

0xxx Courses that do not carry credit toward any University degree.
1xxx Courses primarily for undergraduate students in their first year of study.
2xxx Courses primarily for undergraduate students in their second year of study.
3xxx Courses primarily for undergraduate students in their third year of study.
4xxx Courses primarily for undergraduate students in their third or fourth year of study; graduate students may enroll in such courses for degree credit.

Note: Use of 4xxx Courses in Graduate Programs
4xxx courses may be applied toward a Graduate School degree with the approval of the student's major field and if the course was taught by a member of the graduate faculty or an individual authorized by the program to teach at the graduate level.

5xxx Courses primarily for graduate students; undergraduate students in their third or fourth year may enroll in such courses.

6xxx Courses for post-baccalaureate students in professional degree programs.
7xxx Courses for post-baccalaureate students in professional degree programs.

Note: 6xxx and 7xxx Courses
6xxx and 7xxx courses are to be used primarily for post-baccalaureate professional programs that are not offered through the Graduate School. 6xxx and 7xxx courses may be counted for a Graduate School degree, if a degree program wants them to count. Similarly, 5xxx and 8xxx courses may be counted for a non-Graduate School degree, if a program wants them to count. Those departments or programs that offer both Graduate School degrees and non-Graduate School degrees should decide for themselves how best to number courses in the curriculum.

8xxx Courses for graduate students.
9xxx Courses for graduate students.

All thesis credit courses shall use the following numbering conventions.

8555 Thesis/Project Credits: Master of Fine Arts
8666 Doctoral Pre-thesis Credits
8777 Thesis Credits: Masters
8888 Thesis Credits: Doctoral

All-University numbering conventions for other kinds of courses are provided below.

xx91 Independent Study
xx92 Directed Reading
xx93 Directed Study
xx94 Directed Research
xx95 Problems
xx96 Field Study; Internships, Industrial Assignment
xx97 Reserved for future use
xx98 Reserved for future use

All of the above are examples of courses that may be repeated for credit. Use of a zero as the last digit of a course number should be reserved for other kinds of courses that may be repeated for credit (e.g., "topics" courses).