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Definition of coursework

Examples of coursework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coursework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1890, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near coursework

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“Coursework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coursework. Accessed 28 Sep. 2024.

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[ kawrs -wurk , kohrs - ]

  • the work required of a student in a particular course of study; classroom work .
  • curricular studies or academic work .

/ ˈkɔːsˌwɜːk /

  • written or oral work completed by a student within a given period, which is assessed as an integral part of an educational course

Word History and Origins

Origin of coursework 1

Example Sentences

Derek Dodson is practicing with the Georgetown University soccer team for a rescheduled season while preparing for the resumption of senior coursework next week.

In San Diego, and throughout the state, an unconscionable number of students are failing or haven’t completed their coursework.

She took a full load of classes in the spring, summer and fall, and in November completed all the coursework for an undergraduate degree in psychology.

Pevzner, who took over the program in 2017, still heads into the field—though day to day he focuses more on developing coursework and swapping insights with similar programs around the world.

Although most schools have increased their offerings of online coursework, the number and sizes of in-person classes vary widely, as does the density of students in on-campus housing.

Digital art coursework at the Rhode Island School of Design simultaneous with an English Ph.D. at Yale?

Her pre-college education had been weak, and Leo was utterly unprepared for the academic part of the coursework.

An obsession with college preparation permeated all of our coursework.

The ad-hocs spent their time badmouthing the profs and tearing apart their coursework.

Planning Tank

What is Coursework? | Definition, Meaning & keypoints!

What is coursework.

Coursework is a practical work or study done by a student in partial fulfilment of a degree or training. Projects, field work, design studies, long essays etc constitutes a coursework. The nature of work which requires to be carried out depends on the course. It is largely a part of learning exercise and a step to prepare you to handle the required work/ task effectively and efficiently.

Written or practical work done by a student during a course of study, usually assessed in order to count towards a final mark or grade.

Who assigns coursework and why?

Major types of coursework & how to go about them, coursework for academic topics which require writing:, what makes a good and effective content, coursework requiring you to make something like model, sculpture or artwork, key points to be kept in mind while working on coursework.

Doctorates are the highest degrees conferred by universities. An online or on campus doctorate can lead to a high-level position in a number of different fields, from business administration to health care to quality control. The lengthy road to earning a doctorate can be shortened by at least several months through online study.

Admission to doctoral programs requires completion of an undergraduate degree program and typically, but not always, of a master’s degree program. Students earning a doctorate must take a specified number of advanced graduate-level courses, requiring at least two or three years of study beyond the master’s degree. Upon passing written or oral examinations, or a combination of both, doctoral students are granted the status of doctoral candidates. Then they must research and write a dissertation on an original topic, and then satisfactorily defend the dissertation before a committee of professors in the field.

About The Author

Coursework: Requirements for an A+ Paper

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  • Icon Calendar 5 July 2024
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Academic writing is an essential activity in higher education and comes in various forms. Basically, one of these forms is coursework writing, where instructors assess students’ levels of understanding of a course during a semester. Unlike other papers, coursework assignments evaluate students’ understanding of a particular course and not just a topic in a class. Besides, various forms of coursework writing include essays, term papers, theses, dissertations, report projects, and others. Hence, people need to learn what is a coursework assignment and how to write such a paper effectively.

General Aspects

College and university students undertake different kinds of academic exercises, with writing projects taking a significant portion of their grades. Basically, one of these exercises is the writing of a coursework paper, an assignment they submit at the end of their semester. This kind of work also assesses students’ understanding of a particular field of study within a single semester. In turn, instructors rarely require someone to write a paper for things they learned during a previous semester. Therefore, coursework entails completing various writing assignments, such as essays, research projects, experiments, and presentations that assess a student’s understanding and application of a subject material.

What Is a Coursework and Its Purpose

According to its definition, coursework is an academic project assignment that students are required to undertake as part of their educational curriculum and which they must submit before a final closure of an entire semester. The primary purpose of writing a coursework assignment is to evaluate learners’ levels of knowledge and skills acquisition, meaning such a project contributes to their final grades (Godfrey, 2022). Ideally, coursework is what students learn during a semester, and such an assignment is meant to measure how well they have understood a subject matter. Moreover, individuals use reliable and relevant sources to study, examine, and evaluate a chosen coursework topic (Haines, 2021). As such, this task is very similar to other academic assignments, such as essays, research papers, reports, thesis writing, dissertations, and other types of papers . In terms of pages and words, the length of a coursework assignment depends on academic levels, subjects, institution’s requirements, and its nature and scope, while general guidelines are:

High School

  • Length: 6-10 pages
  • Words: 1,500-2,500 words
  • Length: 10-16 pages
  • Words: 2,500-4,000 words

University (Undergraduate)

  • Length: 16-24 pages
  • Words: 4,000-6,000 words

Master’s

  • Length: 24-32 pages
  • Words: 6,000-8,000 words
  • Length: 32-52 pages or more (depending on the complexity and depth of the research)
  • Words: 8,000-13,000 words or more

Coursework

SectionContent
Title PageIncludes a specific title of a coursework project, student’s name, instructor’s name, course name, and date.
Table of ContentsOutlines all the sections and subsections with page numbers.
Abstract/Executive SummaryPresents a brief summary of an entire paper, including main objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. Typically, its length is about 150-250 words.
IntroductionIntroduces an assigned topic, provides background information, states a research question or thesis, and outlines a primary purpose and objectives of an entire coursework.
Literature ReviewReviews relevant literature, highlighting key theories, concepts, and studies related to a picked topic.
MethodologyDescribes research methods and procedures used to collect and analyze data and includes details about a study design, participants, instruments, and procedures.
ResultsPresents key findings of a particular research or analysis and includes tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate these results.
DiscussionInterprets obtained results, discussing their implications, significance, and relevance to a research question or thesis, addresses any limitations, and suggests areas for future research.
ConclusionSummarizes central findings and arguments, reiterates a study’s significance, and provides a final thought or call to action.
List of ReferencesProvides all the sources cited in a whole coursework and formatted according to a specific citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian).
AppendicesIncludes any additional material, such as raw data, detailed calculations, or supplementary information, that supports a main text but is too lengthy to include in its main sections.

Note: Some sections of a coursework paper can be added, deleted, or combined with each other, and it depends on specific college instructions. However, a typical structure of coursework covers a title page, table of contents, abstract/executive summary, introduction with a thesis or research question, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, and appendices.

Differences With Other Papers

In any course of their classes, students write different types of papers, including essays, research papers, and reports. Basically, the major difference between coursework writing and these papers is that it assesses people’ understanding of what they have discovered throughout a semester (Couch, 2021). In contrast, essays and other papers assess learners’ understanding of a specific topic, concept, result, or theory. Moreover, students may need to address an issue in their project they might have covered in an essay assignment sometime during a previous semester. As such, a coursework assignment is broader in scope than other papers.

Expectations

Like essays and other papers, a coursework assignment varies from one area of study to another. For example, there is a coursework for the English subject and another for the sciences (Godfrey, 2022). Therefore, individuals are expected to complete their coursework assignments according to their instructor’s or department’s instructions. In most cases, this expectation includes presenting an assignment in an essay format, where they select a title of their choice. Depending on a specific subject, some assignments expect students to collect, examine, infer, and report data when answering a specific question (Haines, 2021). Finally, in college, coursework refers to writing assignments, projects, and tasks students must complete as part of their academic curriculum to demonstrate their understanding and application of a subject material.

When it comes to a grading aspect of academic assignments, instructors look at how well a student has attended to all the requirements and expectations. For instance, these requirements include writing about a choice of themes or text excerpts in a given format (Haines, 2021). In essence, people must use a good approach they believe is likely to give them a higher grade, meaning a technique that helps them to answer a specific question methodically, logically, and critically by using relevant information. In essence, these are three dimensions for grading a coursework assignment (Couch, 2021). As such, to write a coursework paper effectively, one should conduct thorough research, follow a clear and organized structure, adhere to given guidelines, and proofread a final document to ensure accuracy and coherence.

Steps on How to Write a Coursework Paper

Like an essay, a coursework assignment takes a particular structure. Basically, students should understand core components and make sure they address them in their academic writing (Bjorn et al., 2022). In this case, the most significant issue for writers is to ensure a logical flow of ideas. Moreover, developing a thesis statement is essential to provide high-quality essays with a guideline on focal issues. Primarily, these issues are class concepts and theories a person has learned in a specific course during a semester (Godfrey, 2022). As a result, to write coursework, students thoroughly research their topics, create detailed outlines, adhere to specified formats, draft their content clearly and concisely, and proofread their papers for any mistakes.

Step 1: Preparation

Planning or preparation is the first step in writing a coursework paper. For instance, an essence of any form of academic writing is to measure a person’s level of understanding about a particular area of study (Haines, 2021). To start coursework, students begin by carefully reviewing assignment guidelines, conducting preliminary research to understand their assigned topics, and outlining main points and structure of their papers. Since such an project measures what a student has learned in a given course, it is paramount for each person to prepare well when executing an assignment. Here, learners have to choose a topic that they are comfortable with, one that they are passionate about. Additionally, they should generate ideas about their coursework by deciding what is relevant and what is not. In principle, a typical reasoning that guides this decision is a particular expectation outlined in assignment instructions (Godfrey, 2022). Lastly, people should understand their audience – consumers of their work or readers. Like any other assignment, a target audience is course instructors. Hence, writers should ensure their class projects satisfy a curiosity of readers. In turn, some examples of sentence starters for beginning a coursework paper include:

  • In recent years, the topic of [subject] has gained a significant attention due to its direct impact on [related field/issue], while this coursework aims to explore … .
  • The origins of [subject] can be traced back to [year/era], when [important event/person] first introduced a particular concept of … .
  • Understanding [subject] is crucial for [reason/field], as it offers more insights into [related concept or application], and this paper seeks to examine … .
  • Currently, [subject] is experiencing a period of rapid development, with new research and advancements being made in areas, such as … .
  • By exploring a research question: [research question], this paper aims to examine [purpose of the study] … .
  • While much has been written about [subject], there remains a significant knowledge gap in a current literature regarding [specific aspect], which this paper will investigate … .
  • During my studies/experience in [related field], I observed [specific phenomenon], which prompted me to investigate [subject] more thoroughly … .
  • According to recent statistics, [relevant statistic] highlights the importance of [subject], which this coursework will explore … .
  • As [author/expert] once said, ‘[relevant quote],’ this statement underscores a real significance of [subject], which will be a particular focus of this paper in … .
  • This coursework is based on a particular hypothesis that [hypothesis statement], and this comprehensive analysis and research will seek to prove/disprove … .

Step 2: Setting Up

After preparation, people should set up the stage for coursework writing. Basically, a first preoccupation is to find sources relevant to an assignment prompt – those that are more likely to provide enough evidence and support needed claims. As scholars review credible sources, they should take notes to provide a strong argumentation in their projects (Walter & Stouck, 2020). Then, another activity involves deciding on a coursework outline, which should help to answer an assignment prompt logically and critically. Lastly, learners should create an annotated bibliography, a summary of each source they intend to use as a valid basis for their arguments in an entire document.

Step 3: Writing a First Draft

After preparing and setting up the stage, students should start writing a first version of their coursework assignment. In this case, armed with notes taken during a review of reliable sources and an outline they have created, people should start with a first draft, where they develop a thesis statement. Basing all opinions and arguments on a thesis, writers should answer an assignment prompt methodically, logically, and critically. For example, a coursework statement is a concise declaration of a main objective or thesis that an entire project aims to explore and demonstrate (Godfrey, 2022). Moreover, a thesis statement should ‘hook’ a target audience and make them interested in reading a substantial part of a paper – a body. In essence, a body section is where students use all the evidence they have gathered about an assigned topic, while a thesis informs a target audience of what individuals have focused on in their papers. As a result, any coursework paper adopts a typical outline, as indicated below:

  • Table of Contents
  • Abstract or Executive Summary
  • Introduction
  • Body Paragraph(s)
  • Reference List
  • Appendices (Optional)

Step 4: Wrapping It Up

It is normal for a writer to make mistakes when writing an academic document. For example, these mistakes include inconsistent arguments, irrelevant content, punctuation errors, and countless grammatical mistakes (Haines, 2021). Therefore, after completing a first draft, writers should read it through, at least twice, to identify these mistakes and correct them. Basically, common processes of correction include revising and editing a written paper. Regarding revisions, students should give their work to a friend or mentor to read it through. In their feedback, these individuals are likely to point out areas where authors should make corrections for their papers to be logical and interesting to read. Concerning editing a complete document, people should proofread their work to ensure it is free of spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and other grammatical mishaps.

Step 5: Developing Body Paragraphs

A body paragraph of any academic text, including a coursework assignment, utilizes several features to make a whole paper logical. Basically, the first feature is writing a topic sentence that opens up each paragraph (Couch, 2021). In principle, a primary purpose of this feature is to strengthen a central idea captured in a thesis statement. Then, the rest of a single paragraph structure backs up this claim using evidence gathered from different sources. In turn, another feature is a concluding sentence, which closes each paragraph (Godfrey, 2022). As such, a main goal of this aspect is to connect a topic sentence with a thesis statement. Finally, another feature is transition words and phrases that help readers to sense a logical flow of ideas throughout a whole paper. In short, writers use transitions within and between paragraphs to create a logical flow of information and ideas.

Step 6: Referencing Format and Peer Reviewing

Besides ensuring an entire paper is written methodically and logically, authors should see it meets the highest academic writing standards. In this regard, they should ensure it follows a particular format – APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian. In most cases, an assignment prompt dictates a specific format learners should use. Moreover, a particular referencing manual informs about a typical structure of a whole paper and its format of citations. In turn, another essential activity that students should perform is to commit a complete document to peer review. Here, authors give coursework papers to distinguished scholars, such as a professor or classmate, to assess an overall validity and quality of information used, including sources.

Step 7: Writing a Final Draft

After subjecting a first draft to vigorous scrutiny through revisions, editions, and peer review, people should start writing a final draft of a coursework paper. Basically, this draft should be thoroughly polished, meaning it should be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes, as well as inconsistent arguments and irrelevant sentences (Lawrence, 2020). Moreover, it should indicate an effective use of transitions in paper’s body paragraphs. In short, a final draft is an improved version of a first draft because writers have revised and edited it and incorporated feedback from a friend, mentor, or professor. However, they still need to read through a final draft, at least once, to ensure it is perfect before submission to a grading department. In turn, if someone notes several mistakes, it means another revision is necessary. Hence, a student’s focus should be a correct content, organization of ideas, style of writing, and format.

Types of Coursework

Given that coursework assignments test students’ levels of understanding about a course’s content in a given semester, it means such a project takes several writing forms. For example, these documents include a term paper, a Master’s thesis, a dissertation, or a report project (Godfrey, 2022). Ideally, such a composition is an essential requirement for a student to complete an entire course successfully. It also means such a project is essential to be awarded a degree. Moreover, the only difference between these types of coursework assignments is that they take a different approach to examining and analyzing a course’s content, with each subject taking a unique approach. In turn, common types of coursework projects include:

TypeContent
EssayA written document that talks about a specific topic or argument and requires analysis and critical thinking.
Research PaperAn in-depth study on a specific topic that involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data and evidence from various credible sources.
Laboratory ReportA detailed account of an experiment, including methodology, results, and analysis of findings.
Case StudyAn examination of a particular instance or event, analyzing it in detail to draw conclusions or lessons.
ProjectA comprehensive task that often includes research, design, and implementation, resulting in a final product or presentation.
PresentationAn oral or visual display of research or knowledge on a particular topic, using PowerPoint slides or other visual aids.
PortfolioA collection of work samples that demonstrate skills, competencies, and achievements over a period of time.
Dissertation/ThesisAn extensive and original piece of research conducted independently, and such a paper is required for completing a degree program.
Annotated BibliographyA list of found sources with brief descriptions and evaluations of each, and such an assignment is used as a preparatory step for a research project.
Creative WorkA project that involves creating original content, such as a piece of art, literature, or a multimedia presentation.

Writing Techniques

The dream of every student is to pass any assessment and attain a higher grade. In a coursework assignment, learners can utilize different techniques to ensure they attain higher grades after assessments (Haines, 2021). As indicated earlier about a grading aspect of coursework, writers should use an approach they believe answers an assignment prompt methodically, logically, and critically. As a result, every technique they use must allow them to answer a specific question in a way that satisfies these three grading dimensions.

Compare and Contrast

A compare and contrast essay technique is about analyzing two subjects, ideas, concepts, or theories by comparing them, contrasting them, or doing both. Basically, a primary purpose of answering a coursework assignment through this writing approach is that students must not state obvious things (Couch, 2021). Instead, they need to shed light on subtle differences or unexpected similarities between subjects, ideas, concepts, or theories.

Cause and Effect

A cause and effect essay technique allows writers to develop their paper’s body by analyzing possible reasons for and consequences of a decision, action, or event. When organizing a paragraph, students adopt a structure that allows them to arrange defined causes and effects in a chronological or reverse chronological order (Godfrey, 2022). Alternatively, authors can present their arguments through emphasis, starting from least important to most important aspects, or vice versa.

Investigation

An investigation technique involves undertaking an in-depth examination of a topic, idea, concept, or theory. Basically, this technique’s primary goal is to demonstrate that students have gained a thorough knowledge of a specific subject, which is indicated in their methodical, logical, and critical analysis and presentation of information. In esense, ensuring research findings are interpreted and presented in an organized manner throughout a research paper is critical (Walter & Stouck, 2020). Ultimately, such a technique enables writers to demonstrate their articulate understanding of various viewpoints about a particular issue under investigation. 

How to Present Strong Arguments

For an academic paper to capture an audience’s attention and interest, students must not only develop a thesis statement but also ensure they use strong arguments to back up a central idea in a main statement. Basically, the “they say, I say” technique is the simplest method to present arguments properly (Couch, 2021). In this regard, the information that a person uses in answering a coursework assignment prompt should be free of plagiarism and cite all sources properly. Then, another way to ensure an entire writing is persuasive is to confirm that authors have attained a required word count limit without counting footnotes, endnotes, references, and appendices (Haines, 2021). Ideally, selecting a topic that one is comfortable with and passionate about enables an overall writing to be high-quality in terms of argumentation. Besides, students should discuss alternatives with their mentor or instructor. Finally, a thesis statement should not be complicated.

Scope of Research

Students make different kinds of mistakes when writing academic texts. For example, a common mistake in coursework writing involves a scope, where students fail to focus on one area of a particular topic and instead try to be broad in their argumentation (Godfrey, 2022). In principle, they may waste space talking about irrelevant material, leaving them with little space to write about a core idea. As such, an effective solution to this problem is to develop a thesis statement that sets out a paper’s specific agenda. In doing so, authors can realize every time they go off-topic.

Colloquialism

By considering colloquialisms, students may use a language that is not standard for academic writing. Essentially, this problem is particularly common with learners who become excited about a specific topic and try to express their ideas creatively (Haines, 2021). Moreover, a whole project shifts from being evidence-based to a document about an author’s opinion. In turn, a particular solution to such a problem is to pick a topic that is exciting and critically discussed in an existing literature. As a result, students can identify several sources that discuss their assigned topics to use as bases for evidence of their claims and arguments about their central themes.

Common Mistakes

  • Lack of Clarity in Thesis Statement: Failing to clearly define a main argument or purpose of an entire paper can lead to a lack of focus throughout a coursework project.
  • Insufficient Research: Relying on too few sources or not consulting credible and up-to-date references can weaken an overall quality and depth of an analysis.
  • Poor Organization: Not following a logical writing structure can make a paper difficult to follow due to an inadequate flow of ideas.
  • Overuse of Quotations: Excessively quoting sources rather than paraphrasing or synthesizing information can make a whole paper seem unoriginal and reduce an author’s voice.
  • Ignoring Formatting Guidelines: Not adhering to a required citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian) or formatting instructions can result in a loss of marks.
  • Lack of Proofreading: Submitting a paper with grammatical errors, typos, and spelling mistakes can undermine an overall professionalism and readability of a project.
  • Inadequate Analysis: Simply describing sources without critically analyzing or interpreting the information can lead to writing a biased paper.
  • Failure to Address a Prompt: Straying from an assigned topic or not fully addressing a coursework prompt can result in an irrelevant or incomplete paper.
  • Plagiarism: Copying text without proper citing attribution, even unintentionally, can lead to serious academic consequences.
  • Weak Conclusion: Ending a coursework paper without a clear closure or failing to adequately summarize key findings and implications can leave any reader unsatisfied.

Coursework vs. Research Paper

Ideally, an outline of a coursework assignment is similar to that of a research paper. In this case, an abstract serves as a brief overview of a research paper and informs readers of writer’s focal points. More importantly, such an outline has a body, where writers use different paragraphs to make an argument about a specific topic. In turn, each of the paragraphs begins with a topic sentence and ends with a concluding sentence. Like research papers, body paragraphs of a coursework assignment serve to cement writer’s claims and arguments, which are linked to a thesis statement.

Students should master following tips when it comes to writing a coursework assignment:

  • Choose an exciting topic and stick to it. Basically, students come across tons of exciting information about their topic. However, to avoid going off-script, they should focus on their core subject and avoid a particular temptation of using data that may prove irrelevant.
  • Use evidence (quotes and statistics) selectively. In principle, relevancy is a significant indicator of a high-grade paper. As such, where authors are not going to refer to some data directly because it adds no value to their argument, they should avoid dwelling on it in their paper.
  • Cite sources correctly. When citing sources, writers should note format standards in use – APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian – as each has a unique approach.
  • Revise, edit, and proofread a complete paper. High-quality coursework writing should be free of inconsistent arguments, irrelevant sentences, and spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes.

A coursework project is among writing assignments that students in colleges and universities undertake in preparation for their degree. Unlike other papers, this assignment assesses learners’ understanding of what they have learned in a course in a given semester. As such, students must complete and submit it before a semester comes to closure. Finally, different types of coursework include essays, term papers, theses, dissertations, and report projects.

Bjorn, G. A., Quaynor, L., & Burgasser, A. J. (2022). Reading research for writing: Co-constructing core skills using primary literature. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice , 7 (1), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2022.237

Couch, D. (2021). Your guide to college writing . Chemeketa Press.

Godfrey, J. (2022). Writing for university . Bloomsbury Academic.

Haines, C. (2021). Assessing students’ written work marking essays and reports . Routledge.

Lawrence, T. S. (2020). Writing a research paper. International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics , 106 (4), 674–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.12.005

Walter, L., & Stouck, J. (2020). Writing the literature review: Graduate student experiences. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , 11 (1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2020.1.8295

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Definition of coursework noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

  • Coursework accounts for 40 per cent of the final marks.

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Meaning of coursework – Learner’s Dictionary

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(Definition of coursework from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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Think Student

What is Coursework at University?

In University by Think Student Editor October 5, 2023 Leave a Comment

Compared to the rest of the British education system, university can seem so very different. Lessons are now lectures or seminars, you have complete independence, and you even have the option to live on campus. Plus, there are so many other differences on top of this. This might make you wonder if the components of studying at university are different as well, especially in terms of how the course works. One of the components that’s important to look at in this way is coursework and how it differs at university.

In short, at university coursework is similar to at previous levels of education, where coursework is a form of assessment without exams that helps to make up your grade. At university, this is because successfully completing coursework helps you to pass modules, allowing you to get your qualification. This coursework can come in many different forms and the types you do will depend on your course and your university. However, some of the main types are essays, reports and projects, including research projects such as dissertations.

Continue reading to learn more about what coursework is at university. This article will take you through how coursework works at university and what some of the main types of university coursework are.

Table of Contents

Is there coursework at university?

When thinking about coursework, we tend to be more familiar with the term when it’s associated with school or college. In this case, coursework is a form of internally assessed assignment that will make up a part of your grade.

As a form of assessment, it will often be essential to help you to get your qualification, whether that’s for a GCSE/ National 5 qualification, an A-Level/ Higher or Advanced Higher or a more vocational qualification, such as a BTEC or a T-Level. For more information about what coursework is like at this stage, check out this guide by NI Direct.

As university can feel so different from school or college, you may be wondering whether or not there even is coursework at university and whether it works in the same way.

Simply put, yes, there is coursework at university . In fact, some universities state that most modules will have some form of coursework involved in them.

Students take a range of modules to make up their degree programmes. This means that students are very likely to do at least a bit of coursework in a few of their modules across the course of their studies. You can learn more about this by checking out this page on the University of St Andrews website.

What do you do in coursework at university?

At university there is so much more variation in what you can study and how you study it. From the different classifications of degree, even just within the undergraduate level, from foundation degrees to all the different kinds of bachelor’s degree, such as the BA, BSc or LLB, to all of the other kinds of qualification that you can do at university.

Due to all of this variation, there should be no surprise that in each of these different kinds of courses, students will be taught in different ways. Moreover, there isn’t any actual standardisation across universities, meaning that even on very similar courses, students can be taught with completely different methods.

As a result of this, the coursework that you do at university will completely depend on your course and your university. However, there are some common types of coursework that are done.

Some of these main ones are essays, reports and projects . For more information about what different types of coursework at university might be, you can check out this page by the University of Leeds.

You can learn more about these in their respective sections below.

Is an essay a type of coursework at university?

An essay is an academic piece of writing where students will have to make an argument in response to a certain question. In secondary school and college, you may have come across essays in the form of exam questions, where they would be valued in terms of their marks. For example, you may have had to do a “10-marker”, a “20-marker” and so on.

Alternatively, you may have come across them as part of your own coursework or NEAs, particularly in humanities subjects, where the knowledge and argument you present would be more detailed and in-depth. For university study, essays as a form of coursework, are more similar to the latter as they will need to be well-researched and in-depth .

However, university is at a higher level that school and college . As a result, university essays will need to be as well with students needing to carry out some independent research and reading before they can start the essay rather than relying just on what they have been taught.

You can learn more about essays as a form of coursework at university on this page by the University of Nottingham.

Is a report a type of coursework at university?

Reports and lab reports are a type of coursework that you will probably not have directly come across in previous study, although you may have done something a bit similar. Unlike an essay, a report is purely factual and objective, where the main aim is to present findings and to analyse the data collected, rather than to make an argument.

While they are particularly present in the sciences and social science subjects, reports are a form of coursework that can be used across a large variety of different subjects. Due to this, there are many different types of report and which one you may have to undertake as a part of your coursework will depend on your degree.

For more information about this, look at this page on the University of York’s website.

One of the main types of report is a lab report. This is a type of report done by sciences students after an experiment has been done. You can learn more about them by checking out this guide by the University of Nottingham.

Is a project a type of coursework at university?

For university study, a project as a form of coursework can refer to a few different modes of study. First of all, when talking about a project, we might be referring to a research project.

A research project is an extended essay that students complete by undertaking and then presenting their own research and comparing this to the preexisting ideas. This kind of research project will typically be big and may even be an entire module.

In cases like this, the research project will most likely be in the form of a dissertation or even a thesis if done at doctorate level. You can learn more about this type of project by looking at this page on the University of Sheffield’s website and for more on dissertations, look at the following section.

However, projects can also be in the form of group projects that can vary a bit more across universities. For example, at Imperial College London, students undertake a multidisciplinary group project to try and come up with solutions to the biggest social challenges. You can learn more about this on this page on their website.

Also, the University of Edinburgh Business School runs group consultancy projects at both undergraduate and master’s degree levels. For more information about this, check out this page on their website.

Is a dissertation a type of coursework at university?

At university in the UK, a dissertation is a type of research project that can be taken by students for either a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree. As an extended essay, students will need to produce an answer to a specific question of somewhere between 5,000 and 50,000 words depending on the university and whether it is a bachelor’s or master’s degree that you’re doing.

There are different kinds of dissertation and depending on which kind students do will depend on how they go about writing it. For an empirical dissertation, students will need to carry out research and collect data first hand to use as part of their dissertation. Whereas for a non-empirical dissertation, students will have to research into data and information that is pre-existing.

You can learn more about what a dissertation is by looking at this Think Student article .

As previously mentioned, one of the main types of coursework at university are projects, including research projects. This means that yes, dissertations are a type of coursework at university as they are types of research project.

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Your Guide to Conquering College Coursework

Getting good grades in college can be a lot tougher than in high school. For many students, it requires building new skills and establishing new habits. Learning those skills now—before starting college—will help make your transition as easy and as successful as possible.

Mary Sharp Emerson

The transition from high school to college is a big one. Meeting new friends, living on your own, and creating your own schedule are just some of the new, exciting challenges that await you.   

In the excitement of starting a new life on campus, college coursework can sometimes become a second priority.

However, adjusting to college coursework is often the biggest challenge of all. Even the best students may be surprised at how difficult college courses are. The subject matter is more complex. The workload is larger. And instructors’ standards are higher.

Mastering college-level courses requires a new level of independence, advocacy, engagement, and time management.

You can prepare yourself to succeed before you even get to campus. Identifying the skills you need, and building those skills into established habits, will help make your transition to college academics, and college life, easier, less stressful, and more successful.

Be engaged in your college coursework

College courses require your full attention and active participation.

And the more you engage with your teachers, teaching assistants, and classmates both in and out of the classroom, the easier it will be for you to succeed in that class.

The importance of active listening

Active listening is one of the most critical parts of engaging in a course, according to Gina Neugebauer, assistant director of Harvard Summer School’s Secondary School Program.

“Professors and teaching assistants can tell if you’re actively listening. They notice if you’re taking notes and making eye contact. They also notice if you’re distracted by your phone or computer,” notes Neugebauer.

Active listening means not checking your social media accounts or texting friends during class.

It also means really giving the instructor and your classmates your full attention.

It sounds easy in theory but it takes practice. It can be tough to not think about all the work you have or your next party. But the more you work on actively listening, the easier it will be to not get distracted and miss important information in class.

Different ways to actively participate

Beyond active listening, there are many ways to participate in a course. And you can tailor your level of engagement to your personality and comfort level.

“It’s all about gauging what you’re comfortable with,” says Neugebauer.

“You may not be the person who raises their hand all the time but you actively respond to online discussion posts, for example. You may not feel comfortable talking in front of hundreds of students in a large lecture hall but you take advantage of TA office hours and email the instructor with questions.”

But don’t be afraid to push yourself if you aren’t someone who usually speaks up in class.

It’s ok to start small. Work on raising your hand in small seminars or discussion sections. As you gain confidence, you’ll find it gets easier to answer questions and share your opinions.

Build independence and advocate for yourself

In college, you are responsible for your own success. You will need to advocate for yourself and know when—and how—to ask for help. That requires a level of independence that you may not have needed in high school.

The good news is that instructors and teaching assistants want to help you.

“Instructors, on the whole, enjoy hearing from you. And they’d rather hear from you right from the start, rather than have you struggle on your own for three weeks,” says Neugebauer.

If you have a question about an assignment, send your instructor an email. Are you upset about a grade you got on a recent test? Visit your instructor or TA during office hours to discuss what went wrong and how you can improve.

But remember, says Neugebauer, professors are busy and you are only one of many students.

“Your email should include your full name, what course you’re taking, and a brief description of your question or concern. And you cannot expect an answer at 2 a.m. because that’s when you’re studying. When you reach out to an instructor, give them 24-48 hours to respond.”

And remember, always be respectful and non-confrontational.

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Don’t be afraid to seek help

If you have excelled in high school without extra help, you might be tempted to persevere on your own.

In college, Neugebauer points out, asking for help is the norm.

“Once you get into your undergraduate program, you’ll find that almost everyone has, at some point, asked a TA for extra tutoring, gone to a tutoring center, or a writing or math center for extra help. It’s part of the learning process of an undergraduate program,” Neugebauer says.

Colleges have a variety of support systems in place to help you succeed.

TA office hours are a great place to start if you find yourself struggling with a specific concept or assignment. Peer tutoring programs enable you to learn from students who have been through the course themselves. Academic coaches can help with more general study tips or exam-related stress.

The key is seeking out help proactively, before you get too far behind. As the courses become more difficult, catching up becomes increasingly difficult.

Build time management techniques

Balancing everything that comes with life on a college campus can be difficult for many incoming college students.

“The biggest challenge we see facing high school students who are trying to adapt to college life is overcommitment. Students want to engage in every activity, a full course load, and even sometimes a part-time job. They don’t schedule enough time for self-care, quiet time, doing laundry, and plenty of study time. All those things take time,” Neugebauer says.

Good study habits and time management are key to avoiding the stress that comes from getting overcommitted.

Neugebauer recommends getting into the habit of keeping an accurate and up-to-date calendar.

“The best thing I can recommend is a calendar, such as Google Calendar. Use it to schedule everything: your class, your lunch time, time at the gym. It may seem counterintuitive, but work on scheduling literally everything, even sleep.”

Be sure to include assignments, tests, and other deadlines, as well as office hours for your instructors, TAs, and academic coaches.

Use your calendar to block off dedicated study time. And once you schedule it, stick to it! Avoid the temptation to procrastinate or use that time to hang out, play video games, or scroll on your phone.

Your calendar should also include dedicated time for self-care.

Regular mealtimes, good exercise habits, and a full night’s sleep are not only critical for your physical and mental health. You’ll also be surprised at how much they contribute to your academic success.

Challenge yourself as you engage in college coursework

Getting outside your comfort zone is a critical part of preparing yourself for the exciting challenges that await you in college.

“Being uncomfortable allows for growth. It means saying to yourself, ‘this is new. I want to try it. I want to see how it feels.’ This is all about adapting to a new environment but also examining yourself as a person,” says Neugebauer.

Taking on a new challenge—regardless of the ultimate outcome—builds resilience, mental toughness, and confidence, all of which you will need to succeed in your college courses.

But, warns Neugebauer, it’s also important to know your limitations.

“That uncomfortable feeling should be manageable. It should be a challenge but not so challenging that you feel panicked and wake up in cold sweats every night. It should be something that gets you a little nervous but also excited about what you’re involved in every day.”

However you decide to challenge yourself, it’s never too early to start if college is in your future. The sooner you start identifying and mastering the skills you need in college, the better prepared you’ll be to succeed right from day one.

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About the Author

Digital Content Producer

Emerson is a Digital Content Producer at Harvard DCE. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yale University and started her career as an international affairs analyst. She is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironman triathlons, as well as the Boston Marathon.

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coursework college mean

A Guide to the Education Section of the Common App

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coursework college mean

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The Education section of the Common App is exactly what it sounds like: it’s where you tell your chosen colleges about your high school academic performance. From grades to class rank to what courses you took, colleges will want to get a detailed look at what–and how–you did in high school.

Four years of academic work creates a great deal of information to convey. As with other sections of the Common App, you’ll only have to actually enter this information once, and it will be copied to all the colleges to which you submit applications. Since basically every college requests the same or similar educational information, this can save you a lot of time and typing.

Before you begin filling out the Education section, you’ll want to gather the necessary data from your records and clarify any requirements that are unclear to you. In this post, we’ll go over the specific questions you’ll be asked and the information you’ll be expected to provide in the Education section of the Common App.

Are you unsure what a “weighted” GPA means? Wondering where and how to tell colleges that you graduated early from high school? Stressing out about listing your academic and career aspirations under the Future Plans section? Read on for more application guidance from CollegeVine on these topics and more.

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Accessing the Education Section

First of all, to fill out the Common App’s Education section, you’ll need to get to it. In order to access the Education section of your Common App, you’ll need to log into your Common App, click on the Common App tab, and click on Education in the column on the left side. 

The Education section is divided into nine subsections; click on the title of each subsection to open it up. Each part of the Education section will guide you through questions covering different aspects of your educational history, from where you’ve gone to school to how you did in school.

Below, we’ll go through each part of the Education section, from “Current or Most Recent School” to “Future Plans,” with more detailed instructions on how to complete the questions you’ll find there. 

The provided screenshots are taken from a sample student Common App profile that we at CollegeVine have set up. Your own Common App profile may look slightly different, depending on what information you’ve already entered.

When you’re finished filling out a section of the Education section, hit the “Continue” button to move along to the next one. You can move directly to other parts of the Education section by clicking the appropriate header.

Current or Most Recent School Section

In this section, the Common App will collect information about the school you currently attend or have most recently attended.

Current or Recent School Lookup

Your first task is to tell the Common App what high school you attend now or most recently attended, as well as various facts about that high school. Fortunately, you don’t have to provide all this information from scratch; the Common App system includes a database of high schools that you’ll search through to find and choose yours.

When you open up the Current or Most Recent School section, you’ll see this:

coursework college mean

Click on the Find School link. The box below will pop up:

coursework college mean

Now you can search for your high school. On the top of the box you’re given a number of search options; you can search by school name, CEEB code (a number assigned to your school by the College Board ), or location. Fill out whichever of these fields works best for you, and you’ll see your results appear below.

Scroll through the list to find your high school and click on the circle in front of its name; then click the “Continue” button to add that school as your current or most recent high school. When you return to your Current or Most Recent School section, you’ll see that your school and its contact information have been added to your Common App. Below, you can see that our sample student has designed Bronx High School of Science as their current or most recent school.

coursework college mean

If you made a mistake or need to change what school you’ve designated, simply click “Change” or “Remove” under the school’s information and use the search function again.

If you have been homeschooled and are a member of a larger homeschooling organization, you may be able to find that organization using the search function. If not, or if you were homeschooled outside of any such organization, scroll to the bottom of your search results and choose the option that says “Home schooled.” You’ll be prompted to enter some additional information manually.

What if you can’t find your school using the search screen? First, double-check the information you’ve entered; then, triple-check it. Try typing only the first word or two of your high school’s name and going through the list, or using a different search field than you initially tried.

The search function can be a bit finicky when it comes to searching by school name, so make sure you’re using your high school’s full formal name, not a nickname. For instance, our sample student would need to search for the full name “Bronx High School of Science,” or perhaps just “Bronx” or “Bronx High School.” Even if some people refer to this school simply as “Bronx Science,” searching for that school name will not bring up the correct result.

If you absolutely can’t find your high school in the database, scroll down to the bottom of the list of school results and select “I don’t see my high school on this list.” You’ll then need to enter your school’s information manually.

Other Questions

Once you’ve designated your current or most recent school, you’ll have to answer a list of questions about that school, seen in the following screenshot. Below the screenshot, we’ll go over how to respond to each of those questions.

One more note on completing this section: if you don’t have a school counselor, fill in these answers for whoever has “overseen your academic progress,” as the Common App puts it, and will fill out the School Report section of your Common App. This might be a school principal or another school official, or a parent if you were homeschooled; it depends on your situation. Ask your counselor or school official if you have any questions about how to identify them in this section.

  • Date of entry: Choose the month and year that you started attending this school.

coursework college mean

  • Is this a boarding school?: Do some or all students sleep at your school? If so, answer yes; if not, answer no. If you answer yes, you’ll be asked whether you personally reside at the school; answer yes if you do, no if you don’t.

coursework college mean

  • Did you or will you graduate from this school?: Answer yes if you already graduated from this school or if you plan to graduate from this school. Answer no if you no longer attend this school but didn’t graduate from it, or if you don’t plan to graduate from this school. Once you answer this question, the Common App will ask you to specify the month and year you left or will leave this school.

coursework college mean

  • Counselor’s prefix: Choose between Dr., Mr., or Ms. in the drop-down menu based upon which prefix your counselor uses in official correspondence.

coursework college mean

  • Counselor’s first name, counselor’s middle initial, and counselor’s last name: Fill in your counselor’s full first and last names, and check your spelling. If you don’t know your counselor’s middle initial, that’s fine; just leave that field blank.

coursework college mean

  • Counselor’s job title: Fill in your counselor’s formal job title; if your school doesn’t have a counselor, fill in the job title of whichever school official you’re using for this section.

coursework college mean

  • Counselor’s email and counselor’s phone: Fill in your counselor’s requested contact information. If your counselor is outside the United States, make sure you include the correct country code in their phone number. Also include their phone extension if they have one. Your counselor is an important element of your application, so double-check that you have transcribed this contact information correctly.

Other School Section

In this section, you’ll enter information about any other schools you’ve attended for high school, aside from the one you’re currently attending or most recently attended. For instance, if you moved to a new city during high school, this is where you’ll put information about the school you attended before you moved. If you were homeschooled for part of high school but then attended a traditional school, you’ll list your homeschooling experience as an additional school here.

When you first open up the Other School section, you’ll see the following:

coursework college mean

The question reads If you have attended any other schools, please indicate the number of schools . If you have not attended any other high schools, choose 0 from the dropdown menu; you won’t have to answer any other questions in this section.

If you have attended one or more other schools, choose the number of schools you’ve attended, excluding your current or most recent school—the one you talked about in the last section. For instance, if you attended a total of three different high schools including your most recent high school, you would choose 2 in this menu. You can add up to three additional high schools.

If you choose any number other than 0 for this question, you’ll need to add more information about the school(s) you attended. For each additional school, you’ll use the search function to search the Common App database, just as you did for your current or most recent school in the last section. You can refer back to that section for advice on looking up your school(s). If you were homeschooled or can’t find your school, you’ll need to enter its information manually, just as we described in the last section.

Once you’ve chosen a school, your screen should look something like the screenshot below. We’ve indicated that our sample student has attended Los Angeles School of Global Studies.

coursework college mean

Notice that for this student, Los Angeles School of Global Studies has been labeled “School 2.” Bronx High School of Science, which our sample student designated as their current school, is School 1.  Additional schools that they had attended, if there are any, would be School 3 and School 4.

Below the school information, you’ll need to enter the dates between which you attended that school. Under School 2 from date , enter the month and year you started attending that school. Under School 2 to date , enter the month and year you stopped attending that school. Repeat this process for any additional schools you might have. 

College & Universities Section

In this section, you’ll provide information about any colleges or universities you have already attended. This section is relevant to you if you took any courses at a college or university while you were in high school through a “post-secondary option” or similar program. In this context, AP and IB courses do not count as college courses.

When you initially open up the Colleges & Universities section, it will look like this:

coursework college mean

The first question reads as follows: If you have taken a college/university course, please indicate the number of colleges . If you have not taken any college courses in high school, choose “0” in the dropdown menu; there will be no further questions for you in this section.

If you have taken one or more college courses in high school, choose the number of colleges you attended using the drop-down menu, up to three colleges. (Remember, this is the number of colleges you were enrolled at, not the number of courses you took.) This will open up additional questions for you to answer.

Once you indicate that you attended one or more colleges while in high school, you should see the following list of questions for each college. Below the screenshot, we’ll go over the details of how to answer each of these questions.

coursework college mean

  • College 1 lookup: Here, you’ll look up the college you attended in a system very similar to that which you used to look up your high school(s). Our advice above about looking up your high school(s) applies here as well. If you’ve checked and rechecked your search terms and you still can’t find your college, choose “I do not see the college I’m looking for on this list,” and manually enter the college’s information when prompted.
  • College 1 from date: Choose the month and year you started attending this college.
  • College 1 to date: Choose the month and year you stopped attending this college.
  • Degree earned: If you earned a degree from a college while attending high school, choose the degree you earned from a drop-down list. If, like most students, you did not earn a degree from a college while attending high school, you don’t need to answer this question.

You’ll need to repeat these steps for any additional colleges you attended while you were in high school.

Grades Section

In this section, you’ll provide information about your academic performance in high school- specifically, your grades as expressed by your class rank and GPA. When you click on Grades, you’ll see a screen like the one below:

coursework college mean

We’ll go over each of the questions you need to answer below. It’s likely that you won’t know all of these answers offhand, but your school should be able to answer them for you. In general, if you don’t know the answer to one of these questions, or if you don’t know what the question means in the context of your high school’s particular policies, you should ask your counselor or equivalent school official.  

  • Graduating class size: Enter the number of students in your graduating class. Be aware that this number may change from time to time as students’ plans change.
  • Class rank reporting: This question covers both how your school ranks students, and what your actual rank is within your class. First, you’ll choose from the initial drop-down menu to indicate whether your high school ranks students exactly or by decile, quintile, or quartile. (Your counselor can explain what this means.) If, as with some high schools, your school has decided not to keep track of class rankings, you’ll choose None. If your school does rank students, you’ll have to answer two additional questions.
  • Class rank: If your high school ranks students, you’ll either type in your numerical rank or choose your decile, quintile, or quartile rank from a drop-down menu.
  • Rank weighting: If your high school ranks students, you’ll need to choose whether your rank is weighted or unweighted from the drop-down menu. Weighted rank uses weighted GPAs; unweighted rank uses unweighted GPAs. We’ll go over what that means below.
  • GPA scale: Choose the number of points in your school’s GPA scale from the drop-down list. This numerical answer might be anywhere from 4 to 100, depending on your school’s grading system.
  • Cumulative GPA: Enter your cumulative GPA—that is, your GPA taking into account all the high-school courses you’ve taken—just as it appears in your school’s records. (Your GPA is basically an average of the grades you’ve received on your report cards.)
  • GPA weighting: Choose whether your GPA is weighted or unweighted from the drop-down menu. Essentially, a weighted GPA is one in which the number of points awarded for an A grade in the course varies, usually according to how difficult the particular course is. For instance, a high school might use a scale of zero to four for most of its courses, but a scale of zero to five for its honors, AP, or IB courses. If you don’t know your GPA on a 4.0 scale, use our GPA converter to find it .

Be aware that the colleges you’re applying to will have access to your full transcript as well as the information you enter here. They’ll see not only your GPA, but your individual grades, any outliers, and your grade trend across your high-school career. Many colleges will actually recalculate your GPA based on their own criteria, so the information you enter here may not be evaluated exactly as you might think it will be. 

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Current or Most Recent Year Courses Section

This section is where you’ll provide detailed information about the courses you’re currently taking, or, if you are no longer in high school, the courses you took during your most recent year of high school. For most students, this will simply mean entering the classes you’re taking during your senior year. Before you start filling out this section, you’ll probably want to have a copy of your schedule on hand.

First of all, you’ll need to report how many courses you’re taking this academic year. The question reads as follows: Please list all courses you are taking this academic year. If you are not currently enrolled, please list courses from your most recent academic year. How many courses would you like to report?

Choose the number of courses you’re taking or took for the year from the drop-down menu. The number you report here will determine what questions you are prompted to answer next.

Once you’ve provided the number of courses you’re taking, you’ll enter information for each of these courses so that admissions officers can evaluate your academic course load. As an example, here’s a screenshot from our sample student’s Common App profile. Note that the sample student has responded that they are only taking one course this academic year; you’ll almost certainly be taking more than that.

coursework college mean

For the question Please select the course scheduling system your institution is using, you’ll be invited to choose between the options of “semester,” “trimester,” and “quarter” in the drop-down menu. This question refers to how the school year is split up at your school—into two, three, or four periods, respectively, for which a new set of grades are added to your transcript. If you’re unsure, ask your counselor which system applies to your school.

Next, you’ll be asked to enter information for each course. Under Course 1 title , type the full name of your first course. (This may be different from what you call the course on an everyday basis—you may refer to “Algebra II and Trigonometry” as simply “Trig,” but colleges will want to see the full course title.)

Under Course 1 level, if applicable , click to choose a designation that applies to your first course, if any. For instance, if your World History course is an honors course in your school’s system, you would click “Honors” here. Ask your teacher or counselor if you’re not sure about a particular course. If your course has none of these designations, don’t click anything for this question.

Under Course 1 schedule , select whichever option from the drop-down menu applies to that particular course. (The options you see here will vary depending on how you answered the question about your school’s course scheduling system.) Again, ask your teacher or counselor if you’re not sure.

You’ll repeat these steps for each of however many courses you indicated you’re taking this year or took in your most recent year. They’ll be listed as Course 2, Course 3, and so on. 

Course rigor is an important factor for getting accepted to a top school. See how course rigor affects your chances of admission with CollegeVine’s chancing calculator.

Honors Section

In this section, you’ll list and describe up to five academic honors that you’ve received. Since choosing and detailing those honors can be complicated in and of itself, we at CollegeVine have chosen to write a separate post on this issue. Head over to our post on “Reporting Honors and Awards on the Common App” to learn what you should report in this section and how you should report it, from Honor Roll to summer programs to National Merit scholarships . 

Community-Based Organizations Section

In this section, you’ll answer questions about any community-based organizations which may have helped you with the college application process without charging a fee. These organizations might include Questbridge, Upward Bound, the Boys and Girls Club, or others.

If you’ve been aided by a community-based organization like these, you likely know it already. If you’re not sure whether an organization that has helped you qualifies under this section, an employee or leader of that organization may be able to clarify its status for you, or your school counselor may be able to help.

When you open this section, you’ll initially see the following:

coursework college mean

The question reads, Indicate the number of community programs or organizations that have provided you with free assistance in your application process . If no such program or organization has provided you with free assistance in the college application process, you’ll choose 0 from the drop-down menu, and you won’t need to answer any more questions in this section.

If you’ve been provided with free assistance by one or more organizations like this, choose the number of organizations that have assisted you from the drop-down menu. You can enter up to three organizations. You’ll then need to provide additional information about the organization(s) that you worked with.

If you indicate that you have been assisted by one or more community-based organizations, additional questions will appear for you to answer. That screen should look like the screenshot below. After the screenshot, we’ll provide more details on how to answer each of these questions.

coursework college mean

Organization 1: Choose the name of the organization that has assisted you from the drop-down list. If your organization is not listed, choose “Other.” (Hint: the list is alphabetical, and “Other” is listed under the organizations that start with O.) If you choose “Other”, an additional field will appear where you’ll type the name of your organization.

The rest of the questions in this section refer to the individual counselor, advisor, or mentor who worked directly with you in this organization. If you’re not sure whose information you should use for this section, ask whoever you have contact with in the organization, and then speak to that person directly to make sure they are comfortable having their information released.

  • Counselor/Advisor/Mentor Prefix: Choose Dr., Mr., or Ms. from the drop-down menu based on what prefix your mentor uses in official correspondence.
  • First name, middle initial, and last name: Enter your mentor’s full name. If you don’t know their middle initial, that’s okay—just leave that field blank.
  • Email and Phone: Enter your mentor’s contact information. If you have multiple phone numbers and/or email addresses for your mentor, ask them which ones they would prefer you to use. If your mentor is outside the United States, make sure you include the correct country code for their phone number.

You’ll answer the same questions for any additional organizations that you’ve indicated have helped you in your application. 

Future Plans Section

Finally, we come to the Future Plans section, where you’ll answer two simple questions about your educational and career aspirations. When you open this section, you’ll see the following:

coursework college mean

The first question reads Career interest . Here, you’ll choose from a drop-down menu of possible careers. Our sample student has indicated that they’re indicated in becoming an accountant or actuary, but you’ll have many other options. If you don’t see your intended career path in the list, you can either choose the closest available option or choose “Other.” If you haven’t yet decided on a career path, don’t worry- just choose “Undecided.”

The second question reads Highest degree you intend to earn. Here, you’ll choose from a list of possible academic degrees. Our sample student has indicated that they intend to earn a master’s degree, such as an MA or MS. Again, if your intended degree category doesn’t appear in this list, choose “Other,” and if you aren’t sure, choose “Undecided.”

Being asked to specify your future plans so early on in the application process can be a little overwhelming, but you absolutely don’t need to stress out about the questions in this section. Your answers here don’t commit you to anything. Just answer the questions as best you can, and don’t be afraid to choose “Other” or “Undecided” if those answers suit you best.

Concluding the Education Section of the Common App

When you finish the Education section of the Common App, you’re sure to breathe a sigh of relief. You’ve entered a great deal of information, and that information is extremely important to how colleges evaluate your application.

Remember, however, that your Education section doesn’t present a complete portrayal of you as a student and a person. If you’re not totally satisfied with your grades, you still have a chance to wow admissions committees with the other parts of your application, from your activities to your test scores to your essays. You can’t change your grades after the fact, but when you don’t feel like your grades represent you accurately, your full application offers many other opportunities to show yourself in the best possible light.

Be sure to check out some of CollegeVine’s blog posts on other aspects of the Common App, including:

  • A User’s Guide to the Common App
  • How to Receive a Common App Fee Waiver
  • Reporting Honors and Awards in the Common App
  • How to Fill Out the Common App Activities Section
  • Why Does the Common Application Ask Where my Parents Went to College?

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, college prep courses: what are they and should i take them.

Hey everyone! I've heard about college prep courses and classes, but I'm unsure about their purpose. Are they worth taking, and how do they help in the college application process? Any info is appreciated, thanks!

Hey! College prep courses are classes that help prepare students for the academic rigors of college. They typically focus on improving study skills, organization, time management, research techniques, and other foundational college-readiness skills. Additionally, these courses often cover specific subject areas like math, science, or English literature at a level that closely mirrors what you might encounter in college.

Taking college prep courses can be beneficial in several ways. First, they can give you a glimpse of what college-level work will be like, which can be a confidence-booster when transitioning to higher education. Second, these courses might be viewed favorably by college admissions teams, as they demonstrate your willingness to challenge yourself. Keep in mind, AP classes and honors courses might be more impactful in this regard, but college prep courses can still be a valuable addition to your academic profile.

Ultimately, whether you should take college prep courses depends on your specific situation and goals. If you feel they can help you develop important skills, or if you want to challenge yourself academically, it might be a good idea to explore these classes. Good luck in your decision-making process and feel free to ask if you have more questions!

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  • Resume and Cover Letter
  • How to Include Relevant...

How to Include Relevant Coursework on a Resume (with Examples)

13 min read · Updated on September 11, 2023

Ken Chase

If you are a recent graduate struggling with a lack of work experience, knowing how to include relevant coursework on a resume can be one of the best ways to create a more compelling resume narrative.

One thing that many recent college graduates have in common with one another is a general lack of work experience. That lack of experience can sometimes make it difficult for them to construct a resume that sells their potential to be the best candidate for a job. Fortunately, there are ways to still create a strong and compelling resume, even without experience. For example, did you take classes that might be relevant to the position? If so, including relevant coursework on your resume may be the perfect solution to your resume challenges.

In this post, we will explain how you can identify relevant coursework and where it should be listed in your resume. We will also include several examples of relevant coursework on a resume so that you can see the best options for using these details to strengthen your job search efforts.

What is relevant coursework?

Of course, when we talk about relevant coursework, we are talking about those classes and educational activities that have direct relevance to the position you are seeking. The first thing you need to recognize is that many of the classes you took during your college career will not need to be included in your resume. After all, most degrees require that students complete any number of basic foundational courses that will have little if any relation to their chosen job — at least from a resume standpoint. 

So, what types of classes, achievements, and activities should you focus on as you identify suitable courses to add to your resume? While this sounds like a simple question, it actually requires some serious thought and evaluation. Fortunately, there are some basic rules that you can follow as you make that determination. Below are just some of the potentially relevant things that you might want to include in your resume: 

Coursework that demonstrates that you have a foundation of knowledge in a required aspect of the job you are seeking. For example, if communication skills are needed for the position, you should include courses that focused on business communications, writing, etc.

Projects that are related to particular job skills. For a marketing position, you should include any marketing-related projects you completed during your studies. Or you could include research projects you engaged in if you are seeking a job where research skills are essential.

Academic achievements can also be included, including notably high GPA scores or awards you received. Also, be sure to include any related extracurricular activities. That could include everything from clubs to sporting activities if they helped you develop skills that would be useful for the job.

Again, do not include coursework that has no bearing on the job at hand. This will require you to carefully consider each course to determine its relevance. One way to do that is to read the job posting and select keywords and phrases of import that seem to be describing the skills or educational qualifications needed for the job. Then go through your coursework and try to match courses to those skills. As you do so, remember that some basic courses like those involving communication—both written and verbal—may be included, since communication is one of those soft skills that every company values .

You can learn more about the difference between hard and soft skills by reading our excellent article, Key Differences Between Hard Skills and Soft Skills . A better understanding of those critical soft skills can help to ensure that you don't underestimate the value of any of your classes. There's a great chance that you have more marketable soft skills than you realize! 

When should you include relevant courses on your resume?

Before you add your job-related classes to your resume, you should decide whether it is necessary. For example, you can almost certainly benefit from including your relevant coursework on your resume if: 

You recently graduated from school or are beginning the process of looking for a job because you are close to graduation. Students and recent graduates typically have little or no real job experience to highlight skills. Fortunately, their studies and project assignments will likely have helped them to develop important skills that they can highlight in their resumes.

Your educational achievements are necessary to qualify for the position you are seeking. In those instances, your prospective employer will be interested in knowing that you have fulfilled those requirements and have the basic knowledge needed for the position.

There may also be times when you need to include coursework even after you have been in the workforce for some time. For example, if you are switching careers and your current work experience does not include the skills needed for your new job, that may not matter as much if you can show that your studies prepared you for the role. 

Including coursework related to your minor

As you select relevant coursework for your resume, don't forget to consider courses of study related to your minor too. Hopefully, you will have selected a minor that is at least tangentially related to your desired career path. If so, then chances are that some of the courses you completed may have some relevance that can translate to a useful resume listing. For more information about minors and when they can be added to your resume, read How to Include a Minor on Your Resume .

When should I take coursework off my resume?

Obviously, there will be times when you should forgo any mention of your courses in your resume. Some examples of situations where you might not need to list your specific coursework include:

When your coursework is not really relevant to the position you seek. Including irrelevant coursework could actually distract from your important skills and experiences.

Situations in which coursework was completed so long ago that the information is no longer useful. For instance, many technology-related courses can lose their value over time. Other examples include old marketing courses and other educational achievements that involve skills that have evolved rapidly in recent years.

If your resume is already filled with enough work experience and skills that there is no need or room for specific course details. Remember, you want to add your courses to enhance your value as an employee. If adding a particular course does nothing more than add length to the resume, skip it. 

Where should relevant coursework be listed in your resume?

In most resumes, the coursework should be placed in the education section, with a subheading titled “Relevant Coursework.” When creating this part of the education section, you should insert the subheading under the name of your degree, with a list of the courses you studied. For example:

Bachelor's in [Name of Degree]

[College Name, City, Graduation Date]

Relevant Coursework: [Course 1], [Course 2], [Course 3], [Course 4], [Course 5]

Alternatively, you can also opt to show your courses in a bullet-point list if your resume is short and you need to fill more space. You can even elaborate on each course with a few words to describe the skills you learned in class. For example:

Relevant Coursework:

If you have no actual work experience, you may even want to consider using your education section as a substitute for that experience section. If you choose that option, you may want to place the education section closer to the top of your resume and flesh out each course in the same way you would detail a job listing in your work experience section. That means using detailed descriptions that include quantifiable results highlighting your achievements.

Key tips to remember when listing relevant coursework

Before we show you some examples of how to list relevant coursework on your resume, there are a few tips that can help to ensure that your final product is as compelling as possible. By incorporating these ideas into your resume creation process, you can more effectively make that all-important great first impression on any hiring manager.

Only list relevant coursework if you lack sufficient work experience to meet the job requirements.

Always make sure that the courses you list highlight skills and knowledge needed for the position. If a course has nothing to do with your chosen line of work, it has no place in your resume.

Relevant courses may be related to hard and soft skills.

If you choose to use descriptions for each course, use that as an opportunity to insert relevant keywords from the job description. This can be a great way to ensure that your resume can get past any applicant tracking system .

Always proofread your entire resume to eliminate spelling mistakes, punctuation and grammar errors, and style or formatting discrepancies.

Make sure that you tailor your resume to fit the job you want. Since you will likely be applying for different jobs during your job search, you may need to modify your educational coursework details to align with the needs of each position.

Do not forget to include important skill information in your coursework descriptions. Again, try to use those job description keywords.

If you are maintaining an updated resume throughout your educational career, be sure to continually edit your resume as your coursework evolves over time. This can make it easier to keep it updated and can save you some time when your job search begins.

3 Examples of relevant coursework on a resume

In this final section, we will explore some different examples to show you how you can successfully incorporate relevant coursework into your resume. We have included a couple of examples of the most basic listing options, as well as an expanded sample that enables you to provide more details and skills. You can refer to these samples and use them as guides as you create your own relevant coursework section.

Example #1: The Basics

Bachelor's in Information Technology

My College, Anytown 2022

Relevant Coursework: Cyber Security 101, Business Intelligence, Application Development, Networking and Telecom, Artificial Intelligence

This simple listing would be a good option for anyone who has at least some relevant work experience but who still needs an additional boost to meet the job requirements. In this case, the job seeker's coursework listing is presented in a minimalist format, documenting the specific courses and areas of focus—but without any other information about those studies.

Example #2: Bulletpoint List of Courses

Cyber Security 101

Business Intelligence

Application Development

Networking and Telecom

Artificial Intelligence

This option is similar to the first example but presents the classes and areas of focus as separate bullet points. This provides additional emphasis for each area of study, while also taking up a bit more space in the resume. This can be a great option if your resume is a little short and you need to expand the content.

Example #3: Detailed Format

My College, Anytown

Completed in 2022

Certified Cyber Security Expert, skilled in protecting data, information, and infrastructure.

Coursework included training on risk analysis, threat mitigation, compliance assurance, and cloud security.

Completed multiple projects and research assignments designed to test knowledge and adaptability to various types of cyber threats.

 Business Intelligence

Business analytics certificate, training focused on data interpretation and communication to resolve business problems with a data mindset.

Course included 3 projects testing analytical skills using hypothetical business challenges based on real-world business scenarios.

 Application Development

Courses focused on the development of software coding skills used for web application creation, troubleshooting, and debugging.

Final course project involved the creation of an independent web app to streamline online sales processes for a test company.

Training focused on routing, packet switching, and cybersecurity needs.

Spent eight weeks as a volunteer networking intern for a local ISP, receiving hands-on training from experienced networking professionals.

AI and machine learning studies, emphasizing tech integration into business processes, impact on sales and marketing, and ethical concerns.

Conducted study for the course final, evaluating potential AI benefits for enhanced marketing in the digital age and impact on online sales.

This more detailed example is a superior option for those who have no work experience and need their educational credentials to highlight their skills. In this sample, each area of interest is accompanied by bullet point details describing the types of courses studied and the lessons or skills developed during those classes. In addition, bullet points are added to highlight specific achievements, describe studies and real-world application of skills, and demonstrate competency in the subject matter.

This type of format can enable your coursework section to serve as a replacement for work experience if you have never been employed. When used for that purpose, you can expand on each course listing to include additional skills and keywords from the job post. Simply add new bullet points where needed to flesh out each area of emphasis.

Again, if you choose to replace your work experience section with this relevant coursework section, make sure that you move this section closer to the top of your resume so that it receives more prominence. Basically, if your strongest selling point is your education, then make sure that your important courses are one of the first things that a prospective employer sees. Also, you may want to highlight your educational qualifications in your resume summary so that the reader expects to see those coursework details.

Don't underestimate the power of a well-crafted and compelling resume

Finally, it is important to reiterate just how vital it is that your resume makes the best possible impression. When you approach the labor market with little or no work experience, you are usually already at a competitive disadvantage. There will almost always be someone else who has a similar level of skill and educational background, as well as real-world experience. To compete against a qualified rival, you need a resume that can effectively sell you as the best candidate for the job.

For recent graduates and job seekers moving to entirely new careers, a lack of relevant work experience can be a major impediment to landing job interviews and employment offers. One way to overcome this obstacle is to learn how to use relevant educational coursework on your resume to highlight your qualifications and skills. Hopefully, this post and its resume examples can provide you with the inspiration and help you need to translate your educational experience into a compelling resume narrative. Fortunately, there are ways to ensure that your resume effectively positions you to have the best chance at landing any interview and job. To make sure that your resume is up to par, get a  free resume review  today. And if you really want to be sure that your resume is ready for prime time, take a few moments to discover just how easy it is to get professional resume assistance from our team of experts!

Recommended Reading:

What Should I Say About My Education On My Resume?

Ask Amanda: What's the Best Way to List Education on a Resume?

14 Reasons This is a Perfect Recent College Grad Resume Example

Related Articles:

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

From Bland to Beautiful: How We Made This Professional's Resume Shine

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How to List Relevant Coursework On Resume [Tips & Examples!]

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If you’re a college student, recent graduate, or entry-level professional, chances are you don’t have a lot of professional experience to list on your resume. 

This, in turn, might make you feel insecure about your application, especially considering that the work experience section is among the most important section of a resume. 

Well, listing your relevant coursework might just be the answer!

By listing the courses that are relevant to the job position or internship you’re applying for, you can show recruiters that while you don’t have much work experience, you have the right skills and knowledge for the job.

But what is the right way to list relevant coursework on your resume and is there a time when you shouldn’t list it all? And what exactly is relevant, to begin with?

In this article, we’re going to answer all those questions and more. Read on to learn:

When Is Relevant Coursework Necessary on a Resume?

  • How to List Relevant Coursework on Your Resume in 3 Steps

7 Tips on Listing Relevant Coursework on Your Resume

Resume example with relevant coursework.

And more! Let’s dive right in. 

What Makes Coursework Relevant?

Professional experience is one of the most important sections of a successful resume, but you first need to land a job to start building it. 

Which begs the question, how can a recent graduate or entry-level professional prove they’ve got what it takes for an entry-level position with no, or minimal, professional experience ? 

Well, this is where coursework comes in. 

Together with academic projects and achievements, as well as extracurricular activities, listing relevant coursework can help students and entry-level professionals show they’ve got the necessary skills for the job despite not having the relevant professional experience.

The coursework you list on your resume should actually be related to the position you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as a graphic designer, listing your achievements in your World History class won’t really impress recruiters. If, on the other hand, you mention that you were top of your class in Design and Layout , you’ll be effectively showing recruiters that you have great potential as an up-and-coming graphic designer. 

To sum things up, here are the top cases when relevant coursework is necessary on a resume:

  • When you’re still a student
  • When you’re applying with an entry-level resume
  • When you’re applying for an internship
  • When the coursework is directly related to the job position 

If, on the other hand, you have 2+ years of work experience in the field, as well as the needed skill-set, coursework on your resume will only take up space and can be skipped entirely.

Checking the job description is another way of determining whether you should add relevant coursework to your resume. If, for example, the job description requires that you list your majors, GPA, diploma, or portfolio, chances are they’ll also be interested in your coursework, especially if it’s relevant to the position. 

How to List Relevant Coursework on Your Resume in 3 Steps 

So you’ve established that you should include relevant coursework on your resume. Now, you may be wondering where exactly to include it. 

As a rule of thumb, coursework is listed under an applicant’s education history. Depending on whether you have any professional experience to list, the education section may come before or after the work experience section. 

Here are the four best ways to add relevant coursework to your resume: 

#1. Add a New Line in Your Education Section

Instead of creating a fresh section called “Relevant Coursework,” you’re better off just adding the courses to your education section.

As a student resume can be one-page max , this helps you to save up the space needed for other essential resume sections.

Here’s a practical example of what this looks like on the resume of a recent graduate applying for a high-school teaching position: 

BA in World Literature 

UC Berkeley

2012 - 2016

Relevant coursework: British Literature, American Literature, Medieval Literature, William Shakespeare, Language and Cognitive Development 

#2. List Your Relevant Coursework in Bullet Points

To make your relevant coursework more visible and reader-friendly, list them in bullet points underneath your diploma title. 

Here’s how the above Literature graduate’s resume would look like following this formatting: 

Relevant Coursework: 

  • British Literature
  • American Literature 
  • Medieval Literature 
  • William Shakespeare 
  • Language and Cognitive Development

#3. Explain How The Coursework is Relevant to the Position 

Finally, if you want to take your relevant coursework resume section to the next level, add detailed explanations to your courses to support how they’re relevant to the position you’re applying for or how they helped develop your skill-set. 

A recent study found that companies are suspending the use of degree completion as a proxy and instead now favor hiring on the basis of demonstrated skills and competencies . This means that your relevant coursework should aim to show exactly how it has helped you acquire the skills required for the position. 

Here’s an example of how that would play out for a journalism student applying for an entry-level reporting job at a newspaper:

B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication

Northwestern University, IL

2015 - 2018

  • Writing and Reporting: Learned the ins and outs of news reporting through several practical assignments and exams.
  • Media Ethics: Got introduced to the most essential ethical theories and decision-making strategies in journalism and wrote a paper on Ethical Journalism and Human Rights that got published in the Political Communication Journal.
  • Gathering and Developing the News: Gained first-hand experience in interviewing, researching, newsgathering, and communicating with sources.

To make sure your coursework is as relevant as possible, check out the required skills in the job description. If you have taken classes that have helped you master those skills, then make sure to mention how by adding all the necessary details, as shown above. 

Here are seven tips you should always keep in mind when listing coursework on your resume: 

  • Take advantage of keywords . When evaluating your resume, recruiters scan it to look for the keywords that were mentioned in the job description (e.g. skills, experiences, etc.). You can re-read the job ad and, where relevant, include these keywords in your coursework section.
  • Tailor your resume to the job offer.  In order for your coursework to add value to your resume, it really needs to be relevant. So, if you’re applying for a job that doesn’t take academic background into consideration or that’s completely unrelated to your major, you’re better off omitting coursework altogether and focusing on other important sections, such as your hard and soft skills. 
  • List online courses. If you’ve completed some online courses that are relevant to the position you’re applying for, feel free to also include them under relevant coursework. 
  • Add value through other academic achievements. Relevant coursework can say a lot about your potential, but recruiters will be even more easily convinced if you support it with other academic achievements, including your GPA, extracurricular activities, etc. 
  • Show how you’ve grown. When you’re explaining your relevant coursework in detail, you can include how you’ve grown by listing all the skills you acquired in the process. Those can be both soft skills, like communication and interpersonal skills, and hard skills like programming or doing extensive research. 
  • Change the relevant coursework as you progress. Many college students start working in their freshman year. If that’s the case with you, make sure to update your resume from year to year to reflect your academic journey and most recently acquired skills. 
  • Check for errors. A well-written, error-free resume shows that you’re attentive to detail and that you care to make a good impression. 

relevant coursework resume

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap! You now have all the necessary information to add relevant coursework to your resume effectively. 

Before you start working on your resume, though, here’s a brief summary of the key points covered in this article:

  • Listing relevant coursework on your resume is not mandatory but can be very helpful if you’re a student or an entry-level professional.
  • If you have at least a year of professional experience, drop your relevant coursework and focus on tailoring your work experience and skills sections to the position. 
  • Relevant coursework typically goes under the education section. You can either give a general or a detailed summary of your coursework. 
  • You can make a separate relevant coursework section only if the job you’re applying for requires a strong academic record. 
  • Your coursework needs to be relevant to the position. This means you should leave them out of your resume if they have nothing to do with the role.

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  1. Coursework Definition & Meaning

    The meaning of COURSEWORK is work that is assigned or performed as part of a course of study. How to use coursework in a sentence. work that is assigned or performed as part of a course of study… See the full definition ... 15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different. 10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports. See All. Games & Quizzes ...

  2. COURSEWORK Definition & Meaning

    Coursework definition: the work required of a student in a particular course of study; classroom work. . See examples of COURSEWORK used in a sentence.

  3. Coursework

    Coursework (also course work, especially British English) is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can encompass a wide range of activities, including practice, experimentation, research, and writing (e.g., dissertations, book reports, and essays).

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    COURSEWORK definition: 1. work set at regular periods as part of an educational course 2. work set at regular periods as…. Learn more.

  5. What is Coursework?

    Coursework is a practical work or study done by a student in partial fulfilment of a degree or training. Projects, field work, design studies, long essays etc constitutes a coursework. The nature of work which requires to be carried out depends on the course. It is largely a part of learning exercise and a step to prepare you to handle the ...

  6. Understanding Course Work

    Coursework refers to the assignments, projects, presentations, essays, and other academic tasks that students are required to complete as part of a specific course during a semester or a school year. The primary purpose of coursework is to assess a student's understanding of the material taught in class, their ability to apply the concepts, and their critical thinking skills.

  7. What Is a Coursework and How to Write a Paper: A Simple Guide

    As a result, to write coursework, students thoroughly research their topics, create detailed outlines, adhere to specified formats, draft their content clearly and concisely, and proofread their papers for any mistakes. Step 1: Preparation. Planning or preparation is the first step in writing a coursework paper.

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    COURSEWORK meaning: 1. work set at regular periods as part of an educational course 2. work set at regular periods as…. Learn more.

  9. coursework noun

    work that students do during a course of study, not in exams, that is included in their final mark. Coursework accounts for 40 per cent of the final marks. Topics Education b2. Definitions on the go. Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary app.

  10. Meaning of coursework

    COURSEWORK definition: work done by students as part of their course of study. Learn more.

  11. Coursework Meaning & Definition: A Complete Guide

    Coursework is practical work or studies completed by a student in partial fulfilment of training or degree. Coursework includes projects, fieldwork, design studies, extensive college essays, and other activities. The type of work required varies on the course. It is mostly a part of the learning process and a step towards preparing students to ...

  12. What is Coursework at University?

    In short, at university coursework is similar to at previous levels of education, where coursework is a form of assessment without exams that helps to make up your grade. At university, this is because successfully completing coursework helps you to pass modules, allowing you to get your qualification. This coursework can come in many different ...

  13. COURSEWORK definition in American English

    the work required of a student in a particular course of study; classroom work . 2. curricular studies or academic work . ... Whether you're in search of a crossword puzzle, a detailed guide to tying knots, or tips on writing the perfect college essay, Harper Reference has you covered for all your study needs. Read more.

  14. Your Guide to Conquering College Coursework

    In the excitement of starting a new life on campus, college coursework can sometimes become a second priority. However, adjusting to college coursework is often the biggest challenge of all. Even the best students may be surprised at how difficult college courses are. The subject matter is more complex. The workload is larger.

  15. Course Codes 101: A Beginner's Guide to Course Codes and Transfer Credit

    1. Course Prefix. The first part of a college course code is simple: a series of letters indicating the course's general subject. This is the course prefix, and it's fairly intuitive. Tip: if you get stuck wondering what a particular set of letters means, compare several courses sharing the same prefix. Or Google it.

  16. A Guide to the Education Section of the Common App

    In this context, AP and IB courses do not count as college courses. When you initially open up the Colleges & Universities section, it will look like this: The first question reads as follows: If you have taken a college/university course, please indicate the number of colleges. If you have not taken any college courses in high school, choose ...

  17. Clarification on common app course level definitions?

    The Common App asks you to classify the courses you've taken during high school based on their level of rigor. Here's a brief explanation of the most common terms you'll come across when filling out the course level definitions: 1. Regular: A standard academic high school course that does not provide any additional challenge or advanced material.

  18. College Prep Courses: What Are They and Should I Take Them?

    Hey! College prep courses are classes that help prepare students for the academic rigors of college. They typically focus on improving study skills, organization, time management, research techniques, and other foundational college-readiness skills. Additionally, these courses often cover specific subject areas like math, science, or English literature at a level that closely mirrors what you ...

  19. What Is a College Course?

    Some courses, especially those dealing with science, include a laboratory component where students partake in hands-on experiences. Other courses might be taught in smaller groups allowing for discussion and interaction between students and the instructor. Online Courses. More and more college courses are available online.

  20. How to Include Relevant Coursework on a Resume (with Examples)

    Bachelor's in [Name of Degree] [College Name, City, Graduation Date] Relevant Coursework: [Course 1], [Course 2], [Course 3], [Course 4], [Course 5] Alternatively, you can also opt to show your courses in a bullet-point list if your resume is short and you need to fill more space. You can even elaborate on each course with a few words to ...

  21. COURSEWORK definition and meaning

    Written or oral work completed by a student within a given period, which is assessed as an.... Click for English pronunciations, examples sentences, video.

  22. What Are College Credits?

    A college credit is a unit that measures learning at accredited colleges and universities in the United States. According to federal guidelines, one college credit hour "reasonably approximates" one hour of classroom learning plus two hours of independent work [1]. That means for the average three-credit course, you can expect to spend ...

  23. How to List Relevant Coursework On Resume [Tips & Examples!]

    B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. Northwestern University, IL. 2015 - 2018. Relevant Coursework: Writing and Reporting: Learned the ins and outs of news reporting through several practical assignments and exams. Media Ethics: Got introduced to the most essential ethical theories and decision-making strategies in journalism and wrote a paper on Ethical Journalism and Human Rights that ...