George Mason University
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Mason Core is Mason’s general education program that builds the foundation for the Mason Graduate – an engaged citizen and well-rounded scholar who is prepared to act. Mason Core is a set of required courses that create the foundation of a student’s undergraduate degree. It provides a breadth of liberal education courses, complementing the depth of knowledge and skills students build in their majors and minors. All undergraduates seeking a baccalaureate degree must complete Mason Core requirements. Mason Core prepares students for work in their majors and minors, for their careers, and for life-long learning. Foundation courses build key knowledge and skills needed for academic success. Exploration courses provide a breadth of learning across the university. Integration courses include upper-division courses that are designed to integrate knowledge and skills learned from Foundation and Exploration courses into the major. Courses are designed around learning outcomes that help develop the qualities we expect of all students graduating with a Bachelor’s degree from George Mason University. Mason Core includes the following sustainability-focused science learning outcome: "Recognize and articulate the relationship between the natural sciences and society and the application of science to societal challenges (e.g., health, conservation, sustainability, energy, natural disasters, etc.)." All undergraduates seeking a baccalaureate degree must complete this Mason Core requirement. https://catalog.gmu.edu/mason-core/

In accordance with STARS' requirement 3 for Part 2, 'Students majoring in programs have adopted one or more sustainability-FOCUSED learning outcomes that reference the interdependence of ecological systems AND social/economic systems.' The figure above includes the total number of graduates from degree programs includes all undergraduate and graduate students who completed their degrees and graduated, in the 2022-2023 academic year. The number of graduates from degree programs and concentrations that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability includes all undergraduate students as well as all graduate students who have completed the programs and courses designated as Greenleaf which either focus on sustainability or require one sustainability-focused course. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning supplied the degree-awarded data.

Atmospheric Sciences, BS Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, BS Community Health BS (Global Health conc) Conflict Analysis and Resolution BA, Environmental Conflict and Collaboration conc Earth Science (all degrees & concentrations) Electrical Engineering BS (Power and Energy Systems conc) Electrical Engineering BS (Power Systems & Smart Grid conc) Environmental and Sustainability Studies BA (all concs) Environmental Science, BS (all concentrations) Geology, BA Geology, BS Global Affairs, BA (all concentrations) Integrative Studies, BA, Social Justice and Human Rights Integrative Studies, BA, Women and Gender Studies Integrative Studies, BS, Applied Global Conservation Sociology BA Tourism and Events Management, BS Environmental GIS and Biodiversity Conservation CERG Environmental & Sustainability Management CERG Atmospheric Science Minor Conservation Studies Minor (CHSS) Earth Science Minor Environmental Policy Minor Geology Minor Global Affairs Minor Paleontology Minor Sustainable Enterprise Minor Sustainability Studies Minor Bachelor's Degree (any)/Global Affairs, Accelerated MA Climate Science, MS Curriculum and Instruction MED, Secondary Ed - Earth Science conc Earth Systems Science MS Environmental Science and Policy, MS Global Affairs, MA Interdisciplinary Studies, MAIS, Energy and Sustainability concentration Public Administration, MPA, Environmental Science and Public Policy concentration Public Health, MS/MPH, Global Health conc Climate Dynamics, PhD Earth Systems and Geoinformation Sciences PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy, PhD