Understand the UW-Madison course numbering system
Every course at UW has a six-digit number.
The first three digits are the department number. Sometimes the department abbreviation is used instead of the number. For example, the Marketing Department is numbered 237. Sometimes instead of using the number 237, the abbreviation 'MKT' is used.
The second set of three digits is the course number. It is very important that you choose courses appropriate to your level.
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Courses numbered 100-299 are open to undergraduate students only.
100-level courses are first-year undergraduate courses
200-level courses are second-year undergraduate courses
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Courses numbered 300-699 are open to all students
300-level courses are third-year undergraduate courses
400-level courses are fourth-year undergraduate courses
500- and 600-level courses are advanced courses open to both undergraduates and graduate students - Courses numbered 700 and higher are open only to graduate students.
Note that courses with a number of 300 or 700 are introductory classes. Therefore, if you have already taken a course in that field at home, you should not choose a course numbered 300 or 700. For example, a student interested in finance who has already had an introductory finance course should not take Finance 300 or Finance 700.