<h2>Graduate Student Learning Goals</h2>
<p>The Graduate Council approved a statement of goals for student achievement for all graduate degree programs offered at SIUE. Departments and other units offering graduate degrees have identified specific learning objectives for each of the five areas defined by the Graduate Council. These program-specific goals now serve as an integral part of the SIUE graduate program review process.</p>
<h3><strong>Goals of Graduate Student Learning</strong></h3>
<p>The purpose of graduate education at SIUE is to provide you, the graduate student, with the intellectual ability to understand, create, integrate and apply sophisticated discipline-specific knowledge. Because knowledge is dynamic, you are expected to learn the intellectual system of the discipline - the discipline's system of thinking, knowing and acting - in order to acquire and evaluate future knowledge. Toward those ends, the Graduate Council adopts the following goals for graduate student learning:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge in the discipline</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Graduate students should understand the current and historical theories, concepts and models of the discipline. They should possess the ability to access and evaluate the literature of the discipline and understand the major issues in the current state of knowledge. In addition to knowing the specific content of the discipline, students should be able to understand and appropriately use the methods and techniques of advancing knowledge in the field of study.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Effectively communicate knowledge in the discipline</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Graduate students should possess the ability to write and speak about the current issues of the discipline to peers, practitioners and the public. They should be able to articulate and demonstrate knowledge of the discipline, and write and present scholarship to professionals.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Demonstrate an ability for analytical thinking in the discipline</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Graduate students should be able to identify and understand critical issues in the discipline. They should possess the ability to challenge and evaluate information, as well as synthesize and integrate knowledge in the discipline.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Exhibit the best practices, values and ethics of the profession</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Graduate students should understand and exhibit the professional standards for responsible conduct of research in the discipline and understand the values and ethics of practicing the profession in society.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>
<p><strong>Apply knowledge of the discipline</strong></p>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Graduate students should possess the ability to apply knowledge in he discipline to solve sophisticated problems and to interpret technical issues.</p>
</blockquote>