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    • Understanding Course Numbering

    Owned by Sarah Montes
    Last updated: May 21, 2024 by Denise Kidd
    2 min read

    General Guidelines on Course Numbering at Tulane:

    Course offerings increase in sophistication and specialty with increasing course number, and usually follow the following conventions:

    Course number/level

    Description

    Course number/level

    Description

    1000-level

    Introductory-level undergraduate courses

    2000-level and 3000-level

    Intermediate-level undergraduate courses; may require 1000-level prerequisites.

    4000-level

    Advanced-level undergraduate courses; may require multiple level prerequisites.

    5000-level

    Undergraduate courses: honors thesis courses, courses taken abroad, or courses transcripted via our School of Record relationship with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE).

    6000-level

    Introductory-level graduate or advanced-level undergraduate courses; often open to both undergraduate and graduate students; sometimes cross-listed with 3000 or 4000-level courses.

    7000-level

    Intermediate-level graduate courses; not open to undergraduates.

    8000-level and 9000-level

    Advanced graduate-level courses; often independent graduate study or dissertation research.

    Reference: Academic Policies on Course Sequencing: https://catalog.tulane.edu/newcomb-tulane/#academicpoliciestext

     

    General Course Number Patterns to Observe:

    Every effort should be made to maintain consistency in course numbering within a given program/school.

    Note: The following university-wide conventions are generally applied across schools:

    • Transfer Credit & Course Numbering: Use 94 as the second and third digit. Example: ENLS 2940

    • Service Learning & Course Numbering: Use 89 as the second and third digit. Example: ENLS 3890

    • Special Topics, Topics & Course Numbering: Use 81 as the second and third digit. Example COMM 2810

    • Independent Study & Course Numbering: Use 91 & 92 as the second and third digit. Example ENLS 4910 & ENLS 4920; at the undergraduate level, typically independent studies are offered at the 4000-level for undergraduate students.

    • Internships & Course Numbering: Use 56 & 57 as the second and third digit. Example ENLS 4560 & ENLS 4570; at the undergraduate level, typically internships are offered at the 4000-level.

    • Study Abroad Coursework & Course Numbering: Use 5380 & 5390 for study abroad coursework.

    • Research Courses & Course Numbering: Use 9980 for Master’s thesis research and 9990 for Dissertation research.

     

    Related Pages: Reusing Course Numbers