major goals

Intended Professional and Technical
Learning Accomplishments

Microbiology graduates should posses the professional and technical abilities recommended by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

General abilities:: · Students should be able to apply basic chemical biological, and mathematical knowledge to the study of microorganisms.; · Students should be able to comprehend and disseminate an advanced topic of microbiology via self-directed study of the relevant primary and review literature.
Microbial Cell Biology:: · Students should be able to describe how information flows within a cell.; · Students should be able to discuss the ways in which cellular metabolism is regulated and how microbes respond to environmental stimuli.; · Students should understand the relationship between cellular structures and the functions they carry out.
Microbial Genetics:: · Students should be able to describe how genetic information is acquired and exchanged by microorganisms.; · Students should be able to explain how molecular techniques are used to assess phylogenetic relationships of microorganisms.
Interactions and impact of microorganisms and humans:: · Students should be able to describe the beneficial and harmful rolles that microbes play in human health.; · Students should be able to explain how the human body responds to pathogenic microbes.; · Students should be able to compare the short- and long-term responses of microbes and microbial populations exposed to natural or synthetic antimicrobial compounds.
Interactions and impact of microorganisms in the environment:: · Students should be able to compare and contrast various symbiotic relationships between microbes and their animal, plant, and microbial symbionts.; · Students should be able to describe the roles that microbes play in the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.
Integrating Themes - Evolution and diversity:: · Students should be able to discuss how evolutionary theory serves as a unifying theme in microbiology.; · Students should be able to describe how you would assess the diversity of microbial populations in natural habitats.; · Students should be able to discuss whether maintenance of microbial diversity in natural habitats is important.
Laboratory Skills:: · Students should demonstrate the ability to perform safely and effectively in a microbiology laboratory.; · Students should be able to design and carry out experiments to test hypotheses.; · Students should be able to define and use appropriate positive and negative controls for an experiment.