Academic Planning

An academic plan is a valuable tool a student can develop in order to understand how they will fulfill all requirements for their academic pathway in their eight semesters at Loyola. It may be required for some discussions with advising (such as when applying for a study abroad experience), but it also helps a student be able to determine the answers to common questions, such as whether or not a minor or second major will fit alongside their other requirements.

Determine and spread out major requirements across planned semesters (eight for four traditional years). Consult the section of the Academic Catalog dedicated to your chosen major and the pre-health website, if you are on a pre-health pathway:

The flowchart below gives an overview of the process. More detailed information about each step is available below.

Start by answering the following questions:

Majors range in size from 30 credits to 88 credits
A larger major means students will need to take more major-specific courses per semester to complete their requirements
Students in smaller majors should still ideally have at least one major course in every semester
Students in smaller majors will need to add a second major, a minor, or general electives to reach 120 credits required for graduation
The size of your major may impact your ability to pursue other majors, minors, or pre-professional pathways

Some majors are more heavily sequenced than others, meaning students are not able to progress in the major without completing pre-requisite courses first
Review the suggested sequence available in the Academic Catalog for your chosen major, noting if many of the classes have listed pre-requisites (since this is a sign of a more sequenced major)
Determine important pre-requisite courses. An important pre-requisite course may be listed as a pre-requisite for multiple future courses or may be the first course in a sequence required for upper-level major courses. Please note that future courses in your major may have multiple prerequisites. If this is the case, all pre-requisite courses must be completed before enrolling in that course. You should plan important pre-requisite major courses as soon as you are eligible to take them
The sequencing of your major may impact your ability to pursue other majors, minors, or pre-professional pathways

Consult the pre-health suggested sequence of courses for your specific pre-health area
If your major and pre-health coursework overlap (as is the case with many STEM majors), minimal additional planning is necessary
If your major and pre-health coursework don’t overlap, you should start designing your academic plan around required pre-health courses or pre-requisites before adding major requirements.

Loyola requires an AP exam score of four or higher for credit in most subject areas
Loyola only accepts Higher Level (HL) IB credits, with an exam score of five or higher for credit in most subject areas
Loyola requires a grade of B or higher for a student to earn credit from dual enrollment courses. Not all dual enrollment courses will be accepted for credit, regardless of grade
If you have transfer credit for a class that’s required or permitted for your major, required Core areas, or language, do not include those courses on your academic plan
Some transfer credits may not fulfill requirements for your major, Core, or language, but if accepted for credit can still be used as general electives towards the 120 minimum credits needed to graduate from Loyola

Remember to include only the number of Core courses required for a student in your major, accounting for Core areas that are automatically fulfilled by major or minor
Prioritize UCWR 110 as early as possible (ideally in the first year at Loyola)
Plan Core areas with two tiers first, since those will take two semesters to fulfill
If you are required to take a language, plan to take two semesters if you are starting with a new language (at the 101-level) or one semester (at the 102-level or higher) if you are continuing to study a language with which you have experience. Note: some majors require additional language beyond the 102-level
Look for opportunities to double-dip requirements. Students commonly double-dip Core (especially Tier Two Core) and writing intensive or major courses and Engaged Learning

The flowchart below gives an overview of the process. More detailed information about each step is available below.

Academic Planning

Start by answering the following questions:

How many credits is your major?

How sequenced is your major?

Are you on a pre-health pathway?

Do you have any transfer credits from AP, IB, or dual enrollment? Do you know how they overlap or align with major, pre-professional, or Core requirements?

Do you know how to plan Core requirements once you've accounted for major and pre-professional requirements?

Start by answering the following questions: