Academic Programs and Services

Overview

LMU offers a variety of resources, centers, and programs to support student learning. This includes but is not limited to those listed below.

Programs For Learning and Preparation

Individualized Study Program

The Individualized Study Program involves a select number of creative and highly motivated students within all colleges and schools of the University whose educational needs and goals cannot fully be met by individual departments or majors. The program is thus designed to offer each participant greater responsibility in determining the content of his or her major program, based upon the goals to which that major is directed. Students may wish to construct their programs or areas of concentration from interdisciplinary, independent study, field work alternatives, or a combination thereof.

The program is open to first-year and sophomores who have completed at least one semester in the participating colleges or school. Once accepted into the program by the Dean of the student’s college or school, the student selects a counselor who assists in designing the specific content of the major in line with the student’s objectives.

The student’s program is then formalized into a contract signed by the student, advisor, and Dean. Upon completion of the contracted course of studies, the student is issued a degree in Individualized Studies.

Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program

The Loyola Marymount University Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program is for those who received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution in an unrelated field, and have completed less than four of the prerequisite courses for admission to medical or dental school. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.2 is required to qualify for the program. The ideal candidate will have had sufficient experience in the medical field, either through volunteer work or previous employment, to serve as a basis for an informed, mature, and committed decision to enter the field of medicine or dentistry.

The program is designed to prepare students for the challenges of medical and dental school by offering intensive, full-time study in the classroom and in the community over a 13-month period. The program enrollment is set at 14-16 students to give individual attention, support, advising, and resources that meet students’ needs.

LMU offers a structured and comprehensive curriculum that gives students the opportunity to prepare for the MCAT or DAT in five terms.

To remain in the program, students will need to successfully complete a full-time load (minimum 12 semester hours Fall and Spring semesters, and 6 semester hours in two 6-week Summer sessions) and maintain a minimum of 3.2 term GPA.

Individuals interested in applying to this program should check the program website for application materials and timeline: http://cse.lmu.edu/centerforstudentsuccess/healthprofessionsadvising/pre-medicalpost-baccalaureateprogram.

For questions about the program, please send an email to pre-health@lmu.edu.

Preparation for a Career in Law

The University offers several curricula that are appropriate for students who plan to enter law school upon the completion of their undergraduate degree. The prelaw student should select a course of study that insures the development of the skills essential to the successful study of law:

  1. the ability to use language and communicate effectively and
  2. the ability to think critically and creatively.

In addition, the prelaw curriculum must provide a broad understanding of basic human institutions and values.

To insure they follow an appropriate course of study, prelaw students are advised to select their classes in consultation with the University Prelaw Advisor. The Prelaw Advisor also serves as a resource person for students during the law school application process.

Preparation for the Health Professions

The Health Professions Information Program provides the student with regular informational meetings. The Director of the Program serves as a resource person and is available for individual consultation. The Director’s Office distributes relevant materials to prospective applicants and maintains their files for the Health Professions Advisory Committee. The Committee assists students in completing the application process to health professional schools.

The University offers pre-health professional curricula for those students who plan to apply for admission to the following programs: Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, Pediatric Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Medical Technology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Public Health. These curricula are not degree programs, and students who wish to complete the requirements for a Bachelor’s degree before admission to a professional school should select a major within the University. Students usually select a biology, biochemistry, or other science major. Students in other majors should consult with the director early in their college career about blending pre-health profession courses with their chosen major. In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the chosen major, specific requirements of the professional programs should be satisfied. The following lower division courses are usually required:

Code Title Semester Hours
BIOL 1013
BIOL 1023
BIOL 1112
BIOL 1122
BIOL 2013
BIOL 2023
CHEM 110General Chemistry I3
CHEM 111General Chemistry I Lab1
CHEM 112General Chemistry II3
CHEM 113General Chemistry II Lab1
CHEM 220Organic Chemistry I3
CHEM 221Organic Chemistry I Lab1
CHEM 222Organic Chemistry II3
CHEM 223Organic Chemistry II Lab1
English6
MATH 122Calculus for the Life Sciences I3
MATH 123Calculus for the Life Sciences II3
PHYS 2500General Physics I4
PHYS 2550General Physics II4
PSYC 1000General Psychology4

In addition, other specified upper division biology, biochemistry, and statistics courses and electives from Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, and the Sciences may be required.

Students should be aware that many health professional schools do not recognize some AP credits and that alternative coursework may need to be completed to meet admission requirements. Please discuss with the Director.

Centers

Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination

The Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination at Loyola Marymount University is a community of scholars who work in dialogue with the Catholic intellectual tradition by developing, critically examining, communicating, or otherwise engaging the rich resources of Catholic thought and imagination, especially as it is informed by Jesuit and Ignatian vision. The Academy serves as a hub for scholarship, interdisciplinary research, innovative pedagogy, and creative outreach across LMU’s campus, in the southwest United States and beyond.

ACTI supports a diverse array of activities:

  • Producing scholarship
  • Collaborating with other Jesuit and Catholic institutions
  • Nourishing LMU’s intellectual vitality
  • Collaborating and facilitating interaction with and between existing LMU centers and institutes whose missions overlap that of the Academy
  • Contributing to the development of curricula across schools and departments
  • Engaging wider local, national, and global communities through lectures, symposia, workshops and collaborative events.

ACTI is located on the fourth floor of University Hall, in Suite 4404. For additional information on ACTI services, please call 310.338.7759 or visit the website at http://academics.lmu.edu/acti.

Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

The Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies provides students with an opportunity to study the culture of contemporary Greece. Courses are offered in Modern Greek history, the Greek Orthodox tradition and spirituality, Modern Greek literature, language and culture, theater, and film. Every summer the Center organizes the Odyssey Program, a four-week travel and study program in Greece. The program is open to all LMU students.

The Center has the following goals:

  • To offer courses in modern Greek language, post-classical and modern literature and history, the Greek Orthodox tradition, theatre, cinema, dance, music, and the fine arts
  • To encourage students to pursue a minor in Modern Greek Studies
  • To sponsor lectures on subjects pertaining to Greece which are of interest to the academic community and to the public at large
  • To encourage students and faculty to pursue studies and research projects in Greece.

The Center supports the courses that lead to a minor in Modern Greek. (See “Classics and Archaeology” in this Bulletin.)

The Center also sponsors and organizes lectures, readings, film screenings, concerts, symposia, and exhibitions on topics of interest to the university and the community at large.

The Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies is located in University Hall. For more information, call 310.338.4463 or visit the website at http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/moderngreek.

Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles

The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles is one of the leading undergraduate research centers in the nation. It is a respected leader in public opinion surveys, exit polling, and leadership and community studies.

Founded in 1996, the Center conducts groundbreaking research through its LA Votes exit poll project, LA Riots Anniversary Studies, and LA Region Public Opinion and Leaders Surveys. It provides rigorous, mentored research experiences for undergraduate students with an emphasis on hands-on field research.

The Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles is located in University Hall, Suite 4119. For more information, please call 310.338.4565 or visit the website at http://academics.lmu.edu/studyla.