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General Graduate Course Information

Course Numbering and Description Key

Each course at Boise State University has a course description that consists of a 1) prefix, 2) course number, 3) title, 4) credit code, 5) semester code, 6) additional information, 7) list of requisites as well as the content description. These elements of the course description are described below.

BIOL 527 STREAM ECOLOGY (3-3-4)(F)(Odd years). The biology and ecology of flowing waters is emphasized; their biota, management, and ecology at both the community and ecosystem level will be discussed. PREREQ: BIOL 323 or PERM/INST.

  1. Course Prefix/Subject The prefix indicates the department or academic unit offering the course.
  2. Course Numbering System Each course offered is assigned a unique number, indicating what type of course it is and what sort of credits may be earned in the course. Courses are numbered as follows:
    • 00 – 99 non-academic credit courses
    • 100 – 299 lower-division undergraduate courses
    • 300 – 499 upper-division undergraduate courses
    • 500 – 699 graduate courses
  3. Course Title The official title of the course.
  4. Credits The unique course number of each course is followed by a sequence of three numbers that indicate the number of classroom hours per week that the course meets, the number of special hours (laboratory, studio, field) per week that the course meets, and the number of credits a student earns by completing the course. The following examples show typical uses of these additional numbers:
    • (3-0-3) a 3-hour lecture class carrying 3 credits
    • (3-4-5) a 3-hour lecture class with a corresponding 4-hour laboratory class, carrying 5 credits
    • Note: a V is used to indicate variable credits or hours.
  5. Semester Offered The semester code indicates the semester(s) and/or term in which the course is offered and is expressed using letter codes F for fall semester, S for spring semester, and SU for summer term, with the full sequence of letter codes enclosed in parentheses. A comma or slash between letter codes is used to interpret combinations as illustrated in the following examples:
    • ((F) fall semester only
    • (S) spring semester only
    • (F,S) fall and spring semester
    • (F/S) fall semester, spring semester, or both
    • (F,SU) fall semester and summer session only
    • (S,SU) spring semester and summer session only. If the semester code is not indicated, then the course is offered during the fall and spring semesters and summer session (although there may be some exceptions).
  6. Additional Information Additional information associated with the scheduling of the course such as a notice of alternate year offering may be given in parentheses after the semester code.
  7. Requisites The list of requisites specifies any prerequisites and corequisites using the following abbreviations:
    • PREREQ: prerequisite (condition to be met before enrollment)
    • COREQ: corequisite (condition met before or during enrollment)
    • PERM/INST: permission of instructor required to enroll
    • PERM/CHAIR: permission of department chair required to enroll
    • ADM/PROG: student must be admitted to the appropriate graduate program
      • The most common prerequisite is a specific course that must be successfully completed prior to enrollment. The most common corequisite is a laboratory course that must be taken during the same semester or term as a related science course.

Course Terminology

A graded course is any course in which the awarded grade is one of the traditional grades (A, B, C, D, or F) and a pass-fail course is any course in which the awarded grade is P (pass) or F (fail). A graduate course is any course offered with a course number between 500 and 699 inclusive; successful completion of a graduate course earns graduate credit.

Graduate courses are said to be cross-listed if they are offered by multiple academic units and have identical titles, credit codes, and content descriptions in each unit (such as COUN 546 and MHLTHSCI 565). Dual-listed courses are those offered by an academic unit at both the 400-level and 500-level with identical titles, credit codes, and content descriptions (such as GEOPH 420 and GEOPH 575).