Reader's Guide to the Catalog

Organization of the University

The university has ten colleges and schools: the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources; the College of Business Administration; the College of Education; the College of Engineering; Extended Studies; the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism; the College of Liberal Arts; the Division of Health Sciences houses the School of Medicine; the Graduate School; and the College of Science. Each college or school houses various department and programs. The catalog is arranged first by college or school, then by department or program. Some programs and areas of study are shared between departments, colleges, and/or schools. Such shared programs are found in the Interdisciplinary Programs section of this catalog.

Where to Find It

The catalog is arranged into three main parts. The first part includes general information about the university. This general information includes the following sections: University Calendar; Degrees Offered; Bachelor's Degree Titles and Credits Required; Policy Statements; University Terminology; University Research and Services; Admission Information; Registration and Records; Regulations for Student Records; Regulations for Determining Residency for Tuition; Fees and Expenses; Financial Aid; Services and Activities for Students; Student Conduct Information; and Pre-Professional and Graduate School Advisement. The second part contains the Core Curriculum Requirements and all the college/school information. This part includes specific degree requirements. The last part of the catalog contains Course Information, Course Offerings, the Organization of the University, the University Faculty, Campus Buildings, and the Campus Map.

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Some Useful Definitions

ASUN—Associated Students of the University of Nevada.Academic Status—Determined by regulations governing good standing, warning, probation, and disqualification.
Academic Warning—Occurs anytime student cumulative UNR GPA is below 2.0 but above probation threshold as determined by credit. Please see the Registration and Records section of this catalog for further information.
Academic Probation—Student cumulative UNR GPA is below warning threshold as determined by credit. Please see the Registration and Records section of this catalog for further information.
Academic Disqualification—The involuntary removal of a student from their academic program for unsatisfactory academic performance following academic probation. Enrollment is restricted to six (6) credits or two classes. Please see the Registration and Records section of this catalog for further information.
Admission—Formal application and acceptance as a regular student in a degree program. Students are admitted to degree programs for fall and spring semesters only.
Advisor, advisee—The advisor is the faculty member assigned by the university to assist each student in planning the proper academic program. The student is called the advisor’s "advisee."
Audit—To take a course without earning credit or a grade.
College/School—The largest academic units consisting of smaller academic units called departments or programs.
Core Curriculum—Group of classes, minimum of 33 credits, in eight different subject areas that are required of all undergraduate students. See the "Core Curriculum" section of this catalog.
Corequisite—A course that must be taken either before or simultaneously with another.
Credit—Described in semester credit hours, a credit is defined as three hours of work per week for one semester. Usually this work is made up of one period in class plus two hours of preparation for lecture-seminar classes, or three hours of laboratory classes.
Credit Load—The total credits for which a student is registered in any registration period.
Curriculum—A structured set of learning objectives.
Department—An academic unit of a college.
ePAWS—The University of Nevada’s Electronic Personal Account Web Services system.
Extracurricular—Those activities that are part of student life, but are not part of the regular course of study, such as debate, dramatics and athletics.
GPA—Grade-point average.
GSA—Graduate Student Association.
Good Standing—A 2.0 in any given semester as well as a cumulative 2.0 on all university work. Students must be in good academic standing to be eligible to receive financial aid.
Grade Points—Grades are evaluated in terms of quality points. For each credit of a letter grade completed, the following grade points are earned:

In order to graduate, undergraduate students must have an average of two grade points for each credit attempted for regular letter grade, and graduate students must have an average of three grade points for each credit attempted for letter grade, including all courses that are failed or repeated.
Graduate Special—A post-baccalaureate student not admitted to advanced degree study.
Graduate Standing—An advanced-degree-seeking student officially admitted to graduate study.
Graduate Study—Work beyond the bachelor’s degree, usually toward a master’s or doctoral degree.
Incomplete—The "I" symbol is a mark that is given when a student has been performing satisfactory work, but, for a reason beyond the student’s control, has been unable to complete the required work for the course. Incomplete grades revert to grades of "F" if not made up within one regular semester.
International Student—An individual who is attending the university on a student visa.
Major—Primary subject or field of study.
Minor—Secondary subject or field of study.
Nondegree Student—Special student status for undergraduate students not seeking a degree. Registration is limited to six undergraduate credits per semester. Nondegree students are not eligible to receive financial aid.
Non-resident Tuition—Non-resident students pay tuition in addition to per-credit registration fees.
Not Reported—The symbol "NR" is assigned when an instructor does not indicate a grade for a student in a course. "NR" must be resolved by the end of the next regular semester or it will revert to an "F."
Prerequisite—Course prerequisites are designed to ensure appropriate course sequencing and/or to provide students the necessary background in the course. Students should check the prerequisites carefully before registering to be sure that they have been met. All prerequisites are enforced within the registration system. Transfer courses with equivalent content are accepted in lieu of stated prerequisites; however, students may be required to get a memo from the department to enroll if the transfer course was not identified as a direct equivalent in the transfer articulation process. The University, College, and Department reserve the right to administratively drop students from a course for which they do not meet the prerequisites.
Registration—Enrolling in classes.
Registration Fees—All students pay per-credit registration fees.
Regular Student—A degree-seeking student who is officially admitted to the university.Required Subjects—Those subjects that are prescribed for the completion of a particular program. The student, after consulting the appropriate advisor, may choose elective subjects; the required subjects are determined by the college.
Resident Alien—A student attending the university as a permanent immigrant who has not attained U.S. citizenship.
Resident Credit—Credit which is earned for regular classes conducted on campus, as well as correspondence courses, continuing education classes, and other distance education courses offered through the University of Nevada, Reno.
Schedule, Class—The semester list of courses offered, including the names of the teachers, the days, hours and locations of classes.
Schedule, Student—A listing of the courses that the student takes each semester.
Semester—75 instructional days.
Special Fees— Additional fees required such as lab fees.
Suspension (Disciplinary)—The involuntary separation of a student from the university for unsatisfactory conduct.
Transcript—A certified copy of the student’s permanent academic record on file in the Office of Admissions and Records. The transcript lists each course that the student has taken and the final grade received.
Undergraduate—A student who has not yet obtained a bachelor’s degree.
Withdrawal—The act of officially leaving the university. Students may also drop individual courses without withdrawing from the university. Consult the schedule of classes for specific dates in which the dropping of classes is allowed. Students who drop classes between the seventh day of classes and the end of the eighth week of classes receive grades of "W" on their transcripts. Complete withdrawal from the university results in "W" grades if the student is passing classes at the time of complete withdrawal.

The following course prefixes are used as abbreviations for the following subjects. This information and detailed information about the course listing appear in the "Course Offerings" and "Course Information" sections in the back of this catalog.

Course Numbering System

The assigned letter or number following the departmental designation indicates the appropriate level of instruction for each course:

1-99 nonbaccalaureate-level courses

100-199 freshman courses

200-299 sophomore courses

300-399 junior courses

400-499 senior courses

500-599 post baccalaureate

600-699 graduate courses. (Some are dual-listed with

400-level courses having a graduate component.)

700-799 graduate courses

NOTE: Each student is personally responsible for registration in the correct course number and class level as approved by the faculty advisor.