Searching and Viewing the Course Catalog

You search and view the course catalog to find information about offered courses.

Quick Start

  1. Go to your Student Services page.
  2. Click Academics to go to your Academics page.
  3. Under Course Catalog and Schedule click View Course Catalog.

    Sage displays the Course Catalog Search Criteria page. Before you can search you must enter a subject area (math, for example). You can also narrow your search by entering a catalog number or an attribute and value (courses satisfying a requirement, for example).

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    The Lookup Function

    Many fields in sage display a lookup icon . These allow you to lookup a list of all appropriate values for that field.

    To lookup values for a field:

    1. Leave the field blank, and click the lookup icon . Sage displays the appropriate lookup page.
    2. You can leave the lookup page fields blank or enter values to narrow the search. For example, to search for all subjects that start with S, type S in the Subject field.
    3. Click Lookup at the bottom of the page. Sage displays all appropriate values.
    4. Scroll down the list if necessary to locate your value. Click on any link in the line containing it. Sage displays the original page with the field filled in.
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    Subject Area

    MATH is a subject area (Mathematics). ENG is a subject area (English). If you know the subject area you want course-catalog information about, enter it in the Subject Area field.

    If you need to lookup subject areas:

    1. Click on the lookup icon . Sage displays the Lookup Subject Area page.
    2. You can click Lookup immediately to see all available subject areas.

      To narrow the search, enter the first letter or letters of a subject area or description [m for Math, for example, or fr for French]

      When you are ready, click Lookup.

    3. Sage displays your search results.

      Lists of more than one-hundred results display in sections. To see the next group of one hundred, click . To display the final group of one hundred, click on Last.

      Scroll through the list. When you find your subject area, click on it.

    4. Sage displays the Course Catalog Search Criteria page with the subject area you selected in the Subject Area field.
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    Catalog Number

    The catalog number is the same as the course number and suffix from the bulletin (101a, for example).

    Catalog-number searches can be based on an exact match of the number entered or a wildcard match.

    If you know the exact catalog number, enter it in the Catalog Number field.

    If you know only part of the number, enter that and be sure Wildcard appears in the drop-down menu beside the field. A wildcard search will return all courses that include your entry in the Catalog Number field. For example, if you entered MATH as the subject area, then enter 15 in the Catalog Nbr field with Wildcard displaying, the results will include only math courses with 15 in the catalog number - MATH 15A, MATH 150B, etc.

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    Attribute and Value

    Brandeis uses attributes to indicate certain course characteristics. For example, the attribute GENR indicates courses that satisfy a general education requirement. XL indicates cross-listed courses.

    If you need to lookup attributes:

    1. Click on the lookup icon . The Lookup Attribute / Value page displays.
    2. You can click Lookup immediately to see all available attributes.

      To narrow the search, enter the first letter or letters of an academic organization or description [ge for General University Requirement, for example].

    3. When you are ready, click Search.

      Sage displays your search results.

    4. Scroll through the list. When you find your course attribute, click on it.

      Sage displays the Course Catalog Search Criteria page with your attribute in the Attribute field.

    5. After you select an attribute, you can select a corresponding value to narrow the search even further. For example, if you selected the attribute GENR to see general university requirements, you could specify the value SS, for School of Social Science.

      You can enter a value now and click Search, or you can look up a value by clicking on the lookup icon beside the field.

      When you click the lookup icon, sage displays a value lookup page.

    6. You can click Lookup immediately to see all values associated with your course attribute.

      To narrow the search you can enter the first letter or letters of a course attribute value or its formal description [S for School of Social Science, for example].

      When you are ready, click Search.

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  4. When you have entered any criteria you want to use to limit your search, click Search.

    Note: If your search will yield information about 200 or more courses, you will see an error message and you must enter more criteria to narrow your search.

    Sage displays all catalog entries that fit your search criteria.

    You can see prerequisites, special course notes, formal course description, and course attributes.

  5. When you are finished, click Return to Search to return to the Course Catalog Search page, then click Return to Academics to return to the Academics homepage. top