diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/utils.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/utils.py
index f5b3196ccb19..fbe04186c43c 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/utils.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/utils.py
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def get_lms_link_for_item(location, preview=False, course_id=None):
         else:
             lms_base = settings.LMS_BASE
 
-        lms_link = "//{lms_base}/courses/{course_id}/jump_to/{location}".format(
+        lms_link = u"//{lms_base}/courses/{course_id}/jump_to/{location}".format(
             lms_base=lms_base,
             course_id=course_id,
             location=Location(location)
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ def get_lms_link_for_about_page(location):
         about_base = None
 
     if about_base is not None:
-        lms_link = "//{about_base_url}/courses/{course_id}/about".format(
+        lms_link = u"//{about_base_url}/courses/{course_id}/about".format(
             about_base_url=about_base,
             course_id=Location(location).course_id
         )
diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/component.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/component.py
index d466bbe73238..8c1bcb7a9df4 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/component.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/component.py
@@ -267,8 +267,7 @@ def unit_handler(request, tag=None, package_id=None, branch=None, version_guid=N
         preview_lms_base = settings.FEATURES.get('PREVIEW_LMS_BASE')
 
         preview_lms_link = (
-            '//{preview_lms_base}/courses/{org}/{course}/'
-            '{course_name}/courseware/{section}/{subsection}/{index}'
+            u'//{preview_lms_base}/courses/{org}/{course}/{course_name}/courseware/{section}/{subsection}/{index}'
         ).format(
             preview_lms_base=preview_lms_base,
             lms_base=settings.LMS_BASE,
diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/course.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/course.py
index 89c5a33db779..e930e33c1a5e 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/course.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/course.py
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ def create_new_course(request):
     run = request.json.get('run')
 
     try:
-        dest_location = Location('i4x', org, number, 'course', run)
+        dest_location = Location(u'i4x', org, number, u'course', run)
     except InvalidLocationError as error:
         return JsonResponse({
             "ErrMsg": _("Unable to create course '{name}'.\n\n{err}").format(
@@ -286,8 +286,10 @@ def create_new_course(request):
     course_search_location = bson.son.SON({
         '_id.tag': 'i4x',
         # cannot pass regex to Location constructor; thus this hack
-        '_id.org': re.compile('^{}$'.format(dest_location.org), re.IGNORECASE),
-        '_id.course': re.compile('^{}$'.format(dest_location.course), re.IGNORECASE),
+        # pylint: disable=E1101
+        '_id.org': re.compile(u'^{}$'.format(dest_location.org), re.IGNORECASE | re.UNICODE),
+        # pylint: disable=E1101
+        '_id.course': re.compile(u'^{}$'.format(dest_location.course), re.IGNORECASE | re.UNICODE),
         '_id.category': 'course',
     })
     courses = modulestore().collection.find(course_search_location, fields=('_id'))
diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/preview.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/preview.py
index 19b351d59cb0..11bea40f9fa6 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/preview.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/preview.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def handler_prefix(block, handler='', suffix=''):
     Trailing `/`s are removed from the returned url.
     """
     return reverse('preview_handler', kwargs={
-        'usage_id': quote_slashes(str(block.scope_ids.usage_id)),
+        'usage_id': quote_slashes(unicode(block.scope_ids.usage_id).encode('utf-8')),
         'handler': handler,
         'suffix': suffix,
     }).rstrip('/?')
diff --git a/cms/static/js/index.js b/cms/static/js/index.js
index d8a6903763c2..fff1923f4dba 100644
--- a/cms/static/js/index.js
+++ b/cms/static/js/index.js
@@ -84,8 +84,8 @@ require(["domReady", "jquery", "underscore", "js/utils/cancel_on_escape"],
                 if (required) {
                     return required;
                 }
-                if (item !== encodeURIComponent(item)) {
-                    return gettext('Please do not use any spaces or special characters in this field.');
+                if (/\s/g.test(item)) {
+                    return gettext('Please do not use any spaces in this field.');
                 }
                 return '';
             };
diff --git a/cms/templates/unit.html b/cms/templates/unit.html
index 1151b4c5523c..04d73d8efd94 100644
--- a/cms/templates/unit.html
+++ b/cms/templates/unit.html
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ <h4 class="header">${_("Unit Settings")}</h4>
               % endif
               ${_("with the subsection {link_start}{name}{link_end}").format(
                   name=subsection.display_name_with_default,
-                  link_start='<a href="{url}">'.format(url=subsection_url),
+                  link_start=u'<a href="{url}">'.format(url=subsection_url),
                   link_end='</a>',
                 )}
               </p>
diff --git a/common/djangoapps/cache_toolbox/core.py b/common/djangoapps/cache_toolbox/core.py
index 9a7be940b894..3321f83d5ed2 100644
--- a/common/djangoapps/cache_toolbox/core.py
+++ b/common/djangoapps/cache_toolbox/core.py
@@ -110,12 +110,12 @@ def instance_key(model, instance_or_pk):
 
 
 def set_cached_content(content):
-    cache.set(str(content.location), content)
+    cache.set(unicode(content.location).encode("utf-8"), content)
 
 
 def get_cached_content(location):
-    return cache.get(str(location))
+    return cache.get(unicode(location).encode("utf-8"))
 
 
 def del_cached_content(location):
-    cache.delete(str(location))
+    cache.delete(unicode(location).encode("utf-8"))
diff --git a/common/djangoapps/course_groups/cohorts.py b/common/djangoapps/course_groups/cohorts.py
index d2c7e3a782f5..c6b93e563490 100644
--- a/common/djangoapps/course_groups/cohorts.py
+++ b/common/djangoapps/course_groups/cohorts.py
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ def is_commentable_cohorted(course_id, commentable_id):
         # inline discussions are cohorted by default
         ans = True
 
-    log.debug("is_commentable_cohorted({0}, {1}) = {2}".format(course_id,
+    log.debug(u"is_commentable_cohorted({0}, {1}) = {2}".format(course_id,
                                                                commentable_id,
                                                                ans))
     return ans
diff --git a/common/djangoapps/static_replace/__init__.py b/common/djangoapps/static_replace/__init__.py
index a05129d86441..29dcf7455b03 100644
--- a/common/djangoapps/static_replace/__init__.py
+++ b/common/djangoapps/static_replace/__init__.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def _url_replace_regex(prefix):
     To anyone contemplating making this more complicated:
     http://xkcd.com/1171/
     """
-    return r"""
+    return ur"""
         (?x)                      # flags=re.VERBOSE
         (?P<quote>\\?['"])        # the opening quotes
         (?P<prefix>{prefix})      # the prefix
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ def replace_static_url(match):
         return "".join([quote, url, quote])
 
     return re.sub(
-        _url_replace_regex('(?:{static_url}|/static/)(?!{data_dir})'.format(
+        _url_replace_regex(u'(?:{static_url}|/static/)(?!{data_dir})'.format(
             static_url=settings.STATIC_URL,
             data_dir=static_asset_path or data_directory
         )),
diff --git a/common/djangoapps/student/roles.py b/common/djangoapps/student/roles.py
index daf3f6ee025b..a0783196b5de 100644
--- a/common/djangoapps/student/roles.py
+++ b/common/djangoapps/student/roles.py
@@ -159,30 +159,30 @@ def __init__(self, role, location, course_context=None):
 
         if isinstance(self.location, Location):
             try:
-                groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, self.location.course_id))
+                groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, self.location.course_id))
                 course_context = self.location.course_id  # course_id is valid for translation
             except InvalidLocationError:  # will occur on old locations where location is not of category course
                 if course_context is None:
                     raise CourseContextRequired()
                 else:
-                    groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, course_context))
+                    groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, course_context))
             try:
                 locator = loc_mapper().translate_location_to_course_locator(course_context, self.location)
-                groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, locator.package_id))
+                groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, locator.package_id))
             except (InvalidLocationError, ItemNotFoundError):
                 # if it's never been mapped, the auth won't be via the Locator syntax
                 pass
             # least preferred legacy role_course format
-            groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, self.location.course))
+            groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, self.location.course))  # pylint: disable=E1101, E1103
         elif isinstance(self.location, CourseLocator):
-            groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, self.location.package_id))
+            groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, self.location.package_id))
             # handle old Location syntax
             old_location = loc_mapper().translate_locator_to_location(self.location, get_course=True)
             if old_location:
                 # the slashified version of the course_id (myu/mycourse/myrun)
-                groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, old_location.course_id))
+                groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, old_location.course_id))
                 # add the least desirable but sometimes occurring format.
-                groupnames.append('{0}_{1}'.format(role, old_location.course))
+                groupnames.append(u'{0}_{1}'.format(role, old_location.course))  # pylint: disable=E1101, E1103
 
         super(CourseRole, self).__init__(groupnames)
 
@@ -193,12 +193,13 @@ class OrgRole(GroupBasedRole):
     """
     def __init__(self, role, location):
         location = Location(location)
-        super(OrgRole, self).__init__(['{}_{}'.format(role, location.org)])
+        super(OrgRole, self).__init__([u'{}_{}'.format(role, location.org)])
 
 
 class CourseStaffRole(CourseRole):
     """A Staff member of a course"""
     ROLE = 'staff'
+
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         super(CourseStaffRole, self).__init__(self.ROLE, *args, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/common/djangoapps/student/views.py b/common/djangoapps/student/views.py
index 007b894900da..5ab43a161d87 100644
--- a/common/djangoapps/student/views.py
+++ b/common/djangoapps/student/views.py
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ def dashboard(request):
 
             course_enrollment_pairs.append((course, enrollment))
         except ItemNotFoundError:
-            log.error("User {0} enrolled in non-existent course {1}"
+            log.error(u"User {0} enrolled in non-existent course {1}"
                       .format(user.username, enrollment.course_id))
 
     course_optouts = Optout.objects.filter(user=user).values_list('course_id', flat=True)
@@ -495,9 +495,9 @@ def change_enrollment(request):
         org, course_num, run = course_id.split("/")
         dog_stats_api.increment(
             "common.student.enrollment",
-            tags=["org:{0}".format(org),
-                  "course:{0}".format(course_num),
-                  "run:{0}".format(run)]
+            tags=[u"org:{0}".format(org),
+                  u"course:{0}".format(course_num),
+                  u"run:{0}".format(run)]
         )
 
         CourseEnrollment.enroll(user, course.id, mode=current_mode.slug)
diff --git a/common/lib/capa/capa/capa_problem.py b/common/lib/capa/capa/capa_problem.py
index f011b3813e22..d14af5b0d8fa 100644
--- a/common/lib/capa/capa/capa_problem.py
+++ b/common/lib/capa/capa/capa_problem.py
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ def _grade_answers(self, student_answers):
             # TODO: figure out where to get file submissions when rescoring.
             if 'filesubmission' in responder.allowed_inputfields and student_answers is None:
                 _ = self.capa_system.i18n.ugettext
-                raise Exception(_("Cannot rescore problems with possible file submissions"))
+                raise Exception(_(u"Cannot rescore problems with possible file submissions"))
 
             # use 'student_answers' only if it is provided, and if it might contain a file
             # submission that would not exist in the persisted "student_answers".
diff --git a/common/lib/capa/capa/correctmap.py b/common/lib/capa/capa/correctmap.py
index 2ea4a35c024d..df7efee343c6 100644
--- a/common/lib/capa/capa/correctmap.py
+++ b/common/lib/capa/capa/correctmap.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def set(
     ):
 
         if answer_id is not None:
-            self.cmap[str(answer_id)] = {
+            self.cmap[answer_id] = {
                 'correctness': correctness,
                 'npoints': npoints,
                 'msg': msg,
diff --git a/common/lib/capa/capa/xqueue_interface.py b/common/lib/capa/capa/xqueue_interface.py
index 270b696f9f40..78b9fcd008f3 100644
--- a/common/lib/capa/capa/xqueue_interface.py
+++ b/common/lib/capa/capa/xqueue_interface.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class XQueueInterface(object):
     """
 
     def __init__(self, url, django_auth, requests_auth=None):
-        self.url = url
+        self.url = unicode(url)
         self.auth = django_auth
         self.session = requests.Session()
         self.session.auth = requests_auth
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/contentstore/content.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/contentstore/content.py
index 61ff0bc1927a..50e7f5d84842 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/contentstore/content.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/contentstore/content.py
@@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ def is_thumbnail(self):
 
     @staticmethod
     def generate_thumbnail_name(original_name):
-        return ('{0}' + XASSET_THUMBNAIL_TAIL_NAME).format(os.path.splitext(original_name)[0])
+        return u"{name_root}{extension}".format(
+            name_root=os.path.splitext(original_name)[0],
+            extension=XASSET_THUMBNAIL_TAIL_NAME,)
 
     @staticmethod
     def compute_location(org, course, name, revision=None, is_thumbnail=False):
@@ -64,7 +66,7 @@ def is_c4x_path(path_string):
         """
         Returns a boolean if a path is believed to be a c4x link based on the leading element
         """
-        return path_string.startswith('/{0}/'.format(XASSET_LOCATION_TAG))
+        return path_string.startswith(u'/{0}/'.format(XASSET_LOCATION_TAG))
 
     @staticmethod
     def renamespace_c4x_path(path_string, target_location):
@@ -86,14 +88,14 @@ def get_static_path_from_location(location):
         the actual /c4x/... path which the client needs to reference static content
         """
         if location is not None:
-            return "/static/{name}".format(**location.dict())
+            return u"/static/{name}".format(**location.dict())
         else:
             return None
 
     @staticmethod
     def get_base_url_path_for_course_assets(loc):
         if loc is not None:
-            return "/c4x/{org}/{course}/asset".format(**loc.dict())
+            return u"/c4x/{org}/{course}/asset".format(**loc.dict())
 
     @staticmethod
     def get_id_from_location(location):
@@ -237,6 +239,6 @@ def generate_thumbnail(self, content, tempfile_path=None):
 
             except Exception, e:
                 # log and continue as thumbnails are generally considered as optional
-                logging.exception("Failed to generate thumbnail for {0}. Exception: {1}".format(content.location, str(e)))
+                logging.exception(u"Failed to generate thumbnail for {0}. Exception: {1}".format(content.location, str(e)))
 
         return thumbnail_content, thumbnail_file_location
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/__init__.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/__init__.py
index 89b8e80d15b9..5d241731a7e4 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/__init__.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/__init__.py
@@ -30,12 +30,12 @@
 
 # TODO (cpennington): We should decide whether we want to expand the
 # list of valid characters in a location
-INVALID_CHARS = re.compile(r"[^\w.-]")
+INVALID_CHARS = re.compile(r"[^\w.%-]", re.UNICODE)
 # Names are allowed to have colons.
-INVALID_CHARS_NAME = re.compile(r"[^\w.:-]")
+INVALID_CHARS_NAME = re.compile(r"[^\w.:%-]", re.UNICODE)
 
 # html ids can contain word chars and dashes
-INVALID_HTML_CHARS = re.compile(r"[^\w-]")
+INVALID_HTML_CHARS = re.compile(r"[^\w-]", re.UNICODE)
 
 _LocationBase = namedtuple('LocationBase', 'tag org course category name revision')
 
@@ -186,14 +186,14 @@ def check_list(list_):
         elif isinstance(location, basestring):
             match = URL_RE.match(location)
             if match is None:
-                log.debug("location %r doesn't match URL", location)
+                log.debug(u"location %r doesn't match URL", location)
                 raise InvalidLocationError(location)
             groups = match.groupdict()
             check_dict(groups)
             return _LocationBase.__new__(_cls, **groups)
         elif isinstance(location, (list, tuple)):
             if len(location) not in (5, 6):
-                log.debug('location has wrong length')
+                log.debug(u'location has wrong length')
                 raise InvalidLocationError(location)
 
             if len(location) == 5:
@@ -216,9 +216,9 @@ def url(self):
         """
         Return a string containing the URL for this location
         """
-        url = "{0.tag}://{0.org}/{0.course}/{0.category}/{0.name}".format(self)
+        url = u"{0.tag}://{0.org}/{0.course}/{0.category}/{0.name}".format(self)
         if self.revision:
-            url += "@" + self.revision
+            url += u"@{rev}".format(rev=self.revision)  # pylint: disable=E1101
         return url
 
     def html_id(self):
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ def html_id(self):
         Return a string with a version of the location that is safe for use in
         html id attributes
         """
-        id_string = "-".join(str(v) for v in self.list() if v is not None)
+        id_string = u"-".join(v for v in self.list() if v is not None)
         return Location.clean_for_html(id_string)
 
     def dict(self):
@@ -240,6 +240,9 @@ def list(self):
         return list(self)
 
     def __str__(self):
+        return str(self.url().encode("utf-8"))
+
+    def __unicode__(self):
         return self.url()
 
     def __repr__(self):
@@ -254,7 +257,7 @@ def course_id(self):
         Throws an InvalidLocationError is this location does not represent a course.
         """
         if self.category != 'course':
-            raise InvalidLocationError('Cannot call course_id for {0} because it is not of category course'.format(self))
+            raise InvalidLocationError(u'Cannot call course_id for {0} because it is not of category course'.format(self))
 
         return "/".join([self.org, self.course, self.name])
 
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/loc_mapper_store.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/loc_mapper_store.py
index 7e00abfdace2..37853d07896a 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/loc_mapper_store.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/loc_mapper_store.py
@@ -88,9 +88,9 @@ def create_map_entry(self, course_location, package_id=None, draft_branch='draft
         """
         if package_id is None:
             if course_location.category == 'course':
-                package_id = "{0.org}.{0.course}.{0.name}".format(course_location)
+                package_id = u"{0.org}.{0.course}.{0.name}".format(course_location)
             else:
-                package_id = "{0.org}.{0.course}".format(course_location)
+                package_id = u"{0.org}.{0.course}".format(course_location)
         # very like _interpret_location_id but w/o the _id
         location_id = self._construct_location_son(
             course_location.org, course_location.course,
@@ -185,7 +185,6 @@ def translate_location(self, old_style_course_id, location, published=True, add_
         self._cache_location_map_entry(old_style_course_id, location, published_usage, draft_usage)
         return result
 
-
     def translate_locator_to_location(self, locator, get_course=False):
         """
         Returns an old style Location for the given Locator if there's an appropriate entry in the
@@ -331,12 +330,12 @@ def _generate_location_course_id(self, entry_id):
         # strip id envelope if any
         entry_id = entry_id.get('_id', entry_id)
         if entry_id.get('name', False):
-            return '{0[org]}/{0[course]}/{0[name]}'.format(entry_id)
+            return u'{0[org]}/{0[course]}/{0[name]}'.format(entry_id)
         elif entry_id.get('_id.org', False):
             # the odd format one
-            return '{0[_id.org]}/{0[_id.course]}'.format(entry_id)
+            return u'{0[_id.org]}/{0[_id.course]}'.format(entry_id)
         else:
-            return '{0[org]}/{0[course]}'.format(entry_id)
+            return u'{0[org]}/{0[course]}'.format(entry_id)
 
     def _construct_location_son(self, org, course, name=None):
         """
@@ -392,7 +391,7 @@ def _get_locator_from_cache(self, old_course_id, location, published):
         """
         See if the location x published pair is in the cache. If so, return the mapped locator.
         """
-        entry = self.cache.get('{}+{}'.format(old_course_id, location.url()))
+        entry = self.cache.get(u'{}+{}'.format(old_course_id, location.url()))
         if entry is not None:
             if published:
                 return entry[0]
@@ -424,7 +423,7 @@ def _get_course_location_from_cache(self, locator_package_id):
         See if the package_id is in the cache. If so, return the mapped location to the
         course root.
         """
-        return self.cache.get('courseId+{}'.format(locator_package_id))
+        return self.cache.get(u'courseId+{}'.format(locator_package_id))
 
     def _cache_course_locator(self, old_course_id, published_course_locator, draft_course_locator):
         """
@@ -442,9 +441,9 @@ def _cache_location_map_entry(self, old_course_id, location, published_usage, dr
         """
         setmany = {}
         if location.category == 'course':
-            setmany['courseId+{}'.format(published_usage.package_id)] = location
+            setmany[u'courseId+{}'.format(published_usage.package_id)] = location
         setmany[unicode(published_usage)] = location
         setmany[unicode(draft_usage)] = location
-        setmany['{}+{}'.format(old_course_id, location.url())] = (published_usage, draft_usage)
+        setmany[u'{}+{}'.format(old_course_id, location.url())] = (published_usage, draft_usage)
         setmany[old_course_id] = (published_usage, draft_usage)
         self.cache.set_many(setmany)
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/locator.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/locator.py
index bde6cee83892..2b58797532bf 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/locator.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/locator.py
@@ -64,13 +64,13 @@ def __str__(self):
         '''
         str(self) returns something like this: "mit.eecs.6002x"
         '''
-        return unicode(self).encode('utf8')
+        return unicode(self).encode('utf-8')
 
     def __unicode__(self):
         '''
         unicode(self) returns something like this: "mit.eecs.6002x"
         '''
-        return self.url()
+        return unicode(self).encode('utf-8')
 
     @abstractmethod
     def version(self):
@@ -199,12 +199,12 @@ def __unicode__(self):
         Return a string representing this location.
         """
         if self.package_id:
-            result = self.package_id
+            result = unicode(self.package_id)
             if self.branch:
                 result += '/' + BRANCH_PREFIX + self.branch
             return result
         elif self.version_guid:
-            return VERSION_PREFIX + str(self.version_guid)
+            return u"{prefix}{guid}".format(prefix=VERSION_PREFIX, guid=self.version_guid)
         else:
             # raise InsufficientSpecificationError("missing package_id or version_guid")
             return '<InsufficientSpecificationError: missing package_id or version_guid>'
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ def url(self):
         """
         Return a string containing the URL for this location.
         """
-        return 'edx://' + unicode(self)
+        return u'edx://' + unicode(self)
 
     def _validate_args(self, url, version_guid, package_id):
         """
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@ def url(self):
         Return a string containing the URL for this location.
         url(self) returns something like this: 'defx://version/519665f6223ebd6980884f2b'
         """
-        return 'defx://' + unicode(self)
+        return u'defx://' + unicode(self)
 
     def version(self):
         """
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/parsers.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/parsers.py
index f1f49febb4c7..9d046effdb67 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/parsers.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/parsers.py
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
 # Prefix for the version portion of a locator URL, when it is preceded by a course ID
 VERSION_PREFIX = r"version/"
 
-ALLOWED_ID_CHARS = r'[a-zA-Z0-9_\-~.:]'
+ALLOWED_ID_CHARS = r'[\w\-~.:]'
+
 
 URL_RE_SOURCE = r"""
     (?P<tag>edx://)?
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@
         VERSION_PREFIX=VERSION_PREFIX, BLOCK_PREFIX=BLOCK_PREFIX
     )
 
-URL_RE = re.compile('^' + URL_RE_SOURCE + '$', re.IGNORECASE | re.VERBOSE)
+URL_RE = re.compile('^' + URL_RE_SOURCE + '$', re.IGNORECASE | re.VERBOSE | re.UNICODE)
 
 
 def parse_url(string, tag_optional=False):
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ def parse_url(string, tag_optional=False):
     return matched_dict
 
 
-BLOCK_RE = re.compile(r'^' + ALLOWED_ID_CHARS + r'+$', re.IGNORECASE)
+BLOCK_RE = re.compile(r'^' + ALLOWED_ID_CHARS + r'+$', re.IGNORECASE | re.UNICODE)
 
 
 def parse_block_ref(string):
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/store_utilities.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/store_utilities.py
index a01eb5e5f1db..9408dc14fd91 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/store_utilities.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/modulestore/store_utilities.py
@@ -73,13 +73,13 @@ def generic_courseware_link_substitution(match):
     # NOTE: ultimately link updating is not a hard requirement, so if something blows up with
     # the regex subsitution, log the error and continue
     try:
-        c4x_link_base = '{0}/'.format(StaticContent.get_base_url_path_for_course_assets(course_location))
+        c4x_link_base = u'{0}/'.format(StaticContent.get_base_url_path_for_course_assets(course_location))
         text = re.sub(_prefix_only_url_replace_regex(c4x_link_base), portable_asset_link_subtitution, text)
     except Exception, e:
         logging.warning("Error going regex subtituion %r on text = %r.\n\nError msg = %s", c4x_link_base, text, str(e))
 
     try:
-        jump_to_link_base = '/courses/{org}/{course}/{run}/jump_to/i4x://{org}/{course}/'.format(
+        jump_to_link_base = u'/courses/{org}/{course}/{run}/jump_to/i4x://{org}/{course}/'.format(
             org=org, course=course, run=run
         )
         text = re.sub(_prefix_and_category_url_replace_regex(jump_to_link_base), portable_jump_to_link_substitution, text)
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ def generic_courseware_link_substitution(match):
     #
     if source_course_id != dest_course_id:
         try:
-            generic_courseware_link_base = '/courses/{org}/{course}/{run}/'.format(
+            generic_courseware_link_base = u'/courses/{org}/{course}/{run}/'.format(
                 org=org, course=course, run=run
             )
             text = re.sub(_prefix_only_url_replace_regex(generic_courseware_link_base), portable_asset_link_subtitution, text)
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/tests/test_conditional.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/tests/test_conditional.py
index 74aa83073ffc..0487194dbc7d 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/tests/test_conditional.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/tests/test_conditional.py
@@ -129,9 +129,9 @@ def test_get_html(self):
         html = modules['cond_module'].render('student_view').content
         expected = modules['cond_module'].xmodule_runtime.render_template('conditional_ajax.html', {
             'ajax_url': modules['cond_module'].xmodule_runtime.ajax_url,
-            'element_id': 'i4x-edX-conditional_test-conditional-SampleConditional',
-            'id': 'i4x://edX/conditional_test/conditional/SampleConditional',
-            'depends': 'i4x-edX-conditional_test-problem-SampleProblem',
+            'element_id': u'i4x-edX-conditional_test-conditional-SampleConditional',
+            'id': u'i4x://edX/conditional_test/conditional/SampleConditional',
+            'depends': u'i4x-edX-conditional_test-problem-SampleProblem',
         })
         self.assertEquals(expected, html)
 
@@ -225,9 +225,9 @@ def replace_urls(text, staticfiles_prefix=None, replace_prefix='/static/', cours
             {
                 # Test ajax url is just usage-id / handler_name
                 'ajax_url': 'i4x://HarvardX/ER22x/conditional/condone/xmodule_handler',
-                'element_id': 'i4x-HarvardX-ER22x-conditional-condone',
-                'id': 'i4x://HarvardX/ER22x/conditional/condone',
-                'depends': 'i4x-HarvardX-ER22x-problem-choiceprob'
+                'element_id': u'i4x-HarvardX-ER22x-conditional-condone',
+                'id': u'i4x://HarvardX/ER22x/conditional/condone',
+                'depends': u'i4x-HarvardX-ER22x-problem-choiceprob'
             }
         )
         self.assertEqual(html, html_expect)
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py
index 51d077c68607..9fe208fd0474 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ def get_children(self):
                 try:
                     child = self.runtime.get_block(child_loc)
                 except ItemNotFoundError:
-                    log.exception('Unable to load item {loc}, skipping'.format(loc=child_loc))
+                    log.exception(u'Unable to load item {loc}, skipping'.format(loc=child_loc))
                     continue
                 self._child_instances.append(child)
 
@@ -538,7 +538,6 @@ def templates(cls):
                     template = yaml.safe_load(template_content)
                     template['template_id'] = template_file
                     templates.append(template)
-
         return templates
 
     @classmethod
@@ -546,7 +545,7 @@ def get_template_dir(cls):
         if getattr(cls, 'template_dir_name', None):
             dirname = os.path.join('templates', cls.template_dir_name)
             if not resource_isdir(__name__, dirname):
-                log.warning("No resource directory {dir} found when loading {cls_name} templates".format(
+                log.warning(u"No resource directory {dir} found when loading {cls_name} templates".format(
                     dir=dirname,
                     cls_name=cls.__name__,
                 ))
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/bulk_email/tasks.py b/lms/djangoapps/bulk_email/tasks.py
index d02045a8be23..5b07f49fa538 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/bulk_email/tasks.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/bulk_email/tasks.py
@@ -677,5 +677,5 @@ def _statsd_tag(course_title):
     """
     Calculate the tag we will use for DataDog.
     """
-    tag = "course_email:{0}".format(course_title)
+    tag = u"course_email:{0}".format(course_title)
     return tag[:200]
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/access.py b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/access.py
index e5cfc85038dd..8f789915725c 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/access.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/access.py
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ def _dispatch(table, action, user, obj):
               action)
         return result
 
-    raise ValueError("Unknown action for object type '{0}': '{1}'".format(
+    raise ValueError(u"Unknown action for object type '{0}': '{1}'".format(
         type(obj), action))
 
 
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/module_render.py b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/module_render.py
index 51f236adc70f..207e46f63897 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/module_render.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/module_render.py
@@ -321,10 +321,10 @@ def publish(block, event, custom_user=None):
         org, course_num, run = course_id.split("/")
 
         tags = [
-            "org:{0}".format(org),
-            "course:{0}".format(course_num),
-            "run:{0}".format(run),
-            "score_bucket:{0}".format(score_bucket)
+            u"org:{0}".format(org),
+            u"course:{0}".format(course_num),
+            u"run:{0}".format(run),
+            u"score_bucket:{0}".format(score_bucket)
         ]
 
         if grade_bucket_type is not None:
@@ -443,7 +443,7 @@ def publish(block, event, custom_user=None):
             make_psychometrics_data_update_handler(course_id, user, descriptor.location.url())
         )
 
-    system.set('user_is_staff', has_access(user, descriptor.location, 'staff', course_id))
+    system.set(u'user_is_staff', has_access(user, descriptor.location, u'staff', course_id))
 
     # make an ErrorDescriptor -- assuming that the descriptor's system is ok
     if has_access(user, descriptor.location, 'staff', course_id):
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py
index e60b6c5394fc..4e0e97c2bcd9 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/courseware/views.py
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def index(request, course_id, chapter=None, section=None,
     registered = registered_for_course(course, user)
     if not registered:
         # TODO (vshnayder): do course instructors need to be registered to see course?
-        log.debug('User %s tried to view course %s but is not enrolled' % (user, course.location.url()))
+        log.debug(u'User {0} tried to view course {1} but is not enrolled'.format(user, course.location.url()))
         return redirect(reverse('about_course', args=[course.id]))
 
     masq = setup_masquerade(request, staff_access)
@@ -249,8 +249,8 @@ def index(request, course_id, chapter=None, section=None,
 
         course_module = get_module_for_descriptor(user, request, course, field_data_cache, course.id)
         if course_module is None:
-            log.warning('If you see this, something went wrong: if we got this'
-                        ' far, should have gotten a course module for this user')
+            log.warning(u'If you see this, something went wrong: if we got this'
+                        u' far, should have gotten a course module for this user')
             return redirect(reverse('about_course', args=[course.id]))
 
         if chapter is None:
@@ -424,9 +424,9 @@ def jump_to(request, course_id, location):
     try:
         (course_id, chapter, section, position) = path_to_location(modulestore(), course_id, location)
     except ItemNotFoundError:
-        raise Http404("No data at this location: {0}".format(location))
+        raise Http404(u"No data at this location: {0}".format(location))
     except NoPathToItem:
-        raise Http404("This location is not in any class: {0}".format(location))
+        raise Http404(u"This location is not in any class: {0}".format(location))
 
     # choose the appropriate view (and provide the necessary args) based on the
     # args provided by the redirect.
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py
index 3c83556a7e75..4003dfb460c5 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/django_comment_client/permissions.py
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ def cached_has_permission(user, permission, course_id=None):
     Call has_permission if it's not cached. A change in a user's role or
     a role's permissions will only become effective after CACHE_LIFESPAN seconds.
     """
-    key = "permission_%d_%s_%s" % (user.id, str(course_id), permission)
+    key = u"permission_{user_id:d}_{course_id}_{permission}".format(
+        user_id=user.id, course_id=course_id, permission=permission)
     val = CACHE.get(key, None)
     if val not in [True, False]:
         val = has_permission(user, permission, course_id=course_id)
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/instructor/views/legacy.py b/lms/djangoapps/instructor/views/legacy.py
index ae740ad319a0..c671b2892251 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/instructor/views/legacy.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/instructor/views/legacy.py
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ def get_module_url(urlname):
 
         # complete the url using information about the current course:
         (org, course_name, _) = course_id.split("/")
-        return "i4x://" + org + "/" + course_name + "/" + urlname
+        return u"i4x://{org}/{name}/{url}".format(org=org, name=course_name, url=urlname)
 
     def get_student_from_identifier(unique_student_identifier):
         """Gets a student object using either an email address or username"""
@@ -782,7 +782,7 @@ def get_analytics_result(analytics_name):
         logs and swallows errors.
         """
         url = settings.ANALYTICS_SERVER_URL + \
-            "get?aname={}&course_id={}&apikey={}".format(analytics_name,
+            u"get?aname={}&course_id={}&apikey={}".format(analytics_name,
                                                          course_id,
                                                          settings.ANALYTICS_API_KEY)
         try:
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/open_ended_notifications.py b/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/open_ended_notifications.py
index e99f51283c78..9398a119578b 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/open_ended_notifications.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/open_ended_notifications.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def staff_grading_notifications(course, user):
 def peer_grading_notifications(course, user):
     system = LmsModuleSystem(
         track_function=None,
-        get_module = None,
+        get_module=None,
         render_template=render_to_string,
         replace_urls=None,
     )
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def combined_notifications(course, user):
     #Set up return values so that we can return them for error cases
     pending_grading = False
     img_path = ""
-    notifications={}
+    notifications = {}
     notification_dict = {'pending_grading': pending_grading, 'img_path': img_path, 'response': notifications}
 
     #We don't want to show anonymous users anything.
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ def combined_notifications(course, user):
     system = LmsModuleSystem(
         static_url="/static",
         track_function=None,
-        get_module = None,
+        get_module=None,
         render_template=render_to_string,
         replace_urls=None,
     )
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ def combined_notifications(course, user):
         #Non catastrophic error, so no real action
         #This is a dev_facing_error
         log.exception(
-            "Problem with getting notifications from controller query service for course {0} user {1}.".format(
+            u"Problem with getting notifications from controller query service for course {0} user {1}.".format(
                 course_id, student_id))
 
     if pending_grading:
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ def set_value_in_cache(student_id, course_id, notification_type, value):
 
 
 def create_key_name(student_id, course_id, notification_type):
-    key_name = "{prefix}{type}_{course}_{student}".format(prefix=KEY_PREFIX, type=notification_type, course=course_id,
+    key_name = u"{prefix}{type}_{course}_{student}".format(prefix=KEY_PREFIX, type=notification_type, course=course_id,
                                                           student=student_id)
     return key_name
 
diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/staff_grading_service.py b/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/staff_grading_service.py
index 090b36d13c32..81a2eb401c53 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/staff_grading_service.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/staff_grading_service.py
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ def get_problem_list(self, course_id, grader_id):
                                            'min_for_ml': 10})
                            ]})
 
-
     def save_grade(self, course_id, grader_id, submission_id, score, feedback, skipped, rubric_scores,
                    submission_flagged):
         return self.get_next(course_id, 'fake location', grader_id)
@@ -81,7 +80,7 @@ def __init__(self, config):
         config['system'] = LmsModuleSystem(
             static_url='/static',
             track_function=None,
-            get_module = None,
+            get_module=None,
             render_template=render_to_string,
             replace_urls=None,
         )
@@ -93,7 +92,6 @@ def __init__(self, config):
         self.get_problem_list_url = self.url + '/get_problem_list/'
         self.get_notifications_url = self.url + "/get_notifications/"
 
-
     def get_problem_list(self, course_id, grader_id):
         """
         Get the list of problems for a given course.
@@ -113,7 +111,6 @@ def get_problem_list(self, course_id, grader_id):
         params = {'course_id': course_id, 'grader_id': grader_id}
         return self.get(self.get_problem_list_url, params)
 
-
     def get_next(self, course_id, location, grader_id):
         """
         Get the next thing to grade.
@@ -137,7 +134,6 @@ def get_next(self, course_id, location, grader_id):
                                     'grader_id': grader_id})
         return json.dumps(self._render_rubric(response))
 
-
     def save_grade(self, course_id, grader_id, submission_id, score, feedback, skipped, rubric_scores,
                    submission_flagged):
         """
diff --git a/lms/lib/xblock/runtime.py b/lms/lib/xblock/runtime.py
index cb2c0330251b..74066a6af13d 100644
--- a/lms/lib/xblock/runtime.py
+++ b/lms/lib/xblock/runtime.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ def quote_slashes(text):
     ';;'. By making the escape sequence fixed length, and escaping
     identifier character ';', we are able to reverse the escaping.
     """
-    return re.sub(r'[;/]', _quote_slashes, text)
+    return re.sub(ur'[;/]', _quote_slashes, text)
 
 
 def _unquote_slashes(match):
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ def handler_url(course_id, block, handler, suffix='', query='', thirdparty=False
 
     url = reverse(view_name, kwargs={
         'course_id': course_id,
-        'usage_id': quote_slashes(str(block.scope_ids.usage_id)),
+        'usage_id': quote_slashes(unicode(block.scope_ids.usage_id).encode('utf-8')),
         'handler': handler,
         'suffix': suffix,
     })