Skip to Main Content

Reading the "Colleges and Departments" Section

The "Colleges and Departments" section of this catalog contains:

  1. information about the offerings and requirements of the colleges and their individual departments

  2. faculty lists, and

  3. course lists.

The overall organization is by college (College of Creative Studies, College of Engineering, College of Letters and Science, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education), and then by department or program within each college. Students should read the section about their college as well as the entries related to departments of interest.

Because the catalog must be prepared in advance of the academic year it covers, it may not reflect very recent changes in courses, requirements, or faculty. The online Schedule of Classes contains current information about class offerings and instructors and indicates when and where courses are offered. Students who want to plan their schedules before the Schedule of Classes is available should contact individual departments to determine when particular courses will be offered.

Several important matters to note:

Faculty members are occasionally on leave. Department offices are the best source of information about the leave status of faculty members.

Prerequisites are preparation needed for success in courses. These should be noted with care, as they are enforced at registration. Normally, students will not be able to register for a course for which they have not met the prerequisite(s) as listed in the catalog. Instructors may make an exception upon presentation of evidence of equivalent preparation.

Some courses are not offered every year; consult the Schedule of Classes or the department for authoritative information.

Admission to UCSB does not guarantee enrollment in any particular class.

How to read course listings:

Each course listing contains the course number, course title, number of units of credit, name of instructor(s), course prerequisites (if any), course enrollment information (if any), recommended preparation (if any), and course description. A course in which the instructor is listed as "Staff" may be taught by various instructors.

One or more codes (F, W, S, SS) may appear at the end of a course entry, indicating whether the course is normally offered in the fall, winter, or spring quarter, or in summer session.

Course numbers are assigned as follows:

1-99. Lower-division courses, open to all UCSB students; especially appropriate for freshman and sophomore students; may not be taken for upper-division or graduate credit.

98-99. Independent studies courses open to lower-division students. A student may take up to 5 units per quarter, 15 units per year, and 30 units total in all 98, 99, 99AA-ZZ, 198, 199, and 199AA-ZZ independent studies courses combined. Graduate students will not receive credit toward advanced degrees for these courses.

100-199. Upper-division courses, ordinarily open to students who have satisfied the prerequisites specified in catalog descriptions of these courses. Prerequisites may include appropriate prior college-level courses or their transfer equivalents, completion of six terms of college work, or a combination of six terms of college work and appropriate prior college courses. Generally, upper-division courses are not recommended for freshman students. No graduate course credit is allowed for upper-division courses even if additional work is completed, but a limited number of upper-division courses may be applied in fulfillment of graduate degree requirements.

198-199. Independent studies courses are open to students who (1) have attained upper-division standing (or are approved lower-division students in the College of Creative Studies), (2) have at least a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters, (3) can demonstrate appropriate academic background, and (4) have obtained necessary approvals. A student may take up to 5 units per quarter, 15 units per year, and 30 units total in all 98, 99, 99AA-ZZ, 198, 199, and 199AA-ZZ independent studies courses combined. Graduate students will not receive credit toward advanced degrees for these courses. Unit limits are different for College of Creative Studies majors and are explained in its section of this catalog.

200-299. Graduate courses, ordinarily open only to graduate students who have completed at least 12 upper-division units related to the subject matter of the course. Exceptionally well qualified undergraduates, with at least 12 units in the subject and a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher, may petition to enroll in graduate courses.

300-399. Professional preparation courses primarily offered in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. These courses are not applicable to the bachelor’s degree in the College of Letters and Science.

400-499. Other professional courses (offered by the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, Technology Management Program, or the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education). These courses are not applicable to the bachelor’s degree in the College of Letters and Science.

500-599. Courses reserved for advanced study and research, including but not limited to individual study, special topics, group projects, and practica involving teaching assistants or graduate student researchers.