Courses numbered X, XB1–299 and XBW1–299 and the Extension instructors who teach them are reviewed and approved by the appropriate academic department on the UC Berkeley campus and by the Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) of the UC Berkeley Academic Senate. The UC Berkeley Academic Senate delegates authority to the Dean of UC Berkeley Extension to approve professional, post-baccalaureate credit courses that are numbered X300–499 and all noncredit courses. This academic supervision by University faculty is an assurance of excellence in course content and quality of instruction.
If a course is offered for credit, its title is followed by the UC Berkeley academic department abbreviation in which the credit is granted and then the course number (example: Calculus MATH XB101A). Credit is in semester units; you can see the number of semester units on the course's web page.
For courses carrying academic or professional-level credit, the University's standard formula for one unit of credit is 15 hours of instructional time, plus two hours of study time for each hour of instruction. For example, a one-unit course is 45 hours of course effort. Some courses, such as studios or labs, require more instructional time and less study time.
What do the letters and numbers mean in a course title?
X Prefix: A credit course that originates at UC Berkeley Extension.
XB Prefix: Extension credit course that is equivalent to the UC Berkeley campus course with the same content, title, number and credit value.
XBW Prefix: An XB course that is offered either fully or mostly online.
1–99: Lower-division credit courses at the level of the first two years of college.
100–199: Upper-division credit courses at the level of the second two years of college.
200–299: Graduate-level credit courses that are ordinarily open only if you have completed at least 18 upper-division units basic to the subject matter of the course.
300–399: Professional credit courses in education for prospective and current teachers and school administrators.
400–499: Professional, post-baccalaureate credit courses in a variety of fields (except education) such as art and design, behavioral health sciences, biological and physical sciences, business and management, technology, engineering, writing, and so forth.
A, B or C Suffix: This credit course is part of a series. The A course is prerequisite to the B course, and so on. Check the course description for specific prerequisites.