What Courses to Take
Figuring out Course Schedule
Each semester you鈥檒l need to go through the same process to sign up for your next courses: prepare a plan, meet with your advisor to discuss the plan, and register at your assigned time. If you are considering summer courses there are additional steps as well. This webpage will give you details and links to further information for all of these steps.
For each semester you鈥檒l have an assigned registration time based on your expected graduation year around the middle of the semester. Ahead of your registration time you will need to plan what courses and sections to take. You should put your section selections into the Student Planning website so that you can register quickly at your registration time, and have backup options available for core or elective courses in case your chosen sections or courses fill up before you can register. You can see information on using Student Planning and advice from current students on the AASC Registration web page.
You have many resources to look at to determine your courses. You should try to make a basic plan before meeting with your academic advisor. You must meet with your advisor ahead of registration to get permission to register; be on the lookout for an email from them on how and when to meet. Your advisor not only helps you choose your courses, but can also help you with decisions on your major or minor, studying abroad, internships, or any other questions that you have.
- Academic Worksheets. If you know your major, you can use the worksheet as a quick listing of all of the courses you need to graduate. The core requirements are on the first page, and major specific requirements that aren鈥檛 part of the core are on the second page. Your advisor will use this worksheet to help you plan out your four years.
- Computer Science Major Requirements webpages. On our website we have many guides on the requirements for our major and minor, as well as information on the BS vs. the BA.
- Course Catalogue. The course catalogue is the official listing for every major, minor, and department at Loyola. You can see descriptions of courses, their prerequisites, and how often they usually are offered in the catalogue. You can see the and in the catalogue, which include a recommended order for taking the CS courses.
- Student Planning. When you access Student Planning, you can see the next semester鈥檚 course offerings once they become available about a month into the prior semester. You can search by subject, and when you click on a course you can see the information from the catalogue (description and prerequisites).
After making a basic plan, be sure to bring that plan with you to your advising meeting!
Having an idea of what you think you should take will give you more time to talk with
your advisor about any questions you have. Remember to keep any long-term plans your
advisor helps you make so that you can refer to them again the next semester.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is My Advisor?
If you have not yet declared your major (only available at the end of your first year), you have a Core Advisor. The core advisor is one of your Messina faculty members. You should be able to see the name of your advisor in Student Planning. Once you declare a CS major, you will be assigned a CS faculty member as your advisor, determined by your class year. You can see the list of current CS advisors by class year on our Contact Us page.
I'm considering switching to CS! What do I do?
Please review our first and second year advising webpage to get a sense of the courses you should take. It鈥檚 important to start CS151 as soon as you begin considering CS, and to take calculus as soon as you have the prerequisites. You can contact the department chair with questions, and they may point you to the CS faculty advising students in your class year.
There are no seats available in the class I want! What do I do?
Especially your first two years, you may find that courses you鈥檇 hoped to take are now full. If they are a core course that you don鈥檛 need to take that semester, you may need to sign up for something else and take that course at a later time. If instead it鈥檚 a course that you absolutely need that semester, or if it鈥檚 a special topic you may never get another chance to take, you can submit a Course Override From on the AASC website. You should submit this form as soon as you know you didn鈥檛 get a seat in the course, so that the department chair for that department knows that you need the course. You should sign up for another course just in case you aren鈥檛 able to get into this one. Course overrides are approved by the department chair in the department the course is from; so, the computer science department chair approves computer science override requests, for example. If you are within a week or two of the semester starting, you will need to email the department chair directly instead.
I want a sixth course! What do I do?
You should meet with your advisor to discuss your desire for a sixth course, including whether it鈥檚 really needed and if it鈥檚 a wise decision in your particular situation. Sixth course permission refers to taking a sixth course that is at least 3 credits; 1 credit courses don鈥檛 count as one of your five courses for each semester. As a CS major, if you pass every course and plan appropriately, you will have two semesters of only four courses unless you have a demanding minor; that should give you some leeway to avoid a sixth course.
I want to study abroad! What do I do?
Please review our recommendations for Study Abroad for CS students. You will need to work closely with your advisor and reviewing the course equivalents on the Study Abroad webpage to ensure that where and when you study abroad does not affect your ability to graduate in four years. Study abroad is optional at Loyola, but popular and do-able for CS students with appropriate planning. Be sure to meet all of the deadlines shared by the Study Abroad office as they have final say on study abroad placements.