Congratulations on your acceptance to The Catholic University of America and the Busch School of Business!  To help you prepare, we compiled the following key academic information. Go Cardinals!

Your Advisors

All students entering the university are assigned two academic advisors: an Academic and Career Advisor (ACA) in the Center for Academic and Career Success (CACS), and a Faculty Advisor in your academic area.  These two advisors work together to assist you from your first day through graduation and beyond.

  • Academic and Career Advisor

    This summer: You will work closely with your Academic and Career Advisor in the Center for Academic and Career Success. He/she will be your first contact and will assist you with your transition to the university, including understanding your academic to-dos, placement exams, course selection, and anything else you may need.  You’ll continue to work with your Academic and Career Advisor across the next four years as you chart your own path to your academic and professional goals.

  • Faculty Advisor

    In August: You will be assigned a Faculty Advisor in your academic area who will be a mentor and advisor for the next four years.  Your Faculty Advisor can help you understand the nuances of your curricular path, guide you towards exciting opportunities for research and internships, and help you think creatively about your future.

  • Peer Mentor

    In your BUS-199 Career Discernment class, you will participate in a small group led weekly by your three upperclassmen Peer Mentors. They are so excited to meet you and support you. If you have questions contact buschexperience@cua.edu.

 
Your Classes

Your first college courses will launch you towards graduation.  You’ll dive into studying both business and the liberal arts by completing six courses (a total of 16 credit hours.) 

  • Exploration: Career Discernment I (BUS 199)

    This course provides you with the resources, knowledge and skills to begin your career discernment process in your first year in the Busch School.

    • Credit(s): 1-credit
    • Required?  Yes.
    • Options? Yes, Fall Semester  and in-person only.  You choose and enroll in one of them:
      • Tuesdays at 5:10-6:25pm with Julie Cilano
      • Thursdays at 5:10-6:25pm with Julie Cilano
    Course Description: BUS 199 is the first course in a four-part sequence for all Busch School undergraduate students. The 199 course provides practical tools for career exploration such as resume and cover letter writing, networking, interviewing, internship and job searching, and more. The 199 course also emphasizes self-reflection and self-awareness, using strengths discovery tools, psychology, and the Busch School character framework. All these resources contribute to the creation of a student's Personal Development Plan (PDP), which will evolve through each x99 course. BUS 199 is only offered in the Fall and is in-person only. See more business course descriptions here.

  • The Vocation of Business (ENT 118)

    You’ll learn why business is a force for good.  You’ll be guided to discover your individual gifts, preferences and talents and gain clarity about your future goals and plans.  Along the way, you’ll practice business  by starting a small, online business to personally experience the entire spectrum of inventing, creating and running a business.

    • Required?  Yes. 
    • Options? Yes, two sections offered.  You choose and enroll in one of them.

    Course Description: This course guides students in discerning their passion through a business lens.  It is designed for both students who are not 100% sure about their major, or want to make more solid plans to pursue their passion. It is for those interested in discerning in what direction to take their life. You will learn how to find what you want out of life, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and how you can apply them to your career. What do I have to offer to the world? How do I find not just any job, but my professional vocation? How do I decide what major to choose? How do I decide on a career? How is business a force for good? How do I start a business? We will explore these and many other questions through lectures, discussions and various projects. As a part of this course, students start a marketing affiliate blog business - a simple online business that nonetheless incorporates all the key aspects of running a business: invention, creation, demand generation and running of the business.  See more business course descriptions here.

  • Markets & Prosperity (SRES 101)

    The first of a two-part sequence, this course gives you the foundational economic knowledge to think like an economist and understand the market economy. Taught from the perspective of social research, it integrates practical and theoretical thinking.

    Course Description: This course introduces students to the economic way of thinking. The course begins with a survey of big ideas in economics, and then moves into a fast-paced sequence on comparative advantage, supply and demand, the price system, taxes and subsidies, and international trade. The course then moves to cover principles of firms and labor markets, especially profit maximization, competition, monopoly, oligopoly, price discrimination, labor supply and wages. Before concluding, the course introduces students to externalities and social costs, problems of asymmetric information, and classic public goods dilemmas. See more business course descriptions here.

    * Honors Students only: You can enroll in ECON 103. 

  • Your Elective Course: Languages, Mathematics, or Liberal Arts

    • Required?  Yes, typically.  You choose a course that fits your needs and interests.  We recommend you complete the six courses outlined on this page.  However, in consultation with your advisor you may decide to complete a reduced course load. 
    • Options? Yes.  You’ll have many options.  Your first step is to decide which type of course to complete: 1) a language course, or 2) a mathematics course, or 3) a liberal arts course. 

    Which type of course is right for you?

    • Our first recommendation is a language course.  If that isn’t right for you, then we suggest a math course.  If neither a language nor math is the right choice, then we recommend a liberal arts course.  Here’s how to figure it out:
    • Language Course: We recommend you get started right away in completing your language requirement.  All students must fulfill the intermediate language requirement (unless you have an accommodation, see below).  This means completing a language to the 104-level.  Your Language Placement Test (see below) determines the level you start at: 101, 102, 103, or 104.  
      • If you place out or have an exemption, then we recommend a math course...
    • Mathematics Courses: All business students must complete a mathematics course.  You should take the Math Placement Test (see below) to help you decide.  
      • If you place out, then we recommend a liberal arts course...
    • Liberal Arts Course: All business students must complete a course in the different areas of our Liberal Arts Curriculum: such as Literature, Fine Arts, History/Politics, or Natural Science.  You can choose an option here. 
You will be automatically registered for these courses:

  • The Classical Mind (PHIL 201)

    In the fall, you’ll be introduced to some of the greatest thinkers in history and how they tackled questions that still resonate today.  In the spring, you’ll continue by studying modern thinkers and their answers to these questions.

    • Required?  Yes. (Honors Students should see below.*)  
    • Options? No. You will be enrolled in this course automatically.  It will be on Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 9:00am or 10:00am. 

    This is one of your two Learning Community courses that form the First-Year Experience.  With roughly twenty other students, you’ll have a shared, year-long learning experience in the liberal arts.  

    Course Description:  An introduction to philosophy, using the original writings of several philosophers from the ancient and medieval periods, with a more general consideration of the history of philosophy. Enduring Questions addressed: (1) What does it mean to be human? What is our place in nature and in the cosmos? (2) What makes a life good? How can we live a good life or best pursue it? What is opposed to it? See more philosophy course descriptions here.

    *Honors Students only: You will be automatically enrolled in HSPH 101. 

  • English (ENG 101) or Theology (TRS 201)

    ENG 101: Writing and Rhetoric OR TRS 201:Foundations of Theology I: Scripture and Jesus Christ 
    You will complete ENG 101 in the Fall and TRS 201 in the Spring, or vice versa.  By the end of your first-year, you’ll have completed both. 

    • Required?  Yes.  (Honors Students should see below.*) 
    • Options? No. You will be enrolled in this course automatically.  It will be on Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 9:00am or 10:00am. 

    This is one of your two Learning Community courses that form the First-Year Experience.  With roughly twenty other students, you’ll have a shared, year-long learning experience in the liberal arts.  

    ENG 101 Course Description:  Through intensive writing practice, students in English 101 inductively explore the Western traditions of logic and rhetoric, developing their facility and effectiveness as writers and deepening their awareness of the rhetorical aspects of human communication. The course teaches students to write well-organized, logically sound, rhetorically effective, and grammatically correct expository and argumentative prose. Because this is a course in the skills and processes of writing, students will be writing constantly - numerous essays, in-class drafts and other assignments - in addition to being quizzed regularly on grammar and mechanics. The course also introduces students to the library, to tools for finding information, and to research techniques, including the conventions and principles of documentation and the art of analysis and synthesis of sources. See more English course descriptions here.

    TRS 201 Course Description:  The course develops an understanding of and engagement with revelation, as understood in Vatican II's Dei Verbum, through scripture and the historical unfolding of the tradition, that centers on and draws its rationale from the person and work of Jesus Christ.  See more Theology and Religious Study course descriptions here. 

    *Honors Students only: You will be automatically enrolled in ENG 101H OR HSTR 101.

 

Your Academic Checklist

Further details on the academic checklist items below can be found on the CACS First Semester Enrollment page.

  • Meet Your Advisor

    You will automatically be assigned an Academic and Career Advisor.  Once this occurs, you will receive a welcome email from your advisor with next steps about meeting.  Keep an eye out in your University email for this! 

  • Complete Math Placement Test

    Because a math course is required for all business students, incoming students must complete the Math Placement Test.  After speaking with your ACA advisor (see “Meet Your Advisor” above), you may decide to complete the Online Precalculus Review Course over the summer. This is recommended for students who may complete a math course in their first year. 

  • Determine Your Language Placement

    • Required?  Yes. 
    • Determine your language placement by answering the questions below.

    All students at Catholic University must fulfill the intermediate language requirement.  This requires the completion of language courses to the 104-level.   

    Did you study language in high school?

    • No.  You should register for a language at the 101-level.   If Departmental consent is required to register for the course, email arguetaf@cua.edu.
    • Yes, for one year.  You should register for a language at the 101-level.   If Departmental consent is required to register for the course, email arguetaf@cua.edu.
    • Yes, for two or more years.  You must complete the Language Placement Test.  Based on your results, you will register for a language course at the appropriate level.  It is important to complete the test during the summer.  Caution: Should you fail to take a placement test before the semester begins, you must take Catholic University's Placement Test during the first week of classes. You will not be allowed to stay in your language class until you have completed the test. Please note that such a delay will result in greater difficulties registering for the class section of your choice.

    Did you grow up speaking a foreign language? 

    • No.  Please see the guidelines above.  
    • Yes.  We have a Heritage Speakers placement test to place you at the proper level. If you are not sure if you are a Heritage Speaker and/or to schedule a date and time to take the placement test, contact Dr. Mayka Puente at puente@cua.edu.

    Have you had difficulty with language? 

    • No.  Please see the guidelines above. 
    • Yes.  You may be eligible to complete two approved courses in lieu of the intermediate language requirement. The Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) determines eligibility based on an individual’s learning history and documentation of a disability that impairs foreign language acquisition. To see if this is the right option for you, check the DSS page on accommodations.

  • Register for Disability Accommodations (if needed)

    The Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) provides programs and services designed to support and encourage the integration of students with disabilities into the mainstream of the university community.  If you received academic accommodations in high school, you may be eligible to receive accommodations in college.  Please note that it is the student's responsibility to request individual assistance in advance. Accommodations cannot be applied retroactively.

  • Transfer & Test Credits (AP/IB/Dual Enrollment)

    • Required?  Possibly.  If you can receive college credit, you should send reports to Catholic U. 
    • Determine what credit you may be eligible to receive.  

    Did you complete any Advanced Placement (AP) tests?

    • Yes.  If you scored a 4 or a 5 on your AP test(s), you can receive college credit.  See the AP Equivalency Chart here.  Review the College Board instructions for sending scores.  You can send electronically to Catholic University using our school code: 5104. 

    Did you complete any Dual-Enrollment courses?

    Did you complete any International Baccalaureate (IB) courses?

    • Yes.  If you scored a 5 or above on high level exams (or their equivalent), you can receive college credit.
      Information on the process to submit this information is coming soon.
    Information on AP, IB, and Dual-Enrollment Credit is available here.

  • Register for Classes

    • Required? Yes.
    • Add courses to your Shopping Cart in Cardinal Station
    • Mark your registration day:
      • June 15 - All incoming students may register.
    • Register for courses in Cardinal Station

    Utilizing your shopping cart: Similar to websites where you can put items in a “shopping cart” before purchasing them, in Cardinal Station, you can place the courses you want in your shopping cart before enrolling in them. You will only be able to officially enroll in them after you have met with your Academic and Career Advisor (ACA) and once your enrollment period opens. 

    Hint: Visualize your class schedule using Coursicle and then register for classes in Cardinal Station.

  • Finalize Registration

    • Review and confirm your final choice of courses
    • Contact your ACA advisor to make changes

    As a general tip, if you decide to change your schedule after your initial registration, check in with your Academic and Career Advisor (ACA).  Please note that your access in Cardinal Station to add/drop courses will be limited after July 31.  After that date, you will first have to contact your ACA advisor to give you access to change your schedule.  The final deadline to add/drop courses is September 9 and is listed on the Academic Calendar.

  • Attend Orientation

    The Busch School's orientation session is your first academic meeting with the school!
    • Friday, August 26, from 1:45 - 3:45 PM.
    • Review the schedule here.
    • You can download the Catholic University orientation app by following these instructions.