diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py
index 58e0ea11ed..3896affca1 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/course_module.py
@@ -210,6 +210,19 @@ class CourseDescriptor(SequenceDescriptor):
     def start_date_text(self):
         return time.strftime("%b %d, %Y", self.start)
 
+    # An extra property is used rather than the wiki_slug/number because
+    # there are courses that change the number for different runs. This allows
+    # courses to share the same css_class across runs even if they have
+    # different numbers.
+    # 
+    # TODO get rid of this as soon as possible or potentially build in a robust
+    # way to add in course-specific styling. There needs to be a discussion
+    # about the right way to do this, but arjun will address this ASAP. Also
+    # note that the courseware template needs to change when this is removed.
+    @property
+    def css_class(self):
+        return self.metadata.get('css_class', '')
+
     @property
     def title(self):
         return self.display_name
diff --git a/lms/templates/courseware/courseware.html b/lms/templates/courseware/courseware.html
index d5bdb9b302..58998d7c1d 100644
--- a/lms/templates/courseware/courseware.html
+++ b/lms/templates/courseware/courseware.html
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <%inherit file="/main.html" />
 <%namespace name='static' file='/static_content.html'/>
-<%block name="bodyclass">courseware</%block>
+<%block name="bodyclass">courseware ${course.css_class}</%block>
 <%block name="title"><title>${course.number} Courseware</title></%block>
 
 <%block name="headextra">