Do people use this phrase?

Yes, although it's rare to see it outside of educational / academic contexts. A lot of colleges & universities will list the available or required classes as the "course of study" or "courses of study."

Midwest US here: used throughout higher education.

Yes, typically higher level education lingo

They sure do. As someone who split my school years evenly between the UK and US, I can say it’s more widely used in the UK.

Midwest US college grad here. I’ve almost never heard this spoken. Can other US people saying they have use it in a sentence for me?

No one would be confused by it in the Midwest, but it is rare to hear it outside of a college.