Graduate Attributes

SENS graduates...

Think holistically with ethical intent

  • Apply critical and creative thinking to sustainability problems
  • Transcend disciplinary boundaries to achieve harmonious integration of human and natural systems
  • Identify and assess how human and natural systems work and interact

Deeply understand sustainability

  • Explain and understand the origins and multiple dimensions of sustainability
  • Think across and within systems
  • Develop a fulsome vocabulary to demonstrate a deep understanding of sustainability
  • Understand how complexity and uncertainty affect the sustainability of socio-ecological systems

Integrate a range of perspectives and ways of knowing:

  • Demonstrate and encourage respect for a range of perspectives and ways of knowing
  • Are able to articulate the benefits and limitations of a range of perspectives and ways of knowing
  • Are profoundly aware of their own position, its strengths, limitations, and assumptions

Are ambassadors for sustainability and agents of change:

  • Mobilize theory into practice to solve problems
  • Ask bold/difficult/challenging questions
  • Are courageous, tenacious risk-takers in the face of change
  • Can perceive practical solutions and new insights to sustainability challenges

Have research expertise:

  • Can work effectively in interdisciplinary, inter-cultural and/or cross-sectoral teams
  • Understand the process of research
  • Know how to design and execute effective interdisciplinary research
  • Can synthesize, integrate, analyze and evaluate data for the purpose of creating new knowledge
  • Know how to conduct research ethically

Demonstrate collaborative, leadership and professional skills in knowledge sharing:

  • Can work effectively in interdisciplinary, intercultural and/or cross-sectoral teams
  • Can plan and manage sustainability projects and research
  • Can effectively manage self in the context of sustainability projects (e.g. setting realistic deadlines, being reliable, working effectively under uncertainty, solving problems, maintaining a positive attitude, modelling professional conduct)
  • Can facilitate, mediate, translate, and communicate knowledge to appropriate audiences in many different forms

Have a substantive area of expertise in keeping with their program of study:

  • Demonstrate excellence within their chosen field of study
  • Can create, analyze, synthesize and communicate within their field(s) of study

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