Navigating the Online Catalog
Site Navigation
The UCSB online catalog was designed with a variety of users in mind, and we have therefore provided a number of different ways to navigate its content. These include:
Search - At the top right-hand side of each page is a "Search" menu. The site feature five distinct searches, which can be chosen from the drop-down:
- Courses - This search returns courses whose titles or descriptions contain the word or words entered by the user.
- Courses (by subject area) - This search returns all the courses within a particular subject area. If you choose this search, a "Subject Area" drop-down will appear next to the "Search" drop-down.
- Colleges and Departments - This search looks only in the "Colleges and Departments" section of the catalog.
- Policy - This search looks only at policy-related pages.
- Full Site - This search looks at all pages in the site. It does not look at courses.
Index - Across the top of each page is an A-Z index. This functions similarly to the index that would be found in the back of a printed catalog. Simply click on a letter to view all the catalog entries for that letter.
Contents/Browsing - Many users prefer to access content by browsing. To make this easier, the catalog contains the following features:
- Contents Sidebar - The left-hand side of every page contains a Table of Contents that shows the high-level sections of the catalog.
- "Other Pages in this Section" - As you drill deeper down into the catalog content, you will see that many pages contain a blue box on the right-hand side displaying all pages within a particular section. For instance, users looking at the "Registration Fee" page will see all other pages related to "Quarterly Fees and Expenses" on the right-hand side. This way they can quickly and easily find related content.
- Navigation Path - Above the header for each page, the navigation path is displayed in the following format: Fees and Financial Aid > Quarterly Fees and Expenses > Registration Fee. This allows users to easily see what section of the catalog they are in, and move up to a higher level within the hierarchy if desired.
Department Pages
Department pages have a convenient tabbed format, so that all content can be housed and organized on a single page. Department information displays as follows:
- Department Info - General info, such as the department name, location, website, etc. appears at the top of the page. It can be seen regardless of which tab you are viewing.
- Overview Tab - This tab contains a general description of the department.
- Faculty Tab - This tab shows a list of current faculty. Please note that because the catalog is prepared in advance of the academic year it covers, this information is subject to change. The department should be consulted for the most up-to-date faculty information.
- Undergraduate Program - This tab contains links to the major and minor sheets for all undergraduate majors and minors offered by a particular department. The major sheet represents the contractual agreement between the university and the student about what coursework they must complete to receive a particular degree. The Undergraduate Program tab may also contain descriptive information about the majors.
- Graduate Program - This tab contains links to the major sheets for all graduate majors offered by a particular department. It also contains department- or major-specific admission information, and may contain descriptive information about the majors.
- Courses - This tab shows all courses offered by a particular department.
- Learning Outcomes - This tab links to documents which outline the expected learning outcomes for each academic program in the department.
Other Important Features
- "Print-Friendly" Button - At the top right-hand side of each page is a "Print-Friendly" button, which will deliver content in a format that does not include the side navigation bars.
- Feedback Button - Also at the top right-hand side of each page is a feedback button, which allows users to quickly provide feedback about the catalog. Because we have only recently gone to an online-only format, we are eager for suggestions about how we can improve the content and functionality, and look forward to hearing from you.