College Requirements

All CAS students are required to complete a language competency requirement and two writing-intensive sections of courses. These courses must be completed with a C- or better.

Writing Intensive Sections

Students should expect that virtually all of their courses will include a writing component. In addition, the college requirement for writing intensive sections is a means of strengthening the writing of all students throughout their years at Loyola.

In order to graduate with a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, students ordinarily must complete three writing-related requirements. These include:

• UCWR 110 (3 credit hours) (Core Curriculum requirement)
• Two writing-intensive sections (in different academic terms)

Writing-intensive sections are designated sections of courses that are taught with a special emphasis on writing. They are identified by a "W" in the section number. Students in these course sections will have a variety of writing assignments that will be integrated closely with the learning objectives of the course. Often, students will be able to complete a writing-intensive course within their chosen major(s) and minor(s). The purpose of the program is to assure that students continue to give attention to writing as an essential component of education throughout their years at Loyola. Note: UCWR 110 must be taken in the freshman year and must be completed with a grade of "C-" or better before any writing-intensive section may be taken.

In order to ensure that training in writing is spread throughout the undergraduate years, the program specifies that no more than one writing-intensive course per semester may be applied to this requirement. Students must earn a C- or better in each writing intensive course in order for the requirement to be satisfied.

Transfer students who have taken and passed (with a C- or higher) both semesters of a two-semester requirement in college composition at their previous institutions or who have taken a composition course that is equivalent to UCWR 110 are not required to take UCWR 110 at Loyola. Transfer students with 59 or fewer transfer credit hours (completed prior to matriculation) must take two writing-intensive sections during their undergraduate career at Loyola; transfer students with 60-89 transfer credit hours must take one writing-intensive section during their undergraduate career at Loyola; transfer students with 90 or more transfer credit hours are exempt from taking writing-intensive courses, although some required courses in some majors and minors may have a writing-intensive requirement built into the courses. For further information, transfer students should consult their primary academic advisor.

Language

Competency in reading, writing, and speaking at the 102-level (second-semester-level) or higher in a language other than English is required for all CAS students. Students may complete this requirement in one of two ways:

1. Earn college credit with a C- or better at the 102-level or above in a language (other than English) at Loyola (or the equivalent in transfer credit from another college, or by an appropriate score on an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate examination):
   
   
   • At Loyola, students may study any language offered through the Modern Languages and Literatures department or study Latin (LATN) or Ancient Greek (GREK) offered through the Classical Studies department.
     Placement examination and/or placement advising is available through the Modern Languages and Literatures department or Classical Studies department.
   • If coursework in a language (e.g., American Sign Language, Korean, Croatian, etc.) is not offered at Loyola, a student may review eligibility and seek permission to take coursework at another college or university during the summer in accordance with the Policy on Prior Permission to Take Coursework at Other Universities.
   • Eligible scores on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam may award credit-by-exam for language coursework. All AP or IB scores must be officially reported to Loyola by the testing agency.
     
     -OR-
2. Demonstrate competency by passing a 102-level Language Competency Examination.
   
   Note: Students are permitted to take only one language competency exam, and the exam may only be taken once. Multi-lingual students who wish to take a competency exam should request to take a language competency exam in the language they know best in reading, writing, and speaking.

Beginning-Level Language Competency Exams (to satisfy 102-level language requirement)

The College of Arts and Sciences currently offers the following beginning-level language competency exams (please note that this list is subject to changes/availability):

Albanian Amharic Arabic Assyrian Bengali Bosnian Bulgarian Burmese Chinese (Cantonese) Chinese (Mandarin-Simplified) Chinese (Mandarin-Traditional) Croatian

French German Greek (Ancient) Greek (Modern) Gujarati Hebrew Italian Japanese Korean Latin Latvian Mongolian

Persian/Farsi Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Spanish Tagalog/Filipino Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese

Note: This list of available language exams is subject to change without notice.

Intermediate-Level Language Competency Exams for Global and International Studies Majors/Minors (to satisfy 103- or 104-level language requirement)

Students who major in Global and International Studies are required to complete and pass a 104-level language course or test for proficiency at the 104-level or higher. Students who minor in Global and International Studies are required to complete and pass a 103-level language course or test for proficiency at the 103-level or higher. For Global and International Studies majors/minors, the intermediate-level language competency exams currently available through the CAS Dean's Office are:

Albanian Arabic Bulgarian Chinese (Mandarin-Simplified) Chinese (Mandarin-Traditional)

French German Hebrew Italian Japanese Korean

Polish Romanian Serbian Spanish Ukrainian Vietnamese

Note: This list of available language exams is subject to change without notice.

 

Scheduling a Language Competency Exam

The first step to scheduling a language competency exam is to send an email (from your Loyola account) to LanguageTesting@luc.edu. Please include your Name, Student ID number, Current CAS majors/minors, and the language in which you would like to be tested. The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures will reply with instructions on how to schedule your specific exam. Note: Students are responsible for the $100.00 cost of the exam. Language competency exams that are conducted in the Language Learning Resource Center (LLRC) may not be scheduled during the first week of each semester or during registration week in each semester.

For additional information about scheduling a language competency exam, including an exam for a language not offered at Loyola, please see the following page:

https://www.luc.edu/modernlang/placementcompetency/foreignlanguagecompetencyexam/