Creating Your Four-Year Plan
Available Resources
*Please note the curricular changes approved in October 2023 are not yet reflected on this page. Please see the General Education at Gustavus page for more up-to-date information.
- New Challenge Curriculum 2.0 Academic Four-Year Planning Sheet for Fall 2024 and beyond.
- Blank Challenge Curriculum 4-Year Planning Sheet. This fillable and downloadable PDF worksheet serves as a template for making and adjusting your own four-year plan.
- Challenge Curriculum Approved Courses from Fall 2020 to Spring 2024.
- Challenge Curriculum Outcomes for students who will continue to follow Challenge Curriculum 1.0 rules.
- MyGustavus: Your Progress screen tracks progress towards your degree program in terms of fulfilling major/minor requirements, liberal arts and graduation requirements, and the total number of course credits needed to graduate.
Steps for Creating Your Four-Year Plan
- Use the Academic Support Center website or PDF files of the Advising and Registration Manual to look at recommended first-year classes and lay out those courses on your four-year plan worksheet.
- Use the worksheet to lay out courses required for your possible major in sequential order paying attention to pre-requisites, which semester they are offered, etc. Note: some major departments have already created sample four-year plans.
- If you are considering a pre-health interest, refer to this Health Professions website. There are sample four-year plans available for many pre-professional programs.
- Look at how many credits and how much time you have for general education requirements and electives. Think of the “Rule of Thirds”: 1/3 courses for your major, 1/3 general education courses, and 1/3 courses available for electives.
- Are you trying to fit in a study away (study abroad) or internship semester? Can you tell which semester might be a good time to go? Which semester might have the least demand or most flexibility for taking major courses here?
- Do you have the option of taking summer school or an online course?
- Have all of your CIS, AP, PSEO, IB or transfer courses been included in your plan? Do they appear on your Progress Report in MyGustavus?
Use the 'View a New Program' button on the Progress tab in MyGustavus if you…
- Have not declared your major, but have an idea to explore
- Have declared your major, but may be changing your mind
- Are curious about how close you might be to a potential major with the courses you have taken
- Search for classes with a Subject Search or Advanced Search in MyGustavus: Filter by Course Types and Terms to see your choices for fulfilling area requirements for the semester of your choice. Click the Add Course to Plan button to save it on your Course Plan and Timeline for future registration(s).
- Catalog (Academic Bulletin): By department, there are course descriptions, which include pre-requisites that are needed, which semesters they are offered, and what requirement areas they fulfill. The Catalog will also give you a list of the classes that are required for a specific major.