Intended Professional Abilities
Learning Accomplishments

Microbiology graduates should posses the professionalism expected of the roles that they may serve in society.

Communications:
· Students should be able to work in a collaborative manner on projects using team-building, communication, and diplomacy skills.
· Students should be able to speak and write clearly and effectively and demonstrate the skills necessary to prepare effective visual presentations.
· Students should be capable of organizing thoughts to clearly communicate technical scientific information to professional colleagues as well as the general public in a written format (brief articles, business memos, e-mails, technical reports and papers).
· Students should demonstrate an ability to answer questions and present information extemporaneously in a clear and effective manner.

Environmental Awareness:
· Students should be able to explain the essential roles played by microorganisms in the maintenance of healty ecosystems.
· Students should understand how various biotechnologies impact environmental quality.

Ethics:
· Students should be sensitive to the ethical dimensions of issues and conflicts involving the application of biotechnology.
· Students should be able to characterize and value ethical behavior in conducting research and communicating scientific knowledge.

Problem-Solving/Critical Thinking:
· Students should be able to work effectively with others on complex biological problems requiring holistic problem-solving approaches.
· Students should understand the importance of the ethical, legal and environmental dimensions of complex problems and issues facing biomedical, agricultural and natural resource professionals.
· Students should demonstrate an ability to:
    - define a problem
    - distinguish verifiable facts from value claims
    - determine the accuracy of statements
    - identify assumptions and detect bias
    - distinguish relevant from irrelevant information
    - critically evaluate arguments
    - identify sources of conflicts
    - prioritize needs
· Students should be able to summarize, analyze, and interpret microbiological research data.

Computer Proficiency:
· Students should be able to use basic word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and telecommunications software.
· Students should demonstrate computational proficiency in resource retrival and bioinformatics tools. For example, students should be able to navigate through the National Center for Biotechnology Information web site (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) to use the available resources.