Courses listed below, separated by subject, are active as of the fall 2026 term. Courses can be updated three times per year, to coincide with the priority enrollment time period for upcoming terms.

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Course Designations

Below you will find a short description of items included in course listings and course bubbles. For further information regarding course designations, consult your advisor or view the Requirements for Undergraduate Study. The mortarboard symbol ()  appears before the title of any course that fulfills one of the Communication Part A or Part B, Ethnic Studies, or Quantitative Reasoning Part A or Part B requirements.mortar board

Gen Ed Communication Part A: a course in communication skills at the college level, developing student abilities in writing and public speaking, for both exposition and argumentation.

Communication Part B: a course involving substantial instruction in the four modes of literacy (that is, speaking, reading, writing, and listening), with emphasis on speaking and writing, either in the conventions of specific fields or in more advanced courses in communication.

Quantitative Reasoning Part A: a Quantitative Reasoning Part A course is an introductory course in college‐level mathematics, computer science, statistics or formal logic that prepares students for more advanced work in a disciplinary context.

Quantitative Reasoning Part B: a Quantitative Reasoning Part B course builds on the tools of college‐level mathematics, computer science, statistics or formal logic that are acquired by achieving the Quantitative Reasoning Part A learning outcomes. Quantitative Reasoning Part B courses may be offered at any level, provided that the material challenges students to think critically and apply quantitative skills to develop models, interpret data, draw conclusions, and solve problems within a disciplinary or interdisciplinary context.
Ethnic St Counts toward Ethnic Studies requirement: a course intended to increase understanding of the culture and contributions of persistently marginalized racial or ethnic groups in the United States, and to equip students to respond constructively to issues connected with our pluralistic society and global community.
Breadth Biological Science: a course concerning the systematic study of the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy of living organisms. Courses with this designation may meet Biological Science requirements or the broader Natural Science breadth requirements.

Humanities: employing analytical, critical, and interpretive methods, “Arts & Humanities” courses teach a wide array of skills necessary to understand and analyze past, present, and future of the world around us. These courses focus on exploring the human condition, using knowledge to build empathy and appreciation for the complexities of one’s own and other people’s perspectives.

Literature: courses with “literature” designation focus on the reading and interpretation of texts in multiple genres, including fictional and nonfictional prose, poetry, and drama, from a range of cultures, in translation or in their original languages, irrespective of how they are presented. They teach skills of literary analysis while examining the relation between the texts and the cultures, historical periods, and ideas that produced them.

Natural Science: a course characterized by the systematic study of the natural and physical world, and with the use of abstraction and logical reasoning. Biological Science and Physical Science courses are subsets of the Natural Science curriculum.

Physical Science: a course involving the systematic study of objective information about the physical world, broadly defined, and include areas of study such as Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, and Earth Science (atmospheric science, oceanography). Courses with this designation may meet Physical Science requirements or the broader Natural Science breadth requirements.

Social Science: a course which relies upon methods of data collection (either qualitative or quantitative), data analysis, or data interpretation that characterize factual, methodological, institutional, and theoretical inquiry into the systematic study of humans/groups and institutions/society.
Level Elementary: a course associated with predominantly introductory material, are usually open to all students (including first year students).

Intermediate and Advanced: courses with sensible prerequisites to reflect a gradual mastery of material.
L&S Credit Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S: a course which encourage students in one or more of the three “habits of the mind” of liberal arts education, as specified by the College of Letters and Science.
Honors Accelerated Honors (!): a course open to both honors and non-honors students. Accelerated Honors courses receive honors credit automatically in recognition of the amount and rigor of material covered in the course, often designed to combine two semesters of material into one semester. The enrollment system will automatically assign honors.

Honors Only Courses (H): a course reserved for students declared in an Honors program only, taught by a faculty member who is an expert in the subject-matter of the course. It is designed to challenge students to actively participate; hence, the course content is often shaped by student questions and interests. The enrollment system will automatically assign honors.

Honors Optional (%): a course open to both honors and non-honors students. The optional honors component of work is designed to facilitate in-depth, student-driven learning and enrich the student’s experience. The student is responsible for formally declaring their intention to complete an honors project when enrolling.
Grad 50% Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement: a course used in the Graduate School's requirement that least 50% of credits applied toward the student’s graduate program must be with courses designed for graduate work.
Work Workplace Experience Course: a course where workplace experience is linked to learning in an academic program.   Courses must include intentional learning objectives related to the experience.  
Foreign Language First-semester language course: Course in a language other than English for students with no prior experience in the language. These courses are not retro-credit eligible.

Second-semester language course: Course in a language other than English that requires a Level 1 course a requisite. These courses are retro-credit eligible.

Third-semester language course: Course in a language other than English that requires a Level 2 course a requisite. These courses are retro-credit eligible.

Fourth-semester language course: Course in a language other than English that requires a Level 3 course a requisite. These courses are retro-credit eligible

Fifth-semester and above language course. Course in a language other than English that requires a Level 4 or Level 5 course a requisite. These courses are retro-credit eligible.

Course Requisites

Requisites represent the academic preparation required to be successful in a course. They are enforced via the enrollment system, meaning a student who attempts to enroll in a course but lacks the requisite preparation will be prevented from enrolling in the course until the requisite has been met.

It is assumed that courses in progress at the time of enrollment will be completed successfully and thus fulfill a course requisite. Course administrators/departments may check the completion of these courses and may drop enrolled students who failed or dropped a requisite course and notify them accordingly. 

There are occasions when a student may have the necessary preparation to be successful in a course, but this preparation is not easily identifiable in their student record. An example would be earned transfer credit that did not equate to a UW-Madison course that meets the spirit of the required course. You may ask the course instructor for permission to enroll in a course for which you do not meet the enforced requisite. Instructor permission will override any restrictions on enrollment the class might have.

Ways to fulfill requisites:

UW-Madison Courses

Courses identified in requisites list the subject(s) and catalog number (example: MATH 221). If a course is cross-listed, you will meet the requisite regardless of the subject you enrolled, with one exception (see minimum credits in a subject). For example, ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY  101 is the same course, so requisites recognize both Zoology and Biology as fulfilling the requirement; it does not matter which course you enrolled in.

Concurrent Enrollment

Concurrent enrollment means being enrolled in a course in the same term as the requisite course. There are three ways these can be written:

  1. You may either have completed the requisite course in a prior term or be currently enrolled in it. (example: Course A, or concurrent enrollment). Example: PLANTSCI 335
  1. You must be enrolled in the listed courses during the same term, every time the courses are offered (example: Course A requisite: Concurrent enrollment in Course B.; Course B requisite: Concurrent enrollment in Course A). You will have to enroll in all courses at the same time otherwise you will not meet the requisite. Example: NURSING 726 & NURSING 728
  1. One course requires concurrent enrollment but the other course does not. For example, if you enroll in a Course A with a requisite stating "Concurrent enrollment in Course B", but Course B does not require you to be enrolled in Course A. In this situation, you must enroll in Course B first, then go back in and enroll in Course A. Example: MUS PERF 201 & MUS PERF 251

Minimum Credits in a Subject

Requisites may specify a certain number of credits in any given subject (example: 3 credits in HISTORY). This means you must have taken at least 3 credits in the HISTORY course array without specifying an individual course. If you take a course cross-listed with HISTORY, but do not enroll in HISTORY, you will not meet the requisite. Example: HISTORY 200

Grades

In very limited situations, a minimum grade may be included associated with a requisite course (example: a grade of C in Course A). If you are a transfer student, you may need individual permission from the instructor to enroll in courses with this type of requisite. Example: NUTR SCI 431

Testing Scores

Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

These exam scores are converted into UW-Madison credit via equivalent courses. They do not display publicly in requisites. Due to the nature of the vast array of subject material there isn't always a direct equivalent (exact match from the exam to a UW-Madison course), thus credit will show up on your record as a transfer equivalent (denoted by SUBJECT X##, example GEN ELCT X12). See the list of exams and their equivalent UW-Madison courses in the Placement and Credit by Exam section of Guide.

UW-System/UW-Madison Placement Exam Scores and Departmental Placement Exams

The UW-System and UW-Madison provide placement exams in English, English as a Second Language (ESL), French, German, Math, Spanish and have direct equivalents to UW-Madison courses. Departments may also provide placement exams in other subject matter where a student may have acquired knowledge, skills, or competencies. Requisites use placement exam scores and use the language "or placement into [course]." Find more information about these exams and subsequent placement into UW-Madison courses in the Placement and Credit by Exam section of Guide. Example: FRENCH 102

Transfer Equivalencies

If you are transferring to UW-Madison, their previous coursework will be converted to UW-Madison credit/courses. In most cases, you will see the equivalent UW-Madison course on your transcript, which can be used just like the courses above. If there is not a direct equivalent (exact match from your previous institution to a UW-Madison course), you will receive credit in any given subject as a transfer equivalent (denoted by SUBJECT X##, example GEN ELCT X12).

In some situations, you may have acquired subject matter knowledge, but did not complete all the learning outcomes associated with UW-Madison general education attributes or designations. Transfer equivalency courses used in this situation provide a transfer credit equivalent to course content without the general education requirement fulfillment. These are included in requisites behind the scenes.

When requisites include a minimum letter grade, the transfer equivalency grade will factor in the requisite as a 2.000 GPA, regardless your grade from the previous institution.

List of standard UW-Madison equivalencies without general education attributes/designations

  • BIO SCI X52: Included in requisites where BIOLOGY/​BOTANY/​ZOOLOGY  152 is used. This is the transfer equivalency for the bioscience content without fulfilling the Communications B requirement.
  • PSYCH X02: Include in requisites where PSYCH 225 is used. This is the transfer equivalency without fulfilling the Communications B requirement.

General Education

Some courses utilize the satisfaction of a specific general education requirement as a requisite. These are written as:

  • Satisfied Communications A requirement
  • Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) A requirement
  • Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) B requirement

To see more about general education requirements, see the Requirements for Undergraduate Degrees in Guide.

Limitations on Enrollment/Audience

Some courses are designed for a specific audience. Requisites limit who can enroll in these courses.

Significant content overlap

When a course covers a significant portion of another course, a requisite will prevent you from earning credit in courses that are vastly similar. These requisites include statements such as "Not open to students with credit in [Course A]", which will prevent you from enrolling in a course where you already have mastered the subject matter. Example: CHEM 327

Honors

Courses may limit enrollment to students only in honors programs. Requisites for these courses will be written as:

  • Declared in an honors program (this means any honors in the major, college honors, or honors research) Example: POLI SCI 182
  • Declared in [school or college] honors program (this means any honors program within a specific school or college) Example: INTER-AG 288
  • Declared in [degree/major/program] honors in the major (this means to a single, specific honors program)

Limiting by program

Courses can be designed for specific programs and will have requisites that specify who can enroll. You must be declared in one of these programs to enroll. Requisites will be written as:

  • Declared in [degree/major/program] Example: KINES 300
  • Declared in [major/program] graduate program Example: CHEM/​BIOCHEM  704
  • Declared in Capstone Certificate in [program] Example: M E 718
  • Classified as Pre-[degree/major/program name] Example: CURRIC 319

Class standing

Class standing is based on the number of credits you have earned, credits in progress at time of enrollment, and your academic career (undergraduate, graduate, pharmacy, medical, veterinary, law, or special).

Requisites using standing can be written in a variety of ways, depending on the audience. If the requisite is Sophomore standing, this includes sophomore, junior, senior, graduate/professional, or special career students. If the requisite is Sophomore standing only, only undergraduate students with 24-53 credits may enroll in the course.

Credits and Class Standing

  • 0-23 credits: Freshman
  • 24-53 credits: Sophomore
  • 54-85 credits: Junior
  • 86+ credits: Senior

Limits based on course catalog number

  • Courses numbered 100-299 are open to undergraduates only. Graduate students may enroll, but the credits will not be reflected on their student record.
  • Courses numbered 300-699 are open to undergraduate and graduate programs.
  • Courses numbered 700 and above are open only to graduate/professional students.

Consent of Instructor

Some courses may only enroll when you have consent of instructor. These courses usually are independent study, directed study, etc. or courses that require auditions, permission the fist time, or other unique situations that are subjective. This is written as "Consent of instructor." Example: E M A 489