Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes

RST BA Program Student Learning Outcomes

The Department seeks to achieve the following learning outcomes through its curriculum:

Discipline Specific Knowledge

  1. Demonstrate a comprehension of the historical origins, central teachings, and practices of the major religious and spiritual traditions of the world within global and localized contexts.
  2. Evaluate the functions of world religious and spiritual traditions within their political, economic, and cultural contexts.

Higher Order Thinking Skills

  1. Apply interdisciplinary theories and methodologies to the study of religion and spiritual traditions.
  2. Compare myths, rituals, and practices across diverse religious and spiritual traditions.

Liberal Arts and Beach 2030

  1. Analyze how diverse religions and spiritualities inform, and are informed by, other dimensions of human experience, such as gender, sexuality, class, race, ethnicity, ability, and immigration status.

Career Readiness

  1. Develop an academic skill set that is transferable to a variety of careers, which includes critical thinking, higher level research and writing, textual analysis, and visual and oral presentation.

RST MA Program Student Learning Outcomes

The Department seeks to achieve the following learning outcomes through its curriculum: Discipline-Specific Knowledge:

  1. Competent knowledge of classical and contemporary approaches to the study of religion.
  2. Competent knowledge of the beliefs, practices and institutions of religion related to the thesis or examination area.

Higher-Order Thinking Skills:

  1. Critical reading and interpretations of religious texts and representations.
  2. Thematic comparison of at least two religious traditions.
  3. Critical evaluation of arguments arising from diverse forms of religious expression.

Liberal Arts & Academic Values:

  1. A capacity for autonomous learning.
  2. An informed appreciation for diverse cultures and religions.
  3. An understanding of the broader social and cultural implications of focused research in religious studies.

Academic Skills:

  1. Critical reading skills.
  2. Higher order writing skills.
  3. Scholarly research skills.