As a Rome Start student, you’ll become an integrated member of the close-knit community at Loyola’s Rome Center. The Rome Center hosts approximately 240 Rome Start and Study Abroad students each semester. From daily life on campus to the intramural soccer league to on-site classes around Rome, you’ll find ample opportunities to get to know your peers and make lifelong friends.

Starting out in Rome, you’ll immerse yourself in challenging and interesting coursework based in Loyola’s Core Curriculum, which is required regardless of your majors. You’ll be automatically enrolled in three Core courses each semester, which are taken together with your cohort. All classes are taught in English, except, of course, for Italian language courses.

In addition to the Core classes, you’ll also be able to select two elective courses each semester. These may be courses within your major, additional Core courses, or simply classes you find interesting. Generally, you’ll be able to complete much of the required Core courses in Rome, and focus on courses in your major once you transition to Chicago.

In Rome, you’ll benefit from small class sizes and an international learning environment. You’ll not only learn from your historical and cultural surroundings, but also from the various experiences of your fellow classmates, who will have come from all over the world.

Residence life is an important part of the Loyola experience. Living with your peers leads to lifelong friendships with roommates, neighbors, faculty, and staff members. As a Rome Start student, you’ll live on campus with your cohort at the Rome Center residence hall. Check your student portal for more information on housing and other next steps!

Learn More:

• Residence Hall Services and Features
• Get to Know the Balduina Neighborhood
• JFRC Safety and Security

Upon moving to Chicago, you will join a community of over 12,000 undergraduate students and over 5,000 graduate and professional students. You will have the chance to further explore 80 undergraduate major and minor options. You will still enjoy small class sizes and close relationships with your professors. In fact, our student-faculty ratio in Chicago is just 13:1.

When you begin your second year at Loyola, you will have the opportunity to participate in one of the more than 200 of Loyola’s clubs and organizations. You can also participate, either as a fan or an athlete, in Loyola’s athletic programs.

You’ll also be able to explore Chicago and take advantage of Loyola’s out-of-the-classroom learning opportunities, including internships throughout Chicago, service-learning, and research projects.