Arts & Sciences students can use the Web to plan a sequenced, coherent course of study thanks to an innovative curriculum planning software developed by Washington University Information Systems specialists.
The software, called "The Planner," allows Arts & Sciences undergraduate students to plan, revise and track a course of study reaching across all four years. It encourages students, with their advisors' help, to discover how a range of courses can satisfy their individual educational goals. The Planner simplifies the intricacies of the Discovery Curriculum by presenting numerous appropriate courses and clusters in "real time."
The Discovery Curriculum offers Arts & Sciences students more than 250 clusters of courses within and, frequently, across disciplinary areas. The planner contains information about course options within clusters, frequency of course offerings, instructors, time and place of class meetings, and credit hours.
By junior year, Arts & Sciences students must have a plan for graduation, and then The Planner becomes a tool to help track progress toward graduation. Degree requirements are displayed online with the appropriate status icons:
A green circle means complete;
a red "x" means no choice or an inappropriate choice was made;
a yellow triangle indicates a choice that's not yet complete;
a blue square means "in progress."
View example of how the planner provides information on clusters
View example of how the planner helps students build clusters
"The faculty and staff in Arts & Sciences are incredibly supportive, whether you’re pursuing a study-abroad opportunity or organizing a community service project."
