San Diego State University
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Biology BS - 260 Graduates
Degree Learning Outcome (DLO)
DLO 6: Describe how interactions among organisms and their environment influence
populations, communities, and ecosystem function
DLO 13 for Emphasis in Biodiversity and Evolution (multicomponent):
Describe a general timeline for the diversification of life on Earth
 Explain the structural and reproductive features that distinguish major groups of
life (e.g., Prokaryotes versus Eukaryotes; Plants vs. Animals vs. Fungi within the
Eukaryotes)
 Explain how mutation, migration, selection and genetic drift change allele
frequencies within populations, and affect genetic divergence among populations
 Explain how nonrandom mating and natural selection change genotype
frequencies within populations
 Explain the processes that lead to the diversification of lineages at the species
level and above
 Describe what a species is, and some of the complications surrounding species
delimitation
 Understand how phylogenetic relationships are reconstructed, and why an
evolutionary perspective is important for all aspects of comparative biology
 Provide an example of how evolutionary principles can be used to solve human-
related problems
DLO 15 for Emphasis in Ecology (Multicomponent):
Describe models for population growth and how density-dependent processes act
to regulate populations
 Provide examples of how ecological processes affect community structure and
biodiversity at a variety of scales
 Describe ecosystems as existing of populations of organisms plus physical
characteristics, nutrient cycles, energy flow and controls
 Provide examples of anthropogenic factors affecting terrestrial, marine, and
freshwater organisms, and potential solutions to problems created by human
activities.

Environmental Sciences BS - 27 Graduates
This relatively new interdisciplinary degree is in the process of developing a robust set of DLOs that will build an understanding of sustainability from multiple perspectives.

Microbiology BS - 18 Graduates
DLO 4: 4: Explain the variety of ways that organisms interact with their environments and with each other.

Sustainability BA - 39 Graduates
Program Learning Goals (PLG)
PLG 1:Interconnectedness of ecological, econonomc and social systems – To provide
students with a broad knowledge and understanding of a) the interconnectedness of
ecological, economic, and social systems; i) environmental issues as they relate to the
local, regional, and global sociopolitical and decision-making contexts; ii) how the
Earth’s systems-ocean, vegetation, soils, climate, water-and human activities interact.
PLG 2: Sustainability practices, policies, and definitions – To provide students with a
broad knowledge and understanding of sustainability (including context-specific
indicators of progress); i) strategies, practices, and policies for sustainable societies based on the results of scientific research and respect for human cultures; ii) engage students in defining sustainability in its various uses, evaluate international debates about the meaning of this term, and the goals of sustainability movements.
PLG 3: Strategies for administration and policy – To provide students with a broad
knowledge and understanding of strategies for effective administration, planning, and
policy-making, and collaborative decision-making and governance processes.
PLG 4: Critical thinking, written and verbal communication, analytic and problem
solving about sustainability – To develop critical thinking skills, written and verbal
communication skills, analytic and problem-solving skills through an interdisciplinary
approach to discussing environmental issues and sustainability.
PLG 5: Ethics and moral dimensions of sustainability – To prepare students to a) develop
and use ethical perspectives in which humans are seen as embedded in the fabric of an
interconnected world; b) acquire the capacity to discern moral dimensions of
environmental issues and the critical application of moral concepts and ethical theories to proposed policy solutions; c) develop a normative commitment to sustainability, that is, to the preservation of the health of the human-nature interface.
DLO 1: Examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens
DLO 2: Communicate the concept of sustainability both orally and in writing
DLO 3: Demonstrate the ability to understand, evaluate and explain an environmental
problem.
DLO 4: Critically analyze a controversial environmental issue
DLO 5: Clearly differentiate between scientific statements and value judgments
DLO 6: Distinguish between sustainable and unsustainable human activities through
comparison and taking into account how the earth’s systems and human systems interact
DLO 7: Assess a sustainable solution in its social, economic, ethical, and environmental
dimensions
DLO 8: Describe the major physical and sociopolitical processes regulating management
DLO 9: Formulate policy that could be applied to a regional or local environmental
problem
DLO 10: Describe how cultural histories guide interactions between humans and nature

Urban Studies BA - 14 Graduates
PLG 2: Urban interdependencies – Understand the interrelationships and
interdependencies between people and urban environments, with the goal of creating
livable, sustainable and just cities
DLO 1: Data collection – Gather quantitative and qualitative data, including maps,
planning documents, and other visual and textual representations, to organize information urban environments and their distinctive social, cultural, economic, political and spatial features.
DLO 2: Description – Describe historical and present-day socio-economic and political
processes that shape urbanization and urbanism
DLO 3: Spatial patterns – Analyze the spatial organization and morphology of the built
and social urban environment
DLO 5: Human activities and environment – Explain how human activities alter cities
and the urban environment, historically and at present times

Geography BA/BS - 36 Graduates
PLG 2: Understand the interrelationships and interdependencies between people and the environment, with the goal of creating sustainable futures.
DLO 3: Analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments at a variety
of scales
DLO 4: Examine the characteristics, distribution, and mobility patterns of human
populations on the earth’s surface
DLO 5: Explain how human activities have altered the natural world, particularly in
terms of resource use and ecosystem health
DLO 6: Interpret the complex relationships between nature and culture/society,
especially as these relate to social and environmental sustainability

American Indian Studies BA - 4 Graduates
PLG 20: Indigenous-led ecological sustainability efforts – Evaluate role of global
contexts in indigenous-led ecological sustainability efforts
DLO 2: Value Indigenous knowledges and Sustainability – Students will explore and
learn the value of indigenous knowledges and modes of ecological and cultural
sustainability. They will also be able to compare these American Indian epistemologies
with conventional Euro American values toward ecology and culture.
DLO 3: Enact preservation and promotion of cultural heritage – Students will learn skills
necessary for preserving and promoting American Indian cultural heritages, languages,
and other representations of culture.
DLO 5: Support processes of decolonization – Students will comprehend the various
notions of decolonization in the context of American (and global) Indigenous
communities both as an academic theory and a matter of socio-political praxis. They will
learn the ways in which American Indian communities seek to use indigenous systems of knowledge as guiding principles to organize their communities. Our classes will teach
them the models to aid in this process by teaching the best practices and more practical modes of decolonization in contemporary Indian Country so that they can support American Indian communities in this process by being mindful of how they interact with American Indian communities and how to support and value Indigenous knowledge production.
DLO 6: Comprehend global indigeneity – Students will comprehend the emergent global
networks of indigenous communities worldwide particularly in the realm of indigenous
rights and ecological sustainability, and the shared experiences of Settler Colonialism.

International Security and Conflict Resolution BA - 75 Graduates
DLO 11: Environment and Security Specialization – Identify major global policy
developments in addressing environmental challenges (such as major treaties, global
organizations); Describe a few substantive and technical themes at stake in particular
global environmental concerns, like global warming
DLO 12: Justice in the Global System – Classify a range of commonly accepted
international human rights, identify major historical developments, summarize the issues and conflicting worldviews at play in one or more substantive areas of global justice (e.g., economic distribution, humanitarian intervention, etc.)

Environmental Engineering - 33 Graduates
Educational Outcomes (EO)
EO 1: To provide graduates with the technical knowledge and skills required to practice environmental engineering
EO 2 : To provide graduates with an understand of ethical, social, and professional issues face in environmental engineering