Often, especially in first or second-year undergraduate courses, there are no prerequisites for the courses, as this is the first time students have taken a certain subject. However, for graduate courses, as with graduate degrees, there is an assumption that a student already possesses the background knowledge on a subject. Therefore, there are usually several prerequisites for the course, as there were prerequisites for entering the graduate program.
The difficulty of undergraduate programs increases gradually during the four-year degree. Initially, the courses are not difficult and are guided by professors so students can learn and academically benefit from the courses. However, in graduate school, there is an assumption about the intelligence and academic accomplishments of those enrolled in the programs, as they have been accepted to complete a graduate degree. The courses, therefore, are quite difficult and are often research based.
Undergraduate programs, and hence their courses, tend to have a wide scope and cover a variety of topics within a given field, such as science or English. Graduate programs are more specialized, usually narrowing down a specific topic from their undergraduate degree, such as English literature in the 1800s, and the courses reflect this.
Coursework for those in undergraduate programs is generally very routine, allowing the students to academically grow and become used to university life. Homework is often similar to high school, especially in first-year courses, with routine work and deadlines given. However, this differs from the coursework in graduate courses, where the studies are much more individualized and students often work with professors in a close manner, sometimes even one-on-one. Coursework in graduate studies focuses on the learning of the individual, and students often complete only one or two assignments for the entirety of the course.