Bates College
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Data was obtained through Bates College Office of Institutional Research and Planning, as well as our faculty liaisons within the Committee for Environmental Responsibility. See "Majors for 2016 Graduates" in supporting document (page 10). Program Learning Outcomes: Environmental Studies (Interdisciplinary) - 31 student degrees awarded: 1. Students will understand the issues that arise from the interaction of humans with both the natural world and built environments, and how physical environments are inflected in complex ways by socio-cultural and political factors. 2. The coursework will provide a framework for students to examine how humans experience, investigate, and interact with the world around them. 3. Students will explore the social, aesthetic, ethical, scientific, and technical aspects of environmental questions. 4. Students will be equipped with a focused knowledge and methodological tools for assessing environmental impact. 5. Each student will gain hands-on, real-world experience via an internship with an environmentally focused organization or business. Economics (Social Sciences) - 62 student degrees awarded 1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the economic basis of environmental problems and examine alternative policies aimed at reducing environmental degradation. 2. Students will have a familiarity with the market system and existing property-rights system that contribute to environmental problems, cases where public intervention offers the potential for improvement, cases amenable to market-based approaches, and the public-policy tools available to promote environmental goals. Geology, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math, & Engineering (Natural Sciences) - 95 student degrees awarded 1. Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge that most environmental change, while manifested in biophysical realities, is linked to historical, economic, political and cultural drivers that shape power relations and unequal control over and access to resources. 2. Students will have an understanding of the interplay of physical, chemical, biological, social, and cultural processes that must be recognized to understand the movement and impact of both materials that support life (such as nutrients, food, and water) and pollutants. Anthropology (Social Sciences) - 10 student degrees awarded: 1) The students will leave with an understanding of how anthropology contributes to our understanding of contemporary environmental issues such as rapid climate change, shrinking biodiversity, and sustainable use of resources. Sociology (Social Sciences) - 21 student degrees awarded: 1) Students will address a wide range of social phenomena, from patterns of everyday interaction to social and political revolutions. 2) Students will demonstrate an understanding of inequalities of income, wealth, housing, education, and health as well as related social problems such as racism, substance abuse, crime, poverty, homelessness, and climate change - with a particular focus on how sociologists study the process through which social conditions become defined as problems, the way various stakeholders frame those problems, and their potential solutions, students explore sociology in general and the social construction of social problems in particular.