diff --git a/olx_importer/management/commands/load_components.py b/olx_importer/management/commands/load_components.py
index 6b8d2e42..575f01ed 100644
--- a/olx_importer/management/commands/load_components.py
+++ b/olx_importer/management/commands/load_components.py
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ def import_block_type(self, block_type, now): # , publish_log_entry):
             _component, component_version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
                 self.learning_package.id,
                 namespace=namespace,
-                type=block_type,
+                type_name=block_type,
                 local_key=local_key,
                 title=display_name,
                 created=now,
diff --git a/openedx_learning/core/components/admin.py b/openedx_learning/core/components/admin.py
index c5fb9b16..1e84391b 100644
--- a/openedx_learning/core/components/admin.py
+++ b/openedx_learning/core/components/admin.py
@@ -35,16 +35,15 @@ class ComponentAdmin(ReadOnlyModelAdmin):
     """
     Django admin configuration for Component
     """
-    list_display = ("key", "uuid", "namespace", "type", "created")
+    list_display = ("key", "uuid", "component_type", "created")
     readonly_fields = [
         "learning_package",
         "uuid",
-        "namespace",
-        "type",
+        "component_type",
         "key",
         "created",
     ]
-    list_filter = ("type", "learning_package")
+    list_filter = ("component_type", "learning_package")
     search_fields = ["publishable_entity__uuid", "publishable_entity__key"]
     inlines = [ComponentVersionInline]
 
diff --git a/openedx_learning/core/components/api.py b/openedx_learning/core/components/api.py
index 7891ed37..2bec7b34 100644
--- a/openedx_learning/core/components/api.py
+++ b/openedx_learning/core/components/api.py
@@ -18,15 +18,28 @@
 from django.db.models import Q, QuerySet
 from django.db.transaction import atomic
 
+from ...lib.cache import lru_cache
 from ..publishing import api as publishing_api
-from .models import Component, ComponentVersion, ComponentVersionRawContent
+from .models import Component, ComponentType, ComponentVersion, ComponentVersionRawContent
+
+
+@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
+def get_or_create_component_type_id(namespace: str, name: str) -> int:
+    """
+    Get the ID of a ComponentType, and create if missing.
+    """
+    component_type, _created = ComponentType.objects.get_or_create(
+        namespace=namespace,
+        name=name,
+    )
+    return component_type.id
 
 
 def create_component(
     learning_package_id: int,
     /,
     namespace: str,
-    type: str,  # pylint: disable=redefined-builtin
+    type_name: str,
     local_key: str,
     created: datetime,
     created_by: int | None,
@@ -34,7 +47,7 @@ def create_component(
     """
     Create a new Component (an entity like a Problem or Video)
     """
-    key = f"{namespace}:{type}@{local_key}"
+    key = f"{namespace}:{type_name}@{local_key}"
     with atomic():
         publishable_entity = publishing_api.create_publishable_entity(
             learning_package_id, key, created, created_by
@@ -42,8 +55,7 @@ def create_component(
         component = Component.objects.create(
             publishable_entity=publishable_entity,
             learning_package_id=learning_package_id,
-            namespace=namespace,
-            type=type,
+            component_type_id=get_or_create_component_type_id(namespace, type_name),
             local_key=local_key,
         )
     return component
@@ -163,7 +175,7 @@ def create_component_and_version(
     learning_package_id: int,
     /,
     namespace: str,
-    type: str,  # pylint: disable=redefined-builtin
+    type_name: str,
     local_key: str,
     title: str,
     created: datetime,
@@ -174,7 +186,7 @@ def create_component_and_version(
     """
     with atomic():
         component = create_component(
-            learning_package_id, namespace, type, local_key, created, created_by
+            learning_package_id, namespace, type_name, local_key, created, created_by
         )
         component_version = create_component_version(
             component.pk,
@@ -199,7 +211,7 @@ def get_component_by_key(
     learning_package_id: int,
     /,
     namespace: str,
-    type: str,  # pylint: disable=redefined-builtin
+    type_name: str,
     local_key: str,
 ) -> Component:
     """
@@ -208,8 +220,8 @@ def get_component_by_key(
     return Component.with_publishing_relations \
                     .get(
                         learning_package_id=learning_package_id,
-                        namespace=namespace,
-                        type=type,
+                        component_type__namespace=namespace,
+                        component_type__name=type_name,
                         local_key=local_key,
                     )
 
@@ -218,7 +230,7 @@ def component_exists_by_key(
     learning_package_id: int,
     /,
     namespace: str,
-    type: str,  # pylint: disable=redefined-builtin
+    type_name: str,
     local_key: str
 ) -> bool:
     """
@@ -228,10 +240,10 @@ def component_exists_by_key(
     no current Draft version for it), or if it's been unpublished.
     """
     try:
-        _component = Component.objects.only('pk').get(
+        _component = Component.objects.only('pk', 'component_type').get(
             learning_package_id=learning_package_id,
-            namespace=namespace,
-            type=type,
+            component_type__namespace=namespace,
+            component_type__name=type_name,
             local_key=local_key,
         )
         return True
@@ -245,7 +257,7 @@ def get_components(
     draft: bool | None = None,
     published: bool | None = None,
     namespace: str | None = None,
-    types: list[str] | None = None,
+    type_names: list[str] | None = None,
     draft_title: str | None = None,
     published_title: str | None = None,
 ) -> QuerySet[Component]:
@@ -265,9 +277,9 @@ def get_components(
     if published is not None:
         qset = qset.filter(publishable_entity__published__version__isnull=not published)
     if namespace is not None:
-        qset = qset.filter(namespace=namespace)
-    if types is not None:
-        qset = qset.filter(type__in=types)
+        qset = qset.filter(component_type__namespace=namespace)
+    if type_names is not None:
+        qset = qset.filter(component_type__name__in=type_names)
     if draft_title is not None:
         qset = qset.filter(
             publishable_entity__draft__version__title__icontains=draft_title
diff --git a/openedx_learning/core/components/migrations/0001_initial.py b/openedx_learning/core/components/migrations/0001_initial.py
index fdfb5e40..b72d1aee 100644
--- a/openedx_learning/core/components/migrations/0001_initial.py
+++ b/openedx_learning/core/components/migrations/0001_initial.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Generated by Django 3.2.23 on 2024-01-22 00:38
+# Generated by Django 3.2.23 on 2024-01-31 05:34
 
 import uuid
 
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
     initial = True
 
     dependencies = [
-        ('oel_contents', '0001_initial'),
         ('oel_publishing', '0001_initial'),
+        ('oel_contents', '0001_initial'),
     ]
 
     operations = [
@@ -22,16 +22,21 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
             name='Component',
             fields=[
                 ('publishable_entity', models.OneToOneField(on_delete=django.db.models.deletion.CASCADE, primary_key=True, serialize=False, to='oel_publishing.publishableentity')),
-                ('namespace', openedx_learning.lib.fields.MultiCollationCharField(db_collations={'mysql': 'utf8mb4_bin', 'sqlite': 'BINARY'}, max_length=100)),
-                ('type', openedx_learning.lib.fields.MultiCollationCharField(blank=True, db_collations={'mysql': 'utf8mb4_bin', 'sqlite': 'BINARY'}, max_length=100)),
                 ('local_key', openedx_learning.lib.fields.MultiCollationCharField(db_collations={'mysql': 'utf8mb4_bin', 'sqlite': 'BINARY'}, max_length=500)),
-                ('learning_package', models.ForeignKey(on_delete=django.db.models.deletion.CASCADE, to='oel_publishing.learningpackage')),
             ],
             options={
                 'verbose_name': 'Component',
                 'verbose_name_plural': 'Components',
             },
         ),
+        migrations.CreateModel(
+            name='ComponentType',
+            fields=[
+                ('id', models.AutoField(primary_key=True, serialize=False)),
+                ('namespace', openedx_learning.lib.fields.MultiCollationCharField(db_collations={'mysql': 'utf8mb4_bin', 'sqlite': 'BINARY'}, max_length=100)),
+                ('name', openedx_learning.lib.fields.MultiCollationCharField(blank=True, db_collations={'mysql': 'utf8mb4_bin', 'sqlite': 'BINARY'}, max_length=100)),
+            ],
+        ),
         migrations.CreateModel(
             name='ComponentVersion',
             fields=[
@@ -59,6 +64,16 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
             name='raw_contents',
             field=models.ManyToManyField(related_name='component_versions', through='oel_components.ComponentVersionRawContent', to='oel_contents.RawContent'),
         ),
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name='component',
+            name='component_type',
+            field=models.ForeignKey(on_delete=django.db.models.deletion.PROTECT, to='oel_components.componenttype'),
+        ),
+        migrations.AddField(
+            model_name='component',
+            name='learning_package',
+            field=models.ForeignKey(on_delete=django.db.models.deletion.CASCADE, to='oel_publishing.learningpackage'),
+        ),
         migrations.AddIndex(
             model_name='componentversionrawcontent',
             index=models.Index(fields=['raw_content', 'component_version'], name='oel_cvrawcontent_c_cv'),
@@ -73,10 +88,10 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
         ),
         migrations.AddIndex(
             model_name='component',
-            index=models.Index(fields=['learning_package', 'namespace', 'type', 'local_key'], name='oel_component_idx_lc_ns_t_lk'),
+            index=models.Index(fields=['component_type', 'local_key'], name='oel_component_idx_ct_lk'),
         ),
         migrations.AddConstraint(
             model_name='component',
-            constraint=models.UniqueConstraint(fields=('learning_package', 'namespace', 'type', 'local_key'), name='oel_component_uniq_lc_ns_t_lk'),
+            constraint=models.UniqueConstraint(fields=('learning_package', 'component_type', 'local_key'), name='oel_component_uniq_lc_ct_lk'),
         ),
     ]
diff --git a/openedx_learning/core/components/models.py b/openedx_learning/core/components/models.py
index b7eba42d..920b3efb 100644
--- a/openedx_learning/core/components/models.py
+++ b/openedx_learning/core/components/models.py
@@ -28,6 +28,45 @@
 from ..publishing.models import LearningPackage
 
 
+class ComponentType(models.Model):
+    """
+    Normalized representation of a type of Component.
+
+    The only namespace being used initially will be 'xblock.v1', but we will
+    probably add a few others over time, such as a component type to represent
+    packages of files for things like Files and Uploads or python_lib.zip files.
+
+    Make a ForeignKey against this table if you have to set policy based on the
+    type of Components–e.g. marking certain types of XBlocks as approved vs.
+    experimental for use in libraries.
+    """
+    id = models.AutoField(primary_key=True)
+
+    # namespace and name work together to help figure out what Component needs
+    # to handle this data. A namespace is *required*. The namespace for XBlocks
+    # is "xblock.v1" (to match the setup.py entrypoint naming scheme).
+    namespace = case_sensitive_char_field(max_length=100, blank=False)
+
+    # name is a way to help sub-divide namespace if that's convenient. This
+    # field cannot be null, but it can be blank if it's not necessary. For an
+    # XBlock, this corresponds to tag, e.g. "video". It's also the block_type in
+    # the UsageKey.
+    name = case_sensitive_char_field(max_length=100, blank=True)
+
+    constraints = [
+        models.UniqueConstraint(
+            fields=[
+                "namespace",
+                "name",
+            ],
+            name="oel_component_type_uniq_ns_n",
+        ),
+    ]
+
+    def __str__(self):
+        return f"{self.namespace}:{self.name}"
+
+
 class Component(PublishableEntityMixin):  # type: ignore[django-manager-missing]
     """
     This represents any Component that has ever existed in a LearningPackage.
@@ -63,7 +102,7 @@ class Component(PublishableEntityMixin):  # type: ignore[django-manager-missing]
     -----------------
 
     The ``key`` field on Component's ``publishable_entity`` is dervied from the
-    ``(namespace, type, local_key)`` fields in this model. We don't support
+    ``component_type`` and ``local_key`` fields in this model. We don't support
     changing the keys yet, but if we do, those values need to be kept in sync.
 
     How build on this model
@@ -75,9 +114,12 @@ class Component(PublishableEntityMixin):  # type: ignore[django-manager-missing]
     # Tell mypy what type our objects manager has.
     # It's actually PublishableEntityMixinManager, but that has the exact same
     # interface as the base manager class.
-    objects: models.Manager[Component]
+    objects: models.Manager[Component] = WithRelationsManager(
+        'component_type'
+    )
 
-    with_publishing_relations = WithRelationsManager(
+    with_publishing_relations: models.Manager[Component] = WithRelationsManager(
+        'component_type',
         'publishable_entity',
         'publishable_entity__draft__version',
         'publishable_entity__draft__version__componentversion',
@@ -93,53 +135,43 @@ class Component(PublishableEntityMixin):  # type: ignore[django-manager-missing]
     # columns from different tables).
     learning_package = models.ForeignKey(LearningPackage, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
 
-    # namespace and type work together to help figure out what Component needs
-    # to handle this data. A namespace is *required*. The namespace for XBlocks
-    # is "xblock.v1" (to match the setup.py entrypoint naming scheme).
-    namespace = case_sensitive_char_field(max_length=100, blank=False)
+    # What kind of Component are we? This will usually represent a specific
+    # XBlock block_type, but we want it to be more flexible in the long term.
+    component_type = models.ForeignKey(ComponentType, on_delete=models.PROTECT)
 
-    # type is a way to help sub-divide namespace if that's convenient. This
-    # field cannot be null, but it can be blank if it's not necessary. For an
-    # XBlock, type corresponds to tag, e.g. "video". It's also the block_type in
-    # the UsageKey.
-    type = case_sensitive_char_field(max_length=100, blank=True)
-
-    # local_key is an identifier that is local to the (namespace, type).  The
-    # publishable.key should be calculated as a combination of (namespace, type,
-    # local_key).
+    # local_key is an identifier that is local to the learning_package and
+    # component_type.  The publishable.key should be calculated as a
+    # combination of component_type and local_key.
     local_key = key_field()
 
     class Meta:
         constraints = [
-            # The combination of (namespace, type, local_key) is unique within
+            # The combination of (component_type, local_key) is unique within
             # a given LearningPackage. Note that this means it is possible to
-            # have two Components that have the exact same local_key. An XBlock
-            # would be modeled as namespace="xblock.v1" with the type as the
-            # block_type, so the local_key would only be the block_id (the
-            # very last part of the UsageKey).
+            # have two Components in the same LearningPackage to have the same
+            # local_key if the component_types are different. So for example,
+            # you could have a ProblemBlock and VideoBlock that both have the
+            # local_key "week_1".
             models.UniqueConstraint(
                 fields=[
                     "learning_package",
-                    "namespace",
-                    "type",
+                    "component_type",
                     "local_key",
                 ],
-                name="oel_component_uniq_lc_ns_t_lk",
+                name="oel_component_uniq_lc_ct_lk",
             ),
         ]
         indexes = [
-            # Global Namespace/Type/Local-Key Index:
+            # Global Component-Type/Local-Key Index:
             #   * Search by the different Components fields across all Learning
             #     Packages on the site. This would be a support-oriented tool
             #     from Django Admin.
             models.Index(
                 fields=[
-                    "learning_package",
-                    "namespace",
-                    "type",
+                    "component_type",
                     "local_key",
                 ],
-                name="oel_component_idx_lc_ns_t_lk",
+                name="oel_component_idx_ct_lk",
             ),
         ]
 
@@ -148,7 +180,7 @@ class Meta:
         verbose_name_plural = "Components"
 
     def __str__(self):
-        return f"{self.namespace}:{self.type}:{self.local_key}"
+        return f"{self.component_type.namespace}:{self.component_type.name}:{self.local_key}"
 
 
 class ComponentVersion(PublishableEntityVersionMixin):
diff --git a/openedx_learning/core/contents/api.py b/openedx_learning/core/contents/api.py
index 923dc119..0b27690a 100644
--- a/openedx_learning/core/contents/api.py
+++ b/openedx_learning/core/contents/api.py
@@ -12,9 +12,8 @@
 from django.core.files.base import ContentFile
 from django.db.transaction import atomic
 
-from openedx_learning.lib.cache import lru_cache
-from openedx_learning.lib.fields import create_hash_digest
-
+from ...lib.cache import lru_cache
+from ...lib.fields import create_hash_digest
 from .models import MediaType, RawContent, TextContent
 
 
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ def create_raw_content(
 
     raw_content = RawContent.objects.create(
         learning_package_id=learning_package_id,
-        media_type_id=get_media_type_id(mime_type),
+        media_type_id=get_or_create_media_type_id(mime_type),
         hash_digest=hash_digest,
         size=len(data_bytes),
         created=created,
@@ -58,7 +57,7 @@ def create_text_from_raw_content(raw_content: RawContent, encoding="utf-8-sig")
 
 
 @lru_cache(maxsize=128)
-def get_media_type_id(mime_type: str) -> int:
+def get_or_create_media_type_id(mime_type: str) -> int:
     """
     Return the MediaType.id for the desired mime_type string.
 
diff --git a/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_api.py b/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_api.py
index 69e50364..b1d46929 100644
--- a/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_api.py
+++ b/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_api.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ def test_component_num_queries(self) -> None:
         component, _version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
             self.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v1",
-            type="problem",
+            type_name="problem",
             local_key="Query Counting",
             title="Querying Counting Problem",
             created=self.now,
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.published_problem, _version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v2",
-            type="problem",
+            type_name="problem",
             local_key="published_problem",
             title="Published Problem",
             created=cls.now,
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.published_html, _version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v1",
-            type="html",
+            type_name="html",
             local_key="published_html",
             title="Published HTML",
             created=cls.now,
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.unpublished_problem, _version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v2",
-            type="problem",
+            type_name="problem",
             local_key="unpublished_problem",
             title="Unpublished Problem",
             created=cls.now,
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.unpublished_html, _version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v1",
-            type="html",
+            type_name="html",
             local_key="unpublished_html",
             title="Unpublished HTML",
             created=cls.now,
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.deleted_video, _version = components_api.create_component_and_version(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v1",
-            type="html",
+            type_name="html",
             local_key="deleted_video",
             title="Deleted Video",
             created=cls.now,
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ def test_types_filter(self):
         """
         html_and_video_components = components_api.get_components(
             self.learning_package.id,
-            types=['html', 'video']
+            type_names=['html', 'video']
         )
         assert list(html_and_video_components) == [
             self.published_html,
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.problem = components_api.create_component(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace='xblock.v1',
-            type='problem',
+            type_name='problem',
             local_key='my_component',
             created=cls.now,
             created_by=None,
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.html = components_api.create_component(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace='xblock.v1',
-            type='html',
+            type_name='html',
             local_key='my_component',
             created=cls.now,
             created_by=None,
@@ -323,14 +323,14 @@ def test_get_by_key(self):
         assert self.html == components_api.get_component_by_key(
             self.learning_package.id,
             namespace='xblock.v1',
-            type='html',
+            type_name='html',
             local_key='my_component',
         )
         with self.assertRaises(ObjectDoesNotExist):
             components_api.get_component_by_key(
                 self.learning_package.id,
                 namespace='xblock.v1',
-                type='video',  # 'video' doesn't match anything we have
+                type_name='video',  # 'video' doesn't match anything we have
                 local_key='my_component',
             )
 
@@ -338,13 +338,13 @@ def test_exists_by_key(self):
         assert components_api.component_exists_by_key(
             self.learning_package.id,
             namespace='xblock.v1',
-            type='problem',
+            type_name='problem',
             local_key='my_component',
         )
         assert not components_api.component_exists_by_key(
             self.learning_package.id,
             namespace='xblock.v1',
-            type='problem',
+            type_name='problem',
             local_key='not_my_component',
         )
 
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ def setUpTestData(cls) -> None:
         cls.problem = components_api.create_component(
             cls.learning_package.id,
             namespace='xblock.v1',
-            type='problem',
+            type_name='problem',
             local_key='my_component',
             created=cls.now,
             created_by=None,
diff --git a/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_models.py b/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_models.py
index 9342e232..d4bb20e3 100644
--- a/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_models.py
+++ b/tests/openedx_learning/core/components/test_models.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def test_latest_version(self) -> None:
         component, component_version = create_component_and_version(
             self.learning_package.id,
             namespace="xblock.v1",
-            type="problem",
+            type_name="problem",
             local_key="monty_hall",
             title="Monty Hall Problem",
             created=self.now,
diff --git a/tests/openedx_learning/core/contents/test_media_types.py b/tests/openedx_learning/core/contents/test_media_types.py
index c880a008..96390cb4 100644
--- a/tests/openedx_learning/core/contents/test_media_types.py
+++ b/tests/openedx_learning/core/contents/test_media_types.py
@@ -11,18 +11,18 @@ class MediaTypeCachingTestCase(TestCase):
     """
     def test_media_query_caching(self):
         """Test MediaType queries auto-create and caching."""
-        assert contents_api.get_media_type_id.cache_info().currsize == 0
+        assert contents_api.get_or_create_media_type_id.cache_info().currsize == 0
 
         mime_type_str = "application/vnd.openedx.xblock.v1.problem+xml"
-        media_type_id = contents_api.get_media_type_id(mime_type_str)
+        media_type_id = contents_api.get_or_create_media_type_id(mime_type_str)
 
         # Now it should be loaded in the cache
-        assert contents_api.get_media_type_id.cache_info().currsize == 1
+        assert contents_api.get_or_create_media_type_id.cache_info().currsize == 1
 
         # Second call pulls from cache instead of the database
         with self.assertNumQueries(0):
             # Should also return the same thing it did last time.
-            assert media_type_id == contents_api.get_media_type_id(mime_type_str)
+            assert media_type_id == contents_api.get_or_create_media_type_id(mime_type_str)
 
     def test_media_query_caching_reset(self):
         """
@@ -31,4 +31,4 @@ def test_media_query_caching_reset(self):
         This test method's *must* execute after test_media_query_caching to be
         meaningful (they execute in string sort order).
         """
-        assert contents_api.get_media_type_id.cache_info().currsize == 0
+        assert contents_api.get_or_create_media_type_id.cache_info().currsize == 0