diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/apps.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/apps.py
index d3e5b02ba4..83ecfe3905 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/apps.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/apps.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Configuration for the openedx.core.djangoapps.util Django application
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 from django.apps import AppConfig
 
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/forms.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/forms.py
index bb60de9354..8425e665e2 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/forms.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/forms.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Custom forms-related types
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
 from django.forms import Field, MultipleHiddenInput, NullBooleanField, Select
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/log_utils.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/log_utils.py
index 1e41fb51f4..1d71b11f63 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/log_utils.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/log_utils.py
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ Django-based logging utilities
 
 UserIdFilter: A logging.Filter that adds userid to the logging context
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+
 from logging import Filter
+
 from crum import get_current_user
 
 
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/ratelimit.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/ratelimit.py
index e82183609b..11a8d7bab5 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/ratelimit.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/ratelimit.py
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+"""
+Code to get ip from request.
+"""
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+
 from ipware.ip import get_ip
 
 
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/row_delete.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/row_delete.py
index 1f6c183810..c813e42cb2 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/row_delete.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/row_delete.py
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 """
 Code to delete rows from a table within a Django mgmt command using best practices.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 import logging
 import time
-from django.core.management.base import CommandError, BaseCommand
+
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
 from django.db import transaction
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/signals.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/signals.py
index 4ffd54aa42..71cfbeb050 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/signals.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/signals.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 Signal handler for exceptions.
 """
 # pylint: disable=unused-argument
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+
 import logging
 
 from celery.signals import task_postrun
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/testing.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/testing.py
index c7c15a8ffc..fbba29c400 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/testing.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/testing.py
@@ -1,17 +1,19 @@
 """ Mixins for setting up particular course structures (such as split tests or cohorted content) """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 from datetime import datetime
+
 from pytz import UTC
 
-from openedx.core.djangoapps.django_comment_common.models import Role
-from openedx.core.djangoapps.django_comment_common.utils import seed_permissions_roles
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.course_groups.models import CourseUserGroupPartitionGroup
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.course_groups.tests.helpers import CohortFactory
+from openedx.core.djangoapps.django_comment_common.models import Role
+from openedx.core.djangoapps.django_comment_common.utils import seed_permissions_roles
 from openedx.core.djangoapps.user_api.tests.factories import UserCourseTagFactory
-from xmodule.modulestore.tests.factories import CourseFactory, ItemFactory
-from xmodule.modulestore.tests.django_utils import ModuleStoreTestCase
-from xmodule.partitions.partitions import UserPartition, Group
 from student.tests.factories import CourseEnrollmentFactory, UserFactory
+from xmodule.modulestore.tests.django_utils import ModuleStoreTestCase
+from xmodule.modulestore.tests.factories import CourseFactory, ItemFactory
+from xmodule.partitions.partitions import Group, UserPartition
 
 
 class ContentGroupTestCase(ModuleStoreTestCase):
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_messages.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_messages.py
index efb501ad07..271d755688 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_messages.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_messages.py
@@ -13,13 +13,16 @@ There are two common use cases:
    the message will be shown on the subsequent page. This is typically
    used to show a success message to the use.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 from abc import abstractmethod
 from enum import Enum
 
+import six
 from django.contrib import messages
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
-from openedx.core.djangolib.markup import Text, HTML
+
+from openedx.core.djangolib.markup import HTML, Text
 
 
 class UserMessageType(Enum):
@@ -172,7 +175,7 @@ class UserMessageCollection():
             """
             return UserMessage(
                 type=_get_message_type_for_level(message.level),
-                message_html=unicode(message.message),
+                message_html=six.text_type(message.message),
             )
 
         django_messages = messages.get_messages(request)
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_utils.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_utils.py
index 18ecb9f578..d5de59a9af 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_utils.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/util/user_utils.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Custom user-related utility code.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 from django.contrib.auth.models import AnonymousUser