UCLA study guides, course by course
UCLA runs on the quarter system: ten weeks from first lecture to finals, which compresses every course and makes falling behind unusually expensive. Intro STEM courses are large, curved, and midterm-heavy — with two midterms plus a final in ten weeks, exam season effectively never stops.
UCLA courses use a department abbreviation plus a number, often with a letter suffix marking sequence position — MATH 31A and 31B, CHEM 14A through 14D, PHYSICS 1A/1B/1C. The 14-series and 20-series in chemistry are parallel tracks for life-science versus physical-science majors.
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CS 31 — Introduction to Computer Science I
CS 31 is UCLA's intro programming course, taught in C++, covering control flow, functions, arrays, pointers, and basic program design. It's the first required course for CS majors and a common choice for engineering and math students adding programming skills.
CS 32 — Introduction to Computer Science II
CS 32 is UCLA's data structures course in C++, covering recursion, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, hash tables, and algorithm analysis. Its multi-thousand-line projects — including the famous game-engine project — are a step change in scale from CS 31.
CS 33 — Introduction to Computer Organization
CS 33 is UCLA's computer organization course, taking students below C into machine-level representation, x86-64 assembly, the memory hierarchy and caches, linking, and concurrency basics. It follows CS 32 and is where CS majors first see what their code becomes on real hardware.
CS 35L — Software Construction
CS 35L is UCLA's software-construction course, teaching the practical toolchain upper-division CS assumes: the Unix/Linux command line, shell scripting, Git, build systems, Python and scripting, and a collaborative software project. Long associated with Professor Eggert, it's the course that turns students into functional engineers.
CS 111 — Operating Systems Principles
CS 111 is UCLA's operating systems course, covering processes and threads, scheduling, synchronization, memory management and virtual memory, file systems, and protection, with substantial systems-programming projects in C. It's a core upper-division requirement and one of the most respected courses in the major.
CS 131 — Programming Languages
CS 131 is UCLA's programming-languages course, surveying language paradigms and concepts — type systems, scoping, functional programming, concurrency, and memory models — through a rotating cast of languages such as OCaml, Prolog, Scheme, and Java or Python. It's a core upper-division requirement, also long associated with Professor Eggert.
CS 180 — Introduction to Algorithms and Complexity
CS 180 is UCLA's algorithms course: graph algorithms, greedy methods, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, network flow, and NP-completeness. It's the theory core of the upper division and the course most directly mirrored in technical interviews.
Mathematics
MATH 31A — Differential and Integral Calculus
MATH 31A is UCLA's first calculus course — limits, derivatives, optimization, and the basics of integration — required across engineering, physical science, economics, and life-science-adjacent tracks. Most STEM freshmen take it (or skip it via AP credit) in fall quarter.
MATH 31B — Integration and Infinite Series
MATH 31B covers integration techniques, applications, improper integrals, and infinite sequences and series including Taylor series. It's the second course in UCLA's main calculus sequence and a prerequisite for the multivariable courses that follow.
MATH 32A — Calculus of Several Variables
MATH 32A introduces multivariable calculus: vectors, vector-valued functions, partial derivatives, gradients, and optimization in several variables. It's required for engineering, physics, math, and CS-adjacent tracks, typically taken in the first year after the 31 sequence.
MATH 32B — Calculus of Several Variables
MATH 32B completes UCLA's multivariable calculus sequence: multiple integrals, change of variables, line and surface integrals, and the vector-calculus theorems of Green, Stokes, and Gauss. It follows 32A and is required across engineering and the physical sciences.
MATH 33A — Linear Algebra and Applications
MATH 33A is UCLA's linear algebra course: systems of equations, matrices, vector spaces, linear transformations, orthogonality, least squares, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors. It's required across engineering, math, and CS, and the linear algebra it teaches underpins machine learning and upper-division applied coursework.
MATH 33B — Differential Equations
MATH 33B is UCLA's ordinary differential equations course: first-order equations, second-order linear equations, the method of undetermined coefficients and variation of parameters, and applications to physical systems. It follows the 31 sequence and is required across engineering and the physical sciences.
MATH 61 — Introduction to Discrete Structures
MATH 61 is UCLA's discrete mathematics course: logic and proof techniques, induction, set theory, combinatorics, recurrence relations, and graph theory. It's a required foundation for the CS major and the course where students first learn to construct rigorous arguments.
Life Sciences
LS 7A — Cell and Molecular Biology
LS 7A is the first course in UCLA's Life Sciences core, covering cell structure, energy and metabolism, the central dogma, and cell signaling. It's the gateway for every life-science major and the pre-med masses, taught flipped-classroom style with pre-class videos and in-class active learning.
LS 7B — Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology
LS 7B is the second course in UCLA's Life Sciences core, covering Mendelian and population genetics, the mechanisms of evolution by natural selection, and population, behavioral, and community ecology. Like the rest of the 7-series it's taught flipped-classroom, with pre-class videos feeding in-class active learning.
LS 7C — Physiology and Human Biology
LS 7C is the final course in UCLA's Life Sciences core, covering the organization of cells into tissues and organs and the physiology of the major organ systems, with an introduction to human genetics and genomics. It completes the 7-series and is the bridge to upper-division physiology and pre-health coursework.
Chemistry and Biochemistry
CHEM 14A — Atomic and Molecular Structure, Equilibria, Acids, and Bases
CHEM 14A is the first course in UCLA's general chemistry series for life-science majors — the standard pre-med chemistry entry point. It covers quantum concepts, atomic structure, bonding, equilibrium, and acid-base chemistry on a ten-week clock.
CHEM 20A — Chemical Structure
CHEM 20A opens UCLA's general chemistry sequence for chemistry, biochemistry, and physical-science majors, focusing on quantum theory, atomic and molecular structure, and bonding with more mathematical rigor than the 14-series. It's the physical-science counterpart to CHEM 14A.
CHEM 14B — Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry, Kinetics, and Organic Chemistry
CHEM 14B is the second course in UCLA's general chemistry series for life-science majors and pre-meds, covering chemical equilibria, thermochemistry and the laws of thermodynamics, electrochemistry, chemical kinetics, and an introduction to organic concepts. It follows CHEM 14A on a ten-week clock.
CHEM 14C — Structure of Organic Molecules
CHEM 14C is UCLA's organic chemistry course for life-science majors and pre-meds, covering resonance, stereochemistry, conjugation and aromaticity, and spectroscopy (NMR, IR, and mass spectrometry), with emphasis on biological applications. It follows CHEM 14B and is the pre-med organic gateway.
Physics and Astronomy
PHYSICS 1A — Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics
PHYSICS 1A is UCLA's calculus-based mechanics course for engineering and physical science majors, covering kinematics, Newton's laws, energy, momentum, and rotational motion. It's the first of the 1-series, normally taken alongside the 31/32 math sequence.
PHYSICS 5A — Physics for Life Sciences Majors: Mechanics and Energy
PHYSICS 5A is the first course in UCLA's physics sequence for life-science majors and pre-meds, covering kinematics, Newton's laws, energy, momentum, and rotational motion with biological applications. It's the life-science counterpart to the engineering-focused 1-series, with lecture, discussion, and lab.
Economics
ECON 1 — Principles of Economics
ECON 1 is UCLA's introductory microeconomics course — scarcity, supply and demand, consumer theory, production, and market structures. It's the first prerequisite for the economics and business economics majors, both of which admit by GPA in pre-major coursework, so it draws enormous enrollments.
ECON 2 — Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics
ECON 2 is UCLA's introductory macroeconomics course — GDP, unemployment, inflation, economic growth, money and banking, and fiscal and monetary policy. With ECON 1, it forms the pre-major requirement for the economics and business economics majors, both of which admit by GPA in pre-major coursework.
Statistics and Data Science
Psychology
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