Student Learning Outcomes

Africana Studies - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Apply at least two disciplinary lenses of analysis that focus on a specific aspect of the life experiences of people of African descent (for example in written/digital assignments, performative or oral presentations)
Explain, verbally and/or in writing, the interrelationships among people from sub-Saharan Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, or other parts of the African diaspora in two or more of the following areas: linguistic, intellectual, political, economic, or cultural
Define and provide examples of colonization, decolonization, Black liberation/power movements and their legacies
Explain, verbally and/or in writing, the concept of intersectionality via specific connections with race, ethnicity, class, and gender
Explain the goals of one or more current social justice initiatives involving people of African descent in the United States and globally

American Studies - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Apply different approaches to the academic studies of the Americas
Appraise diverse sets of evidence including both primary and secondary sources
Communicate clearly, coherently, and effectively

Anthropology - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Identify disciplinary fundamentals from multiple sub-disciplinary perspectives
Interpret anthropological themes from a critical perspective
Combine practice and methodology through research design
Apply disciplinary theoretical perspective(s) in an original research project
Create anthropological knowledge for and with multiple communities

Art - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Construct meaning using visual information
Demonstrate a knowledge of the basic tools and techniques of new and traditional media
Analyze their studio processes by diagramming the stages in creative thinking
Use critique to formulate and build personal direction
Generate a public exhibition

Art History - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Analyze material and visual culture and/or the built environment as a form of visual literacy
Apply art historical and interdisciplinary methods of analysis to the study of material and visual culture and/or the built environment
Draw connections between the past and present to illuminate the relevance of both
Identify how particular scholarly discourses and practices have contributed to social, structural, and institutional hierarchies in art history’s own history

Asian Studies - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Engage life world of an Asian culture (assessed during senior project oral presentation)
Conduct multidisciplinary research on Asia (assessed during senior project oral presentation)
Communicate research findings through oral expression (assessed during senior project oral presentation)

BiochemistryMolecular Biology - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Evaluate the scientific literature and other forms of professional communications in biochemistry and molecular biology
Solve problems at the interfaces of chemistry and biology using scientific reasoning
Communicate fundamental concepts of biochemistry and molecular biology to both expert and layperson in writing and oral presentations

Biology - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Analyze and interpret original and published biological data
Apply the scientific method in a way that demonstrates comprehension
Communicate effectively about fundamental biological concepts using scientific language

Chemistry - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Apply scientific reasoning to explain chemical phenomena as evidenced by performance on a standardized exam (breadth of chemical reasoning)
Demonstrate the ability to conduct a sustained research project (chemical research)
Communicate chemistry’s impact on society with attention to ethics and inequities in science from which science policy decisions are made (impact of chemistry)

Cinema and Media Studies - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Analyze films and other media, regardless of genre, context, language, and geographical origin, for their structure, approach, goals, social and political implications, and aesthetics
Apply knowledge of the overall development and history of cinema and media, from a global perspective, in written and spoken work
Produce creative work in forms employed in cinema and media studies
Demonstrate knowledge of contexts, outside of the specific focus of media, within which cinema and media studies play a role

Classics - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Analyze sources, whether textual or material, in their social and historical contexts
Demonstrate comprehension of texts written in the target language (Ancient Greek or Latin)
Compose original scholarly arguments using appropriate research methods and types of evidence
Critically engage with the discipline's history
Productively juxtapose the classical past with modernity

Computer Science - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Apply core principles of program execution by developing an assembler
Demonstrate knowledge of programming language environments by implementing an interpreter
Solve a given problem by writing an efficient algorithm that uses an appropriate data structure, analyzing its running time, and demonstrating that their algorithm works
Demonstrate their mastery of appropriate programming constructs in written code

Dance and Movement Studies - Overview

Students will learn to:

Learn the fundamentals of movement through coursework in technique
Develop a vocabulary enabling them to analyze, discuss, and write about a wide range of dance and movement practices
Apply these concepts and principles in performance and the creation of original work including in solo and group performance, choreography, and improvisation
Develop an understanding of dance and movement in a broader cultural context

Data Science - Data Science Overview

Students will learn to:

Gain proficiency in the data life cycle: creation, curation, documentation, analysis, and communication.
Apply data science tools to real world problems and produce well documented and reproducible analyses.
Understand the social and ethical impact of the tools used in data science.

East Asian Languages and Literatures - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Write in the target language at the academic level
Present ideas orally in the target language at the academic level
Discuss East Asian literature and culture in both English and the target language
Analyze East Asian cultural production in both English and the target language

Economics - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Design a research plan to address an economic question
Competently implement a research plan
Communicate findings from the research plan

Environmental Studies - Overview

Students will learn to:

Explain the causes of, impacts of, and potential solutions to climate change
Analyze how history, power, and identity shape environmental justice
Apply appropriate research methods to answer a research question about a pressing environmental problem

French and Francophone Studies - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Communicate effectively in oral and written French
Construct interpretive arguments about a variety of works, and/or historical or contemporary events from areas of the world in which French is spoken
Research and present clear results in written and spoken form

Geoarchaeology - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Engage with disciplinary fundamentals from anthropological archaeology
Engage with disciplinary fundamentals from geosciences
Combine practice and methodology through research design
Apply disciplinary perspective(s) in an original research project

Geosciences - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Evaluate, using reliable sources, the current state of knowledge, major controversies, and unknowns about a geoscience topic
Collect appropriate data to solve geologic problems
Defend arguments with evidence
Effectively communicate to a variety of audiences the geological ideas and data that inform decision-making involving geoscience issues

Overview

German Studies students will learn to:

communicate effectively in written and oral German
demonstrate understanding of the literary, historical, and political events and works that shape German culture and society
conduct multidisciplinary research in German Studies

Russian Studies students will learn to:

communicate, both orally and in writing, with native and near-native Russian speakers on a variety of non-technical topics
paraphrase unabridged Russian texts, including internet sites
conduct multidisciplinary research in Russian Studies
lead a substantive conversation about the literary, historical, and political events and works that shape Russian culture

German Studies Overview

Students will learn to:

communicate effectively in written and oral German
demonstrate understanding of the literary, historical, and political events and works that shape German culture and society
conduct multidisciplinary research in German Studies

Russian Studies Overview

Students will learn to:

communicate, both orally and in writing, with native and near-native Russian speakers on a variety of non-technical topics
paraphrase unabridged Russian texts, including internet sites
conduct multidisciplinary research in Russian Studies
lead a substantive conversation about the literary, historical, and political events and works that shape Russian culture

Government - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Make reasonable inferences from data and evidence in order to draw logical conclusions about historical and contemporary political phenomena
Effectively communicate ideas in clear writing
Use foundational principles of political science to plan and carry out independent research
Consider alternative perspectives in order to respond to counter-arguments

Hispanic Studies - Overview

Students will learn to:

demonstrate oral proficiency in Spanish.
demonstrate written proficiency in Spanish.
utilize their curricular studies of the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures through experiential learning.
demonstrate disciplinary practice by producing literary/film criticism that argues an original thesis.

History - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Summarize historiographical debates within and across disciplinary subfields
Select and analyze historical evidence
Create a clear, specific, coherent historical argument

Jewish Studies - Overview

Students will learn to understand the breadth and variety of Jewish Culture and history across many cultures, from the Middle East and within the Islamicate, to Europe and the Americas, and as far afield as the Far East and South Asia as well as Oceania.
Students will gain a foundational understanding of the ancient roots and sources of Jewish life and thought, and then of the Jewish people's dispersion across lands and continents, and their later development of a wide variety of cultural and linguistic expressions and worlds.
Students will be able to take courses in a number of cultural expressions, including but not confined to Jewish literature and history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, government, religion, and psychology.
Students will have opportunities to pursue both breadth and depth by working with faculty on research projects as well as taking a variety of courses. They will become familiar with multiple methods and disciplines that address a wide variety of aspects of Jewish thought and history.

Literature and Creative Writing - Overview

Literature Students Will Learn to:

Write clear and well supported arguments about literary and/or other cultural texts
Demonstrate knowledge of diverse literary traditions across historical periods, geographic regions, and/or social contexts
Analyze literary works compellingly in contexts informed by literary criticism and/or broader regions, and/or social contexts

Creative Writing Students Will Learn to:

Write with an awareness of the literary traditions within which they are working
Write with attentiveness to form and genre
Write a sustained creative project that demonstrates originality and attention to language

Mathematics and Statistics - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Use mathematical and/or statistical tools to model real-world problems
Construct mathematical proofs based on rules of logical inference
Communicate complete mathematical and/or statistical arguments

Middle East and Islamic World Studies Overview

Concentrators in MEIWS will be able to:

Communicate effectively in oral and written Arabic.
Develop an ability to interpret arguments about the history, politics and literary cultures of the Islamicate world.
Conduct research and demonstrate an understanding of the Islamicate world in the senior project.

Music - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Demonstrate active listening skills from among a wide variety of musical experiences and practices
Make links between various musical styles and their historical and cultural contexts
Demonstrate proficiency in various theories of music
Display skills in making music through performance, composition, recording, or production

Neuroscience - Overview

Students will learn to:

Engage in scientific inquiries that are informed by ethical and/or socio-cultural perspectives
Communicate ideas effectively and concisely
Integrate scientific literature to develop neuroscientific research questions
Apply appropriate scientific methods to address neuroscientific research questions
Demonstrate an interdisciplinary understanding of the nervous system

Philosophy - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Explain a range of philosophical views, historical and contemporary
Identify philosophical problems in philosophy, other academic disciplines, or outside the academy
Formulate their own views about philosophical problems in conversation with other philosophical works
Defend those views cogently in writing and in speech

Physics - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Exhibit broad understanding in foundational physics
Use foundational physics to analyze a diverse set of complex problems
Demonstrate skills for experimental physics
Demonstrate skills in technical communication

Psychology - Overview

Students will learn to:

Explain how behavior and the mind are shaped by a variety of factors (e.g., biological, sociocultural)
Evaluate sources, evidence, and psychological theories critically
Employ appropriate research methods and statistics to address novel psychological questions ethically
Communicate ideas clearly and concisely, demonstrating awareness of both disciplinary conventions and the target audience

Public Policy - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Understand the ethical dimensions of policy decisions and the justice implications of policy research
Communicate clearly and persuasively about public policy issues in their own research
Engage with stakeholders and policy makers as interns and researchers
Establish a foundation for professional work in policy science and policy making

Religious Studies - Overview

Students will learn to:

Examine different approaches to the academic study of religious traditions
Analyze diverse sets of evidence including both primary and secondary sources
Critically analyze the category of “religion”
Communicate clearly, coherently, and effectively

Sociology - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Apply core sociological concepts to explain/interrogate social phenomena
Employ one or more sociological methods in hands-on independent research
Describe an array of diverse human experiences

Theatre - Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Exhibit competence in production/design of theatre
Exhibit competence in acting/directing of theatrical performances
Analyze plays/productions as aesthetic/cultural productions related to institutional and social hierarchies

Womens and Gender Studies Overview

Students Will Learn to:

Explain the connections between the pedagogy of feminism to the methodology and varying practices of the subject
Demonstrate the connections between the history of feminism to contemporary theory, practice and activism
Critique the use of contemporary theories of intersectionality, interdisciplinarity and transnationality in feminist studies
Apply a range of feminist methodologies and theories in research and writing
Demonstrate knowledge of theories in academic feminism with the social orders and structures in which we live