University Curriculum

Various curricular concerns of the College of Arts and Sciences, and therefore of the College's Academic Council, extend beyond the College and its supervision.

• The Office of the Provost, Academic Affairs, posts links relating to curriculum development: in particular,
  • the Board of Undergraduate Studies is designed to bring together in a single forum the undergraduate Schools of Loyola University Chicago (the College of Arts & Sciences, the Quinlan School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of Education, the School of Environmental Sustainability, the School of Health Sciences and Public Health, the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, the School of Social Work, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and Arrupe College) together with other academic and student development units, for the purpose of coordinating, reviewing, and making recommendations about matters affecting the quality of undergraduate education at Loyola University Chicago;
  • the Graduate Studies Coordinating Board is established as an oversight board for the purpose of coordinating, reviewing, and providing recommendations about graduate studies and program issues across the Schools that provide graduate education at Loyola University Chicago;
  • guidelines for new major or minor applications, the Chart of Academic Approvals, and the Program Modification Form are indexed here, and I expect the new Intent to Create New Academic Program Form will be: I will add the link when it's available;
  • summary lists of new academic programs created in the different Schools in different academic years are indexed here.
• The University Core Curriculum plays a central educational role in every Loyola student's undergraduate experience and is a critical component of the transformative education characteristic of the Ignatian (Jesuit) pedagogy. The current Core was launched in Fall 2012. Individual courses approved for inclusion in the University Core are overseen by their home academic units in their Schools on an ongoing basis, but any substantive modifications must be approved also by the University Core Committee.
• The Engaged Learning Requirement was instituted in Fall 2012 as part of the University Core Curriculum. Courses in five categories of engaged learning (Academic Internships, Fieldwork, Public Performance, Service-Learning, and Undergraduate Research) may be approved on a permanent or a semester-specific basis to satisfy the Engaged Learing Requirement, by application to the Engaged Learning Subcommittee of the Board of Undergraduate Studies.
• The Interdisciplinary Honors Program selectively admits academically high-achieving students who demonstrate maturity, responsibility, and leadership. Honors Program students pursue majors and minors in their undergraduate Schools, but also complete a sequence of courses specially designed for the Interdisciplinary Honors Program and overseen by it. All Honors courses satisfy University Core requirements.
• Undergraduate Writing Requirements include the College Writing Seminar that is included as a requirement in the University Core Curriculum and additional Writing-Intensive courses as mandated by the School of the student's primary registration: the College of Arts and Sciences requires its undergraduate students to complete successfully two writing-intensive courses in addition to the College Writing Seminar. The College Writing Seminar and writing-intensive courses generally are overseen by the Writing Program administered by the Department of English. The Writing Center offers support for writing across the curriculum and other academic projects.