Differences between courses and classes

A course is a structured unit of study within a subject area, like Mathematics, that’s offered by a school or department, such as the School of Mathematics. During your program, you’ll study a sequence of courses in the same subject area, to provide you with a solid theoretical understanding and practical skills in your major or minor.

Each course lasts for one teaching period. You need to complete a set number of courses to meet the requirements of your academic program – for example, to graduate with a Bachelor of Science with a major in Mathematics. 

In the Handbook, and on academic statements and official transcripts, courses are listed in the format MATH1131 – Mathematics 1A. 

Classes are the teaching sessions that make up a course. Classes can include lectures (LEC), seminars (SEM), tutorials (TUT) and lab sessions (LAB). When you enrol in a course, you’ll attend the relevant classes from the timetable.

One course can be made up of a mix of components, like lectures and tutorials. These classes can be offered at different times, like a tutorial at 2pm on Monday, 2pm on Tuesday or 4pm on Wednesday. When you enrol in a course, you’ll select your classes from the timetable. 

In some faculties, you need to enrol in more than one type of class for a course. For instance, a course might have one lecture and two tutorials at different times. You would need to enrol in three separate classes: one for the lecture and two for the tutorials, choosing times that fit your schedule.

You can search for your required courses in your program Handbook. You’ll find more detailed information on classes in the Class Timetable, which lists all courses and the terms/semesters when they’re offered. 

Meeting times and locations of classes are published in myUNSW. You can search for classes by teaching activity, meeting time, teaching staff and other criteria. 

If your courses haven’t been scheduled, you’ll need to contact the Course or Program Authority for the timetable information. You may also need to register for tutorials, labs, etc. with permission from your Program Authority or the office offering the course.

Every course at UNSW is measured in Units of Credit (UOC). Each program requires you to complete a specific number of UOC. For example, to graduate with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, you’ll need to complete 144 units of credit (UOC), made up of core (or compulsory) courses, elective courses, and general education courses. You can find the total required UOC in your program Handbook.

The recommended full-time course load is 48 UOC each year. Domestic students need to enrol in a minimum of 12 UOC each term, or 36 UOC across three standard terms, to be considered full-time. International students need to enrol in a minimum of 12 UOC each term, or 48 UOC across three standard terms, to be considered full-time.

A normal workload is about 25 hours each term (or approximately 2.5 hours per week) per UOC, including class contact hours, other learning activities, preparation and time spent on all assessable work.