Mar 18, 2024  
2017-2018 Academic Catalogue 
    
2017-2018 Academic Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOGUE]

General Information about Courses


Numbering

The first of the three digits which designate the courses of this Catalogue generally indicates the following level or type of course:

1xx. introductory courses in the discipline;
2xx. intermediate courses in the discipline;
3xx. advanced courses in the discipline. These courses are not generally open to first-year students;
4xx. courses for seniors and/or departmental majors. Some of these courses are seminar, research, and thesis courses;
5xx. adjunct courses, almost all for 1/4 course credit;
7xx. music performance lessons and ensembles, English, and Theatre & Dance participation activities; and
9xx. Cornell-affiliated off-campus programs.

Punctuation

When one course number is printed next to another, the following marks are used to indicate their relation to each other:

hyphen-the first course is a prerequisite for admission to the second [MAT 327-328], or the second to the third [RUS 101-102-103];

semicolon-the first course is designed for first year students and sophomores or non-majors, the second course for majors or other advanced students in the department [ART 231; 331].

Credit

Courses carrying one full course credit (the equivalent of four semester or six quarter hours) have no notation after their titles. Exceptions are indicated: (1/4) one quarter of a course credit; (1/2) one half of a course credit; (1/2-1) one half or one course credit, as the student chooses and if the instructor concurs. (See One Course At A Time, item 5.)

Prerequisites

If a prior course or courses must be taken before another course can be taken, that information is listed after the course description as “Prerequisite(s).” However, a student who has taken or learned the equivalent of the prerequisite elsewhere may take the course. Hence the phrase “or equivalent” is not generally used in this Catalogue. Similarly, since any instructor may with sufficient cause waive the prerequisite(s) for a course upon request, the phrase “or with permission of the instructor” is not generally used either. Hence, when the phrase “permission of the instructor” does appear as the sole prerequisite, it means that permission must be obtained before a student may register for the course.

Finally, for brevity, the phrase “junior standing” is considered to apply here to both juniors and seniors, and the phrase “sophomore standing” applies to all three upper classes.

Repeat Policy

Course descriptions specifically indicate whether the course may be repeated for credit. All courses which do not specify a repeat policy are subject to the rules specified under the heading “Repeating Courses”. See Repeating Courses .

Chronology

Courses that are described on the following pages without a chronological reference are normally offered every year. The notation “alternate years” indicates that the course is usually offered every other year. A few courses are “offered every third year.” Others are not offered on a regular basis and are designated as “not offered every year”, “offered upon request”, or “offered subject to the availability of faculty”.

When planning beyond the current year, students must take into account the fact that some of their courses may not be offered every year and must therefore schedule such courses in the years when they are offered. The actual offerings for any academic year are published the preceding spring in the Course Schedule. For the scheduling of courses not offered annually or not advertised on the Course Schedule, students should consult the department chair or the instructor.

Abbreviations

The following notations are used: (CR)-a course graded only Credit/No Credit; (OP)-a course where the student with the consent of the instructor may elect to receive either a regular grade or Credit/No Credit; however, students who desire a regular grade must inform the Registrar of this fact before the end of the third day of the term in which the course is undertaken; (NS)-a course where the student cannot use the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading option.

Faculty

For a complete listing of all faculty engaged in the academic program, please refer to the Faculty by Department website

The Catalogue of Courses, arranged alphabetically. To see the current course schedule, please see Self-Service.