Agnes Scott College
AC-2: Undergraduate Programs

The foundational knowledge and experiences in Inclusive Leadership Development and Global Learning integral to SUMMIT are woven seamlessly into the general education curriculum, which is the core liberal arts requirements completed by every Agnes Scott student. Each element of the general education curriculum is designed to further one or more of 10 learning objectives that are organized into the three overlapping categories of Global Learning, Inclusive Leadership Development, and Intellectual Breadth. 

SUMMIT is a unique college experience in which every student, regardless of major, is prepared to lead effectively in a global society through a curriculum and co-curriculum focused on global learning and leadership development. Participating in SUMMIT will prepare students for a multitude of paths after their time at Agnes Scott.

The institutional learning outcome for undergraduate students that qualifies as sustainability-supportive includes:

• Interpret quantitative information or demonstrate the methods of inquiry appropriate for investigating the natural world

• Identify, explain, and analyze global themes, processes, and systems

• Demonstrate knowledge and skills essential for global engagement

• Critically examine the relationship between dominant and marginalized cultures, subcultures, or groups

• Communicate effectively (in writing, orally, visually, and numerically), including in digital formats, especially across cultural or linguistic differences

The aforementioned four institutional learning outcomes address specific intellectual skills, practical skills, competencies and values that are critical for addressing sustainability challenges.

Agnes Scott offers a sustainability focused major for undergraduate students with the Public Health major. The Public Health degree program has foundational sustainability-focused learning outcomes and required sustainability-focused courses that integrate the interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems. 

The Student Learning Outcomes can be found in the FY24 Undergraduate Course Catalog on page 198-199. Under the student learning outcome, “Identify and develop strategies for responding to public health problems based upon an understanding of situational context and analysis of relevant information. (NACE Competency: Critical Thinking)”, the following two sustainability-focused measurements of a student’s comprehension of the learning outcome include:

• 1)Identify determinants of health, both biological and social, within a broad ecological framework and describe their impact on health outcomes, and
• 2) Employ a political economy approach to explain the impact of historical and contemporary social, political, and economic structures and relations (at the global, national and community levels) that influence a person’s control over exposure to health risks, and their access to resources.

These two learning outcomes stand alone as sustainability-focused and show two ways in which Public Health students explore the concepts of interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems. 

https://www.agnesscott.edu/assets/documents/catalogs/2023-2024-undergraduate-academic-catalog.pdf 

The course descriptions can be found on the Public Health major website under Course Requirements. 

Four of the five core courses required for the Public Health major are sustainability-focused courses that have a primary focus on the interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems. They include:

• 1) PH - 101: Survey of Public Health - Survey course that introduces the subdisciplines of public health. Introduces epidemiological, environmental, occupational, cultural, behavioral, and policy issues relevant to the health of populations around the world. Includes a historical context for current health issues and global practices.

• 2) PH - 211: Principles of Epidemiology - Analysis of the distribution, determinants, and prevention of disease, disability and premature death in populations. Includes quantitative analysis of the biological, social, economic, and environmental conditions that affect health, as well as an examination of potential bias in studies.

• 3) PH - 240: Medical Anthropology - This course provides an introduction to medical anthropology, incorporating both cultural and biological approaches to the subfield. The course will examine the variation of experience, meaning, and response to human health and illness across cultures. Particular emphasis will be placed on the application of theoretical concepts in medical anthropology to public health and development work. Cross-listed with ANT-240.

• 4) PH - 3131: Global Health - Continues from introduction to public health and epidemiology to infectious and chronic disease in terms of global prevalence. Case studies, theory, and methods about health from a multidisciplinary perspective. The relation of biological, economic, political, cultural, and behavior factors to disease spread and management.

https://www.agnesscott.edu/academics/majors-minors/public-health/index.html 

https://www.agnesscott.edu/academics/majors-minors/public-health/courses-requirements.html 

Agnes Scott offers a sustainability focused minor for undergraduate students with the Environmental Sustainability Studies minor. The Environmental and Sustainability Studies program at Agnes Scott College is an interdisciplinary program that encourages students to think deeply about environmental issues and to use those perspectives to devise solutions that consider all dimensions of the problem.

The core of the ESS minor introduces students to the scientific, economic, and equity aspects of environmental issues while the electives permit students to customize their study of environmental challenges by selecting courses that emphasize the natural and social sciences and humanistic perspectives. Students may elect an internship during or after the junior year. In designing these, students are encouraged to synthesize at least two different perspectives. Experiential learning also is emphasized, with opportunities for student involvement in the sustainability efforts on the Agnes Scott campus as well as at off-campus sites.

https://www.agnesscott.edu/academics/majors-minors/environmental-sustainability-studies/index.html 

Agnes Scott hosts one undergraduate program, the Engineering Dual Degree, that is focused on a subject other than sustainability that has a sustainability-focused learning requirement. The engineering dual degree program is accredited through Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET) standards, which adhere to learning outcomes that are sustainability focused. 

Agnes Scott works with Georgia Institute of Technology in an initiative to combine the value of a liberal arts education with a second undergraduate degree in engineering from the nationally-ranked engineering program at Georgia Tech. Agnes Scott allows students to select this program as their major and transfer directly from Agnes Scott to Georgia Tech after three years and complete education at Georgia Tech. 

https://www.agnesscott.edu/academics/majors-minors/engineering-dual-degree/index.html 

https://coe.gatech.edu/academics/dual-degrees-engineering-program 

https://coe.gatech.edu/academics/accreditation

All SUMMIT Student Learning Outcomes

• Curricular SLOs

1. Identify, explain, and analyze examples of global themes, processes, and systems

2. Demonstrate knowledge and skills essential for global engagement

3. Critically examine the relationship between dominant and marginalized cultures, subcultures, or groups

4. Articulate and assess one’s values, identities, and strengths

5. Analyze and evaluate problems and solutions from multiple perspectives, critically considering diverse sources of evidence

6. Communicate effectively (in writing, orally, visually, and numerically), including in digital formats, especially across cultural or linguistic differences

7. Recognize, analyze, and employ effective teamwork

8. Practice or interpret creative expression; or probe fundamental questions of value and meaning

9. Interpret quantitative information; or demonstrate the methods of inquiry appropriate for investigating the natural world

10. Analyze human behavior or social relations

• Co-Curricular SLOs

11. Cultivate and maintain interpersonal relationships and networks

12. Demonstrate confidence and motivation to effect change

13. Practice continual improvement of one's whole person and seek and utilize feedback

14. Identify, evaluate, and strategically utilize campus and community resources

15. Demonstrate honorable and ethical behavior and civic engagement