UCLA Course Catalog and Enrollment: A Comprehensive Guide

The UCLA course catalog serves as the official repository of information regarding academic programs, course descriptions, and university policies. Understanding the catalog and enrollment procedures is crucial for students to navigate their academic journey effectively. This article provides a detailed overview of UCLA's course numbering system, enrollment processes, and related resources.

Course Numbering Conventions

UCLA employs a specific numbering system to categorize courses based on their level and type. These conventions help students identify courses appropriate for their academic standing and program requirements. All published current courses have been approved by the UCLA Academic Senate.

Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate courses are divided into lower division and upper division.

Lower-Division Courses (1-99): These courses are designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores, serving as introductory surveys to various subject fields. While upper-division students may enroll, these courses do not count towards graduate degrees.
Upper-Division Courses (100-199): Open to students who have met the prerequisites outlined in departmental requirements or course descriptions, these courses typically require at least one lower-division course in the subject or two years of college coursework. Graduate students may, with departmental approval, use 100-series courses to fulfill master’s degree requirements.

Undergraduate Seminars and Tutorials

UCLA offers various seminar and tutorial programs to enhance undergraduate learning:

Fiat Lux Freshman Seminars (19): Taught by faculty in their areas of expertise, these seminars introduce freshmen to intellectually stimulating topics and foster critical discussion in small groups. The series is named after the University of California motto: "Fiat Lux-Let There be Light!"
Sophomore Seminars (88): Department-sponsored seminars designed to enhance sophomores' writing, verbal, and analytical skills through small group discussions.
Honors Seminars and Tutorials (89/189 and 89HC/189HC): Primarily for students in the College Honors Program, these courses supplement lecture courses by exploring topics in greater depth through additional readings, papers, or other activities.
Student Research Program Tutorials (99): These tutorials offer entry-level research experiences where students work as apprentices with faculty members or in research groups. Grading is Pass/No Pass (P/NP) based on participation hours.
Upper-Division Seminars (190-194): Small seminars (15-20 students) focusing on research practice or specific issues. They are often taken alongside tutorial courses in the 195-199 series.
Upper-Division Tutorials (195-199): Providing advanced research opportunities through faculty-supervised internships, apprenticeships, honors research, directed research, and senior projects. These courses require a contract approved by the instructor and department chair, and are open to juniors (with a minimum 3.0 GPA in the major field), seniors, and graduate students. Students submit a contract through MyUCLA.

Graduate Course Numbers

Graduate courses are generally open only to graduate students who have completed basic undergraduate coursework in the subject.

200-299 Level: These courses and seminars fulfill the minimum graduate course requirements for advanced degrees. Undergraduate students may enroll with department and instructor consent, subject to college or school requirements, for unit credit toward their bachelor’s degree. However, these courses cannot be applied to a higher degree later.
300-399 Level: Teacher training courses or pre-professional experience. These courses are not applicable toward requirements for graduate degrees.
400-499 Level: Designed for professional programs leading to graduate degrees other than M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees. While they may not satisfy minimum graduate course requirements for M.A. or M.S. degrees, they can be used as electives.
500-599 Level: Reserved for advanced individual study and research and are not open to undergraduate students. These include directed individual study or research (595/596), preparation for master’s comprehensive or doctoral qualifying examinations (597), master’s thesis research and preparation (598), and doctoral dissertation research and preparation (599). Courses numbered 501 are cooperative programs held in conjunction with USC.

Note: These definitions do not apply to the schools of dentistry, law, or medicine, which have their own course numbering systems.

Other Course Numbering Conventions

Beyond the standard level designations, UCLA employs additional conventions to denote specific course characteristics:

Variable Topics Courses: These courses lack a specifically assigned course number, with the title indicating the variable nature (e.g., Spanish 130: Topics in Medieval Studies). The course covers material within a defined topic area, with specific topics varying by term and instructor. The Schedule of Classes provides topic descriptions for each term.
Concurrent Courses (C prefix): These are pairs of courses, usually within a single department, that offer credit at both undergraduate and graduate levels. They occur at the same time and place with the same instructor, but work levels and performance standards differ for each level.
Multiple-Listed Courses (M prefix): These courses are offered jointly by multiple departments. While course numbers may differ, all other aspects, including title, units, prerequisites, format, and level, must be identical. For instance, "Language in Culture" may be offered as Anthropology M140 and Linguistics M146.

Enrollment Information

Accessing Enrollment Resources

To enroll in classes, students need to be familiar with two online resources:

UCLA General Catalog: This catalog contains detailed information about the college and schools, majors, course descriptions, and requisites.
Schedule of Classes: Classes offered in a specific term are published in the Schedule of Classes.

Enrollment Process for New Students

All new undergraduate students must contact New Student Academic Programs to start the enrollment process. After submitting the Statement of Intent to Register (SIR), students receive information on how to sign up for New Student Orientation.

New students enroll in their first term of classes at New Student Orientation using MyUCLA, UCLA’s application for accessing student records. During orientation, students receive counseling regarding course requirements and enrolling in fall quarter classes.

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Enrollment Appointments

Based on units completed and priority status, appointments are assigned randomly within pass time periods. Exact enrollment times are available through MyUCLA.

When determining appointment groups, a student’s applicable units earned/completed and current term units in progress are included. Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) units are not included except when calculating degree units for those who have completed 160 units and declared candidacy to graduate in the next two terms. Degree units include all applicable transfer credit and UCLA earned units. Current summer units are not included when projecting enrollment groups. For students participating in a UC Exchange visitor program or the Education Abroad Program (EAP), expected course units in those programs are included in group level determination.

Projected class level based on degree units (first year 0-44.9 units, sophomore 45-89.9 units, junior 90-134.9 units, senior 135 or more units) is used if course enrollment is restricted to a certain class level. Projected class level for a given term is displayed when a student checks their individual enrollment appointment times.

Current-term degree candidates who have declared candidacy but will not graduate must re-declare candidacy for a future term to receive enrollment appointments for a future term.

Important Considerations

Students should not choose classes with the same final examination code or select classes that have conflicting meeting times or multiple same-day final examinations. If conflicts are unavoidable, students should consult the instructor of each course at the first class meeting to see if it is possible to work out an arrangement.
Students are responsible for all classes and grading basis, as listed on MyUCLA, and cannot receive credit for classes not listed.

Additional Resources

MyUCLA Class Planner: Students can use the MyUCLA Class Planner to formulate several alternative study list plans in case first-choice classes are not available.

UCLA Extension

In general, students may not attend UCLA Extension for degree credit if they are enrolled in UCLA regular session (fall, winter, spring) at the same time. Certain Extension courses (numbered 1-199), prefixed by XL or XLC in Extension class listings, yield credit toward the bachelor’s degree.

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The College Experience at UCLA

Combining rigorous, inclusive pedagogy with opportunities for co-curricular activities-including research, internships, and community engagement-the College provides students with diverse learning experiences that helps them thrive, become critical thinkers, and transform society. Grounded in interdisciplinary inquiry, creative research, and social justice, the school combines studio-based practice with liberal arts scholarship, empowering students to pursue their passions, hone their vision, and shape the future. The mission of the school is to improve the oral and general health of all people through education, research, patient care, and public service.

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