Loyola University Chicago

The Loyola Experience

Commit to faith, justice, and service
Connect with community
Create your future
Engage in Chicago and the world
Expand your knowledge
Find your calling
Lead with values

Engage Chicago and the world

You're halfway through your Loyola Experience, which means you’re ready to apply what you’ve learned in class and on campus to the “real world.” Now is the perfect time to start an internship, travel abroad, or go on an immersion program. It’s also a great time to talk with an advisor about career goals and update your resume so that you can create a post-graduation plan.

Goals for the year

Build your relationships

Continue to develop mentoring relationships within the University and with professionals outside Loyola.

Expand your horizons

Prepare to become part of a pluralistic community and demonstrate cross-cultural competence.

Become a leader

Take on a leadership role in something you feel strongly about, such as a student organization or a community cause.

Apply your skills

Become more involved in your education by asking about and applying what you are learning in different settings.

Put it all together

Synthesize your knowledge through internships, community service, study abroad, and immersion programs.

You should be ready now to take what you’ve learned in class and apply it elsewhere .

90+

Hours earned

120 credit hours are required for graduation

Submit a Key Experience reflection on how you’ve deepened your understanding of Loyola’s values.
Complete an Engaged Learning Experience.
Complete a study abroad or immersion program.
Discuss post-graduation plans with faculty, advisors, and professional mentors.
Update your resume and add it to your ePortfolio.

Engage in Chicago and the World
Study abroad or pursue an immersion program.

CHICAGO If you haven’t already done so, get out and take in all that the Second City has to offer. ROME Explore the sites, sounds, and flavors of Italy during a semester at Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center. VIETNAM Leave ordinary behind and immerse yourself in a new culture at the Vietnam Center.

Learn More
Office for International Programs

Connect with Community
Connect with community in apartment-style housing on campus or in an off-campus apartment.

Living on your own

You’re ready to make the transition from a residence hall to an apartment—and we can help. Our Off-Campus Student Life department has tips for living on your own and how to become a good neighbor.

Off-Campus Student Life

In the Jesuit tradition,reflection is a three-fold process that involves paying attention to your experiences, using the head and heart to understand their meanings, and deciding how to act.

How are you engaging Chicago and the world as a classroom?
How did you grow in your first two years, and how do you hope to grow in your third year?
How are you applying knowledge gained to be successful post-Loyola?

Engage in Chicago and the world
Pursue activities outside of your own culture and background to develop an appreciation for the richness of diversity on campus.

Learn how others worship

Loyola embraces diversity and is truly a home for all faiths. Our interfaith programs bring together students from all walks of life to help you better understand all religions and people.

Campus Ministry

Expand Your Knowledge
Pursue an undergraduate research fellowship and/or funded research opportunity through LUROP.

Going green Conduct environmental research while working on one of Loyola’s many green roofs. Finding answers Gain a better understanding of your major with a research fellowship. Digging deeper Get your hands dirty while studying nature at Loyola’s Retreat and Ecology Campus. The payoff Present your research project at the annual Weekend of Excellence.

Find your Calling
Complete an academic internship for credit and experience.

90+

Registered employers

The Fall 2013 Job, Internship, and Service Fair—one of many events during the year—is the perfect place to find career-related work.

44%

Academic internships

Nearly half of the Class of 2012 gained hands-on experience during an internship while at Loyola.

1,073

Sites around Chicago

Loyola students interned at more than 1,000 locations in Chicago, gaining valuable skills in the process.

Center for Experiential Learning

Lead with Values
Consider various student clubs and organizations or service in leadership positions (e.g., peer advisor, peer mentor, peer tutor, companion, resident assistant, orientation leader, advisory board, student community board).

Lead the way Become a peer mentor and help first-year students navigate college life. Help is here Try your hand as a Loyola Companion and welcome students to the Loyola community. Role model Volunteer through a student organization to help Chicago-area children.

Create your Future
Explore career opportunities (e.g., informational interviews, job shadowing, career fairs).

Prepare for your first job

Jump start your career by attending an on-campus job fair, where you’ll have a chance to network with others and find an internship that will prepare you for life after graduation.