Course Description Information

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All courses offered by the university are listed in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog. For the full description of graduate courses, refer to the graduate catalog. If the entry for an undergraduate course does not carry the full description, refer to the listing for the field of study designated by the parenthetical course prefix and number.

Numbering System. Each course is identified by means of a course prefix and a three-digit number. The first digit of the number designates the level of the course and indicates the minimum class rank a student should have achieved to enroll in the course.

Students should not enroll in courses numbered above their class rank without the permission of the department offering the course. Undergraduate students may not enroll in graduate level courses for either undergraduate or graduate credit except under the conditions specified in the graduate catalog. In such cases, the student must meet graduate-level requirements to receive credit.

Courses numbered 293, 294, 393, 394, 493, 494, 593, 594, 693 or 694 are for special topics that reflect a student’s or faculty member’s special interest not covered by regular departmental curriculum offerings. Credit in these courses varies from one to four credit hours, to be determined by the department for each offering. Students may take up to 12 hours of special topic credit in a single department/program. A particular topic course can be taught at most two times in a five-year period. If a department/program wishes to teach a particular topic course more than twice in a five-year period, it must propose the course as a regular course, subject to the curriculum review process.

The category of liberal studies to which each course applies may be found in the liberal studies requirements section. The applicable category also is indicated by the parenthetical code at the end of each course description.

The number 389 is reserved for cooperative education undergraduate courses, and the number 589 is reserved for cooperative education graduate courses.

Within the sequences 480-499, 580-599, 680-699, and 780-799, the second and third digits of the numbers are assigned to special types of courses:

Course Prefixes. The prefixes used to designate courses, except in the case of very short names such as art, are abbreviations of the names of departments or of fields of study within the departments.

Credits and Class Meetings. Unless otherwise indicated at the end of the course description, the number of hours a class meets each week is the same as the credit-hour value of the course. The credit-hour value of each course is indicated in parentheses immediately following its title. For example, if 3 hours of credit may be earned, the credit is indicated as follows: (3). In variable credit courses, the minimum and maximum hours are shown as follows: (1-3). Unless repeat credit is specified in the course description, a course may be applied only once toward the hours required for graduation. The availability of a course for repeat credit and the maximum hours that may be earned are indicated within the parentheses and immediately following the credit-hour value of the course as follows: (3, R6). In this example, the course carries 3 hours of credit and may be repeated once for a total maximum of 6 hours applicable toward a degree.

Prerequisites and Corequisites. A prerequisite (PREQ) is any special requirement, usually one or more background courses or requirements other than class rank, that must be met before enrolling in a course specifying the prerequisite. A corequisite (COREQ) is any course which must be taken during the same term as the course that specifies the corequisite.

Experiential Courses. The maximum credit in experiential courses that may be applied toward a degree within the minimum of 120 or 128 hours required in all bachelor’s programs is 26 semester hours (20 percent). The maximum credit that may be earned in cooperative education or applied field project courses/internships or in any combination of the two is 15 hours.

Credit is awarded in experiential courses on the basis of a minimum of three contact hours per credit hour.

Cooperative Education Courses. Students participating in a cooperative education work term are registered for a 389 course in the major department, or the department most closely related to the work experience. To be eligible, a student must be at least a sophomore and have a GPA of 2.0 or above. Exceptions must be approved by the departmental co-op placement adviser. A full statement of the requirements for academic credit is available from the Cooperative Education Office in the Career Services Office. Academic assignments and work performance are used to evaluate the student on an S/U basis.

Special Topics Course Policy. Courses numbered 293, 294, 393, 394, 493, 494, 593, 594, 693 or 694 are for special topics that reflect a student’s or faculty member’s special interest not covered by regular departmental curriculum offerings. Credit in these courses varies from one to four credit hours, to be determined by the department for each offering. Students may take up to 12 hours of special topic credit in a single department/program. A particular topic course can be taught at most two times in a five-year period. If a department/program wishes to teach a particular topic course more than twice in a five year period, it must propose the course as a regular course, subject to the curriculum review process.