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Personal study plan

As part of your application, you'll answer three questions on your motivation to study at AUC and create a personal study plan to demonstrate your understanding of the curriculum.

While answering the motivational questions is generally straightforward, the study plan exercise may require some guidance. This page helps explain the steps involved in developing an effective study plan.

Completing your Personal Study Plan

Designing your personal study plan is an opportunity to explore the breadth and academic freedom of our Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum. This is not your final study plan and is not binding. It helps us understand your academic interests and how you approach building a well-rounded degree. Small details, such as the semester or block in which a course takes place, do not need to be exact at this stage. Your plan does not need to be perfect.

Download the Motivation & Personal Study Plan Template

Use the AUC Course Listing

Browse the AUC Course Listing to explore the courses AUC offers, organised by major, area of study and course level (100, 200 and 300). You can use the AUC Course Catalogue to find more detail when needed. 

How to build your study plan
  • 1. Academic Core courses

    Once you have the Course Listing, you can start filling in the template by working through the main components of your study plan.

    Begin by exploring the Academic Core and the courses it includes. These courses are a shared part of the AUC experience and help you develop essential skills in writing, research, logic, programming and more.

    To understand which Academic Core courses are required, review our Programme Structure page (especially under the heading "Academic Core courses required for all students"). You may also find it helpful to review our "Your First Year" page to learn how to get started.

  • 2. Major courses

    Next, explore the requirements for your chosen major: Sciences, Social Sciences or Humanities. You will need to take at least 66 EC (typically 11 courses) within your major. At least 24 EC (typically four courses) need to be 300-level courses. Each major has its own structure, combining required methods courses, discipline-specific courses and advanced-level courses.

    Start with the Course Listing to explore the courses offered within your major. Look across the different areas of study to identify subjects that interest you. If you want to learn more about a particular course, you can look it up in the Course Catalogue for a more detailed description.

    Tip: Be sure to review the Programme Structure page and especially the relevant ‘Curriculum for…’ foldout for your major. This will help you understand how the courses you are interested in fit within the requirements and progression of your major. 

  • 3. Explore beyond your major

    Courses in the other two majors

    AUC emphasises interdisciplinary learning, so your study plan will include courses from outside your major. All students need to include at least two courses in each of the other two majors by the time they complete their studies. For example, a Science major must take at least two Social Sciences courses and two Humanities courses. 

  • 4. Add electives and build your progression

    Use remaining spaces for electives, which can be chosen from any major or area of study and at different course levels (as long as you fulfil any course prerequisites). This is an opportunity to explore subjects or combinations that interest you, further specialise in certain fields and bring together different parts of your academic programme and truly make it your own.

    As you fill your 28 course slots, keep an eye on the course levels and any prerequisites. Think about how your courses build on one another, moving from 100-level introductory courses to more advanced 200- and 300-level courses as you progress towards your Capstone.

  • 5. Review your study plan

    Before uploading your study plan, take a moment to review and make sure that:

    • You have filled all 28 course slots in the template.
    • You have included the required Academic Core courses.
    • You have included the required courses for your major, including the necessary 300-level courses and any required methods or lab courses.
    • You have included at least two courses from each of the other two majors.
    • You have considered course levels (100, 200, 300) and progression, taking into account any relevant prerequisites.

Save and upload

Once you've completed the exercises, be sure to save the PDF and upload it to your application file in SIS. 

Helpful resources