diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/courses.py b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/courses.py
index 3b6d614f91..27ceb530f3 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/courses.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/courses.py
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ def get_course_by_id(course_key, depth=0):
 
     depth: The number of levels of children for the modulestore to cache. None means infinite depth
     """
-    course = modulestore().get_course(course_key, depth=depth)
+    with modulestore().bulk_operations(course_key):
+        course = modulestore().get_course(course_key, depth=depth)
     if course:
         return course
     else:
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py
index 22d95de96c..18013af6dc 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py
@@ -285,6 +285,11 @@ def index(request, course_id, chapter=None, section=None,
             return redirect(reverse('dashboard'))
 
     request.user = user  # keep just one instance of User
+    with modulestore().bulk_operations(course_key):
+        return _index_bulk_op(request, user, course_key, chapter, section, position)
+
+
+def _index_bulk_op(request, user, course_key, chapter, section, position):
     course = get_course_with_access(user, 'load', course_key, depth=2)
     staff_access = has_access(user, 'staff', course)
     registered = registered_for_course(course, user)