Program Outcomes

Written Communication is the ability to develop and express ideas, opinions, and information in appropriate forms. To fulfill this requirement, students will complete, revise, and share a substantial amount of writing in multiple genres or media. Students who satisfy this requirement will: 

1. Produce writing that reflects a multi-stage composing and revising process and that illustrates multiple strategies of invention, drafting, and revision. 
2. Select and/or use appropriate genres for a variety of purposes, situations, and audiences. 
3. Apply academic conventions in different writing situations; employ structural conventions such as organization, formatting, paragraphing, and tone; and use appropriate surface features such as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. 
4. Employ critical thinking processes to create an understanding of knowledge as existing within a broader context and to incorporate an awareness of multiple points of view. 
5. Select, evaluate, and integrate material from a variety of sources into their writing and use citation appropriate to the discipline.

Oral Communication is the ability to convey ideas, emotions, and information through speech. Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Speak publicly, in both formal and informal contexts, demonstrating skills such as appropriate selection of topic and materials, clear organization, effective presentation, and the ability to adapt to audience, setting, and occasion. 
2. Demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills to understand the intricate link between audience, speaker, and occasion. 
3. Evaluate and synthesize materials from diverse sources and integrate multiple perspectives into oral presentations. 
4. Analyze and critique the oral communication of oneself and others. 
5. Listen effectively, using critical and reflective thinking when responding to communication events.

Quantitative Reasoning is concerned with solving real-world problems through mathematical methods. Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Interpret information presented in mathematical and/or statistical forms. 
2. Illustrate and communicate mathematical and/or statistical information symbolically, visually, and/or numerically. 
3. Determine when computations are needed and execute the appropriate computations. 
4. Apply an appropriate model to the problem to be solved. 
5. Make inferences, evaluate assumptions, and assess limitations in estimation, modeling, and/or statistical analyses.

Arts and Humanities are concerned with the understanding of art, music, theatre, literature, philosophy, and religious thought. Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Critically evaluate and synthesize texts and other forms of expression in the arts and humanities using primary and/or secondary materials. 
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between
   1. social and cultural factors in their historical context and 
   2.  intellectual inquiry and creative expression within the arts and/or the humanities. 
3. Represent and critically respond to multiple points of view on cultural issues in different historical, social, and/or cultural contexts. 
4. Communicate effectively in speech and writing, paying particular attention to the use of evidence in interpretive arguments, through citation appropriate to the discipline.

Social and Behavioral Sciences are concerned with understanding human behavior, human interactions, human environment, and the related social structures and forms. Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Apply knowledge and theories and analyze evidence via qualitative and/or quantitative research methods that are utilized in the field. 
2. Identify how different fields of inquiry conceptualize diversity and the dynamics of social inequalities. 
3. Represent and critically respond to multiple points of view on cultural issues as expressed in different historical, social, and cultural contexts. 
4. Use critical thinking and reasoning skills such as making inferences, evaluating assumptions, and assessing limitations of knowledge claims. 
5. Communicate effectively in speech and writing, while respecting others’ contributions, through proper citation appropriate to the discipline.

Historical Perspective is concerned with understanding change over time. Courses addressing this requirement cover a broad body of historical knowledge and compare different societies and cultures. Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Demonstrate the ability to use primary sources to answer a question about historical causality or change over time. 
2. Demonstrate the ability to understand and contrast alternative historical interpretations of events. 
3. Demonstrate the ability to understand the importance of changing context and to understand events in different cultural contexts. 
4. Communicate effectively in writing and use citation appropriate to the discipline.

Natural Sciences are concerned with understanding the laws of nature and the physical world. Students who satisfy this requirement will be able to do all of the following: 

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and methods of science inquiry. 
2. Apply scientific principles: to interpret evidence, to make predictions, and/or to explain cross-cutting concepts in one or more of the sciences. 
3. Explain how scientific principles relate to issues of personal and/or societal importance. 
4. Communicate effectively an understanding of scientific concepts and experimental outcomes in speech or writing, using sound scientific terminology and citation appropriate to the discipline.

Diversity refers to the difference that differences make. All courses in Diversity will examine the ways in which components of identity and social and material stratification affect positively or negatively life experiences, opportunities, and sense of belonging in national or global contexts. 

Courses in U.S. Diversity (D1) will broaden students’ understanding of how the experiences and opportunities of individuals and groups in the United States are shaped by the various historical, cultural and social structures and processes of stratification. These courses will center on race, socio-economic status, and gender, and/or their interactions with other social demographics. 

Courses in Global Diversity (D2) will broaden students’ understanding of how the experiences and opportunities of individuals and/or groups in non-U.S. societies are shaped by the various historical, cultural and social structures and processes of stratification locally or globally. 

Students must take one course in U.S. Diversity (D1) and one course in Global Diversity (D2).

Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Identify how historical, social, and cultural structures and processes shape understandings of race, class, and gender and/or their interaction with other social demographics in the U.S. 
2. Demonstrate understanding of how these structures and processes affect the life experiences and opportunities of individuals and/or groups in the U. S. 
3. Identify, interpret, and evaluate evidence from different social locations and from multiple points of view.

Students who satisfy this requirement will demonstrate that they are able to do all of the following: 

1. Identify how historical, social, and cultural structures and processes shape understandings of social stratification in non-U.S. societies. 
2. Demonstrate understanding of how these structures and processes affect the life experiences and opportunities of individuals and/or groups in non-U.S. societies. 
3. Identify, interpret, and evaluate evidence from different social locations and from multiple points of view