Undergraduate Focus

As a liberal arts college in the Jesuit educational tradition, Loyola is committed to excellence in undergraduate education. Our faculty are engaged with our students; our academic programs are designed for enriching, interactive development at the undergraduate level; and our student life opportunities help create a campus community in which students find a home.

A Medium-sized College

With an undergraduate population of a little over 3,500 students, Loyola College is a medium-sized institution. Students, therefore, can enjoy the benefits of a larger university without sacrificing the advantages a small college offers.

Loyola College is large enough…

… To offer a wide variety of majors and academic programs, excellent course selection within majors, as well as many research opportunities and internships.

… To offer a wide array of extracurricular activities, clubs and organizations, student publications, leadership opportunities, athletic programs (intercollegiate, club and intramural levels), campus festivals and many other exciting features of college life.

…To offer a rich and varied cultural and intellectual life on campus which exposes students to lectures, art exhibitions, drama, films and group discussions.

Loyola College is small enough…

…For students to get to know one another. With 3,500 undergraduates, the College appeals to students looking for an environment where they can become involved and make connections. The campus community is well known as an inviting and supportive living and learning environment.

…For students to get to know their college professors and for our teachers to get to know our students. Both inside and outside the classroom, our faculty is engaged with undergraduate life on the campus.

Class Size

Loyola College provides individual attention and a personalized experience for each student. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1, students can establish connections with professors easily. Classes, which average 25 students each, emphasize dialogue and interaction. Introductory courses in certain fields do involve lectures, but Loyola does not have large lecture halls on campus, and, even in the freshman year, we encourage students to enroll in at least one seminar course (with fewer than 25 students) so they may engage in the challenge of in-depth academic discussion. These courses are available in one of our Freshman Programs, the Alpha Program. Students can also choose from other options that are designed to bring students and faculty together at the beginning of the students’ college careers.

Emphasis on Undergraduate Teaching

Courses at Loyola are taught by college faculty and not by graduate assistants. Professors regularly interact with students, challenging them to internalize the concepts and communicate their ideas and interpretations. The faculty’s involvement with undergraduate students goes beyond the classroom. Professors at Loyola often serve as moderators for student activities, attend campus events and participate in retreats. They play a vital role in the student’s academic and social growth throughout the four years at Loyola College.

Faculty Advising

The faculty is very involved in the advising process. Faculty members serve as both core academic advisors and departmental advisors. In their function as core academic advisors, faculty members assist students with course selection prior to the declaration of major and with the selection and declaration of the major. As departmental advisors, the faculty counsel upperclassmen, facilitate course selection and serve as mentors. Through the advising process, students are able to gain deeper insight into college academics and to develop important relationships with faculty outside the classroom.