Graduate Program Level Outcomes

At Drexel University we believe that a well-formulated set of Program Level Outcomes [PLO] that support and are consistent with the institutional mission and goals are the building blocks of an effective assessment program. Well written graduate program level outcomes are those which describe what our faculty hopes to successfully accomplish in offering their particular degree to master’s degree students, and/or what specific skills, competencies, and knowledge the faculty believes that graduates of the program will have attained by degree completion. The program learning outcomes are intended to be concise descriptions of the impact the program will have on its students. In formulating these outcomes programs and departments must ask themselves four critical questions:

What knowledge should students possess?
What should they be able to do with it?
What skills should they demonstrate?
Are the outcomes observable, measurable and can they be performed by students?

Additionally, a more comprehensive and overarching set of Program Level Outcomes for graduate/master’s level programs might include the following domains, depending on the curriculum and mission of the program/discipline:

Fundamental disciplinary knowledge and/or interdisciplinary approach;
Research skills: experimental, computational, theoretical;
Scholarship: ability to conduct independent and innovative research (and/or apply an interdisciplinary approach);
Communication skills in a variety of formats (oral, written) and to expert and non-expert audiences;
Ethical standards of professional conduct and research;
Teaching skills;
Other professional skills such as collaborative skills, ability to write grants and articles for scholarly journals if it is taught by faculty in the department.

Drexel Student Learning Priorities

Graduate Program Level Outcomes

Graduate Program Level Outcomes by College