The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences participates in The University of Iowa Four-Year Graduation Plan. Entering first-year students are invited to participate, and may sign the Four-Year Graduation Plan Agreement at orientation or at any time during their first two semesters in the College. Participating students can choose from almost all of the programs and degrees offered by the College. The Four-Year Graduation Plan Agreement lists general requirements for continuation in the Four-Year Graduation Plan. Specific requirements for each available major program are found in the departmental sections of the CLAS Bulletin and the University's General Catalog.

Each participating major program provides "checkpoints" which represent the minimum requirements for completing the program in four years. Many students will want to supplement the minimum work with additional course work in the major. Failure to meet a checkpoint does not mean that a student cannot graduate in four years, but it does void the guarantees of the Four-Year Graduation Plan Agreement.

Students who include noncredit course work in their schedules must complete additional credit-bearing courses to earn the semester hours required for the degree and to satisfy the semester-hour requirement stated in the checkpoints. Students who intend to study abroad or to complete an internship as part of their degree must plan carefully in order to graduate in four years. In some cases, students may find that the Four-Year Graduation Plan is not a feasible option.

Students must notify the offering department of any needed course that is unavailable. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences provides remedies if graduation in four years would be delayed by the unavailability of a course. Students often wish to earn two majors, or two degrees, or to add minors or certificates to their programs, and many find it possible to make graduation plans that allow them to achieve these desires. However, the remedies of the Four-Year Graduation Plan are provided to students only for one major.

Failure to meet the academic standards of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences voids the guarantees of the agreement.

Additional information on the Four-Year Graduation Plan is available from students' advisers or from the CLAS Academic Programs & Services Office, (120 Schaeffer Hall). Notification forms to be used when a needed course is unavailable are available from departments, the Academic Advising Center, and the CLAS Academic Programs & Services Office.

NOTE: The following CLAS majors do not participate in the four-year graduation plan: Applied Physics; Environmental Sciences; Health and Sport Studies; Leisure Studies; the Music therapy program in the B.M.; Performing Arts Entrepreneurship; Science Education; and Women's Studies. Secondary education licensure from the College of Education is not included in any CLAS four-year graduation plan. Elementary Education (major offered by the College of Education; degree awarded by the CLAS) does not participate in the Four-Year Graduation Plan. Students in programs/majors that do not participate in the Four-Year Graduation Plan are encouraged to work with their advisers to develop individual plans.

For information on the Four-Year Graduation Plans in Economics (including the BA and the BS awarded by the CLAS) or other Tippie College of Business Majors, and for information on the four-year plan for Engineering, and Nursing , please visit those College's web sites.