Course Search & Enroll - Ways to Search for Courses

This document explains the various search options available using Course Search & Enroll.

Overview

The Course Search & Enroll app is available at enroll.wisc.edu or by logging in to MyUW, then selecting the Course Search & Enroll widget.
Course search & enroll tile
For browsing purposes only, guests can browse Course Search & Enroll at public.enroll.wisc.edu.

Note: You will not be able to enroll in courses through that link; it is for guest browsing purposes only. Students, please refrain from searching for classes through that link.

Before searching, choose a term

Choosing “All” for the term filter shows all the courses that can be taught at UW–Madison, regardless of term. This filter won’t display individual sections for a course, since these vary from term to term.

You can also choose a term in the My Courses tab.

Search by term

Searching with keywords

Type a keyword to find matches in class information (keywords include: subject area, class title, descriptions, instructor-provided content, etc.).

Course Search & Enroll finds both exact and approximate matches: When you search for “cultural,” the results list classes matching “cultural,” “culture,” and “cultures,” among other results. “Game” shows more results than “games,” because it is an approximate match to more keywords.

Search for classes taught by a specific instructor by using their last name as a keyword. Search results may include classes that match the search term in other fields. The results when searching for “Nelson” may include Prof. Adam Nelson and Asst. Prof. Nicole Nelson, but also classes that include “Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies” in the description or details.

Searching for last names that have more than one word (e.g., Prof. Lyn Van Swol) or are hyphenated (e.g., Prof. Mario Ortiz-Robles) may produce many results because of the approximate word matches. Try searching for just one part of their name instead (e.g., “swol” or "ortiz”).

Number searches can include a course number (e.g., 277 or “POLI SCI 277”) or a date (1865).

Searching by Keyword

Subject filter

Use this drop-down box to select an academic subject area, such as “Sociology” or “Risk Management and Insurance.”

UW–Madison academic departments and programs offer courses grouped by subject areas. Sometimes these have the same name (the Department of Philosophy offers courses in the Philosophy subject area) and sometimes they are different (the Department of History offers courses in History and also in History of Science).

Subject areas are abbreviated in course titles, such as PHILOS, HISTORY, and HIST SCI.

Subject filter

Seats filter

Your search can be limited to class sections that are “Open,” “Wait listed,” “Closed,” or combinations of these.

Course Search & Enroll looks at seat availability in real time. Your search results may change as sections fill.
Seat Filters

Course Designation filter

The Course Designation filter allows you to select individual designations (Biological Sciences) or combinations of designations (Biological Sciences and Communication B).

IMPORTANT NOTE: The search logic has changed from previous versions. Selecting combinations of designations will show only courses that meet all of the designations selected (previous versions displayed courses that met any of the designations selected). If there are no courses that meet the combination of designations you select, then no courses will appear.

Course Designation drop down of filter options

Example Results from Searches Using the Course Designations Filter:

The image below shows the results when the categories Biological Sciences and Communication B are selected. The results show six courses that have both Biological Sciences and Communication B course designations.

Two Course Designations Selected

The image below shows the result of no courses found when the categories Natural Sciences, Physical Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning B are selected. This is because there are no courses that have all three course designations of Natural Sciences, Physical Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning B. One or more of the filters will need to be removed to have courses appear in the results.

Three selections in Course Designation Filter

Core GenEd filter

The Core GenEd filter allows you to find courses that fulfill Core General Education requirements for undergraduate degrees. Similar to Course Designation, search results will show only courses that meet all of the Core GenEd categories selected.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Courses can only have one Core GenEd category. Selecting more than one in the filter will always result in zero courses returned. Select only one category within Core GenEd when searching for courses.

Core GenEd drop down of filter options

Example Results from Searches Using the Core GenEd Filter:

The image below shows the search results when only the category Natural Science & Wellness is selected.

Selecting only one item in Core GenEd filter

The image below shows search results when both Natural Science & Wellness and Natural Science & Wellness + Lab are selected. There zero matches returned because there are no courses that have multiple Core GenEd categories assigned to them. When searching by using the Core GenEd filter, make sure only one category is selected.

Mulitple selections in the Core GenEd filter

The Core GenEd filter can be used with other filters to refine course searches. The image below shows search results when the course designation categories of both Physical Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning B and Core GenEd category Natural Science & Wellness+ Lab are selected. Each of the courses in the results meet all three of the categories selected in the filters.

Using multiple filters to refine course search

Level filter

This filter finds courses that match the Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced depth designations that some degrees require.

Level drop down of filter options

Language filter (formerly Foreign Language)

Search for language courses at the first through fifth level. For higher levels, search by keyword or subject area instead. Selecting “All” in the filter shows all UW–Madison courses, not all language courses.

Foreign language filter options

Mode of Instruction filter

The Mode of Instruction filter was adjusted on December 2020 to reflect the mix of in-person and virtual classes scheduled for the Spring 2021 term. For detailed information on using this filter, see: Course Search & Enroll - Search Mode of Instruction.

Mode of instructions drop down of filter options

Credits filter

Use the Credits filter to search for courses offering a specific number of credits. Searching for “1” to “1” credit shows all one-credit courses.

Leaving a credits field empty or unselected means “anything to this point.” Selecting “5” in the first field and leaving the second field empty will match all courses with 5 or more credits. Leaving the first field empty and selecting “3” in the second field will match courses with 1, 2, or 3 credits.

Credits filter options

Honors filter

Honors filter

Honors designation can be assigned to the entire course or to individual sections. When viewing individual sections, look for the book Honors symbol.

Discussion sections with a book icon that indicates honors

Session filter

Each term (Fall, Spring, Summer) has sessions with different course start and end dates. The majority of UW–Madison courses in the Fall and Spring are scheduled over a “Regular” session.

This filter allows you choose from specific sessions offered during the term that you have selected.

If a course is scheduled for a session other than “Regular,” the session dates and three-character code will display in the Sections Panel.

Screenshot of session filter

Reserved Sections filter

Search for classes or sections offered exclusively to specific groups (like students in certain resident halls).

A term must be selected for this filter to work. The groups displayed may vary from term to term, depending on what classes are offered:

Exclude reserved sections from results
Include all reserved sections
First-Year Interest Groups
OUD Class Section
Residence halls and Learning communities
Community-Based Learning
Wisconsin Emerging Scholars

Reserved Sections drop down of filter options

When viewing individual sections, look for the star symbol to find those that have a reserved section.

Reserved sections star