Bachelor of Science, Major in Biology with Specialization in Secondary Education

at South Dakota State University USA

This major prepares students with essential written and visual communication, critical thinking, strategy, design, and research skills for careers in public relations and marketing communications.

Student Learning Outcomes
Students completing a public relations major will be equipped to:

• Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press, for the country in which the institution that invites ACEJMC is located, as well as receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications.
• Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass communications. (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society.   (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information. (Cross-curricular Skills: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, Information Literacy)
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity. (Cross-curricular skill: Ethical Reasoning)
• Think critically, creatively and independently. (Cross-curricular Skills: Inquiry and Analysis, Critical and Creative Thinking)
• Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis, Information Literacy)
• Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve.
• Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness. (Cross-curricular Skill: Critical and Creative Thinking)
• Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis)

Apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work.

Chemistry is often referred to as the central science because of its strong connections to the other natural sciences and mathematics. Chemistry is therefore an area of study that allows students vast opportunity to explore the unknown and to address some of human society’s most pressing scientific problems. The Chemistry Education program will prepare students for careers in high-quality teaching of chemistry at the secondary/high school level. The curriculum consists of a set of core requirements for students to acquire fundamental chemistry content knowledge and skills shared by all high-quality chemistry teachers, requirements for cognate knowledge development and skills acquisition (e.g., mathematics and other sciences), while meeting the state licensure requirements to teach high school. The core requirements provide foundational understanding in all five sub-disciplines of chemistry (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical), representing breadth of content knowledge.  The curriculum also allows for exploration into the depth of chemistry content by including elective coursework in chemistry, environmental chemistry, and a capstone research course.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completing a major in Chemistry Education, graduates will:

• Understand the basic concepts fundamental to chemistry.
• Be properly prepared for laboratory investigations.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of at least four of the five subdisciplines of chemistry (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical).
• Demonstrate knowledge of modern chemistry topics, which could include catalysis, environmental chemistry, green/sustainable chemistry, materials science, and toxicology.
• Be able to design and execute experiments, analyze data, and use the chemical literature. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis)
• Be able to synthesize the curricular knowledge and skills in a capstone (research) experience. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis; Information Literacy)
• Understand the scientific process and develop problem-solving skills. (Cross-curricular Skill: Problem Solving)
• Retrieve information effectively. (Cross-curricular Skill: Information Literacy)
• Develop chemical safety skills.
• Be able to rely on collaboration, effective teamwork, safety, and ethical practices. (Cross-curricular Skill: Teamwork; Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Learn professional ethics. (Cross-curricular Skill: Ethical Reasoning)
• Have proficiency in essential green chemistry competencies.
• Be able to assess, comprehend, and communicate science. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis)
• Demonstrate teaching effectiveness. (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Illustrate learner development.
• Recognize learning differences and learning environments. (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Formulate content knowledge.
• Implement uses of multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.
• Create plans of instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
• Use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
• Engage in ongoing professional learning and use evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapt practice to meet the needs of each learner.
• Seek appropriate leadership roles and opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the profession.

The Department of Biology and Microbiology provides students with a wide range of opportunities for advanced study. The graduate faculty offer expertise and graduate student advisement in subdisciplines from molecular biology through ecology. Faculty members are very successful in obtaining extramural funds to support graduate student projects. Graduate students have modern research laboratories, equipment and field research sites available to carry out their research projects. The learning environment, scholarly excellence and quality of teaching are areas of strength in the department’s Graduate Program.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Program content: Graduates will demonstrate fundamental knowledge in biological or microbiological sciences broadly focused on cellular and molecular biology concepts and will specialize in specific area of biology, microbiology or molecular biology.
• Content – Research: Graduates will carry out research and scholarly activity in analysis of scientific data using statistics.
• Communication skills: Graduate will demonstrate effective oral and written communications skills in expressing and reporting scientific findings and concepts.
• Intellectual and critical thinking: Graduates will demonstrate effective intellectual and critical thinking traits.

A major in advertising will prepare students with effective written and visual communication, critical thinking, strategy, design, and research skills. Through coursework and experiential learning experiences, including a required internship, graduates gain experience working on teams to develop solutions for applied projects, clients, and competitive campaigns.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing an advertising major will be equipped to:

• Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press, for the country in which the institution that invites ACEJMC is located, as well as receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications.
• Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass communications. (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society. (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)
• Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information. (Cross-curricular Skills: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, Information Literacy)
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity. (Cross-curricular skill: Ethical Reasoning)
• Think critically, creatively and independently. (Cross-curricular Skills: Inquiry and Analysis, Critical and Creative Thinking)
• Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis, Information Literacy)
• Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve.
• Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness. (Cross-curricular Skill: Critical and Creative Thinking)
• Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis)
• Apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work.

This area of specialization is designed for the person who plans to become a communication educator. While the emphasis is primarily on secondary education, the area can serve as a specialization for teaching higher education as well.

Student Learning Outcomes
Graduates will be prepared to:

• Describe the Communication discipline and its central questions by employing communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis)
• Engage in Communication inquiry. (Cross-curricular Skill: Inquiry and Analysis)
• Create and critically analyze messages appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context. (Cross-curricular Skill: Critical and Creative Thinking)
• Demonstrate the ability to accomplish communicative goals (self-efficacy). (Cross-curricular Skill: Foundational Lifelong Learning Skills)
• Prepare for ethical public influence that embraces differences. (Cross-curricular Skill: Civic Knowledge and Engagement; Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)

The Agricultural Education, Communication and Leadership Major is a multidisciplinary program that provides a strong foundation in agricultural sciences. The major allows students the flexibility to select a plan of study based on their interests and skills by choosing one of three specializations: Education, Communication, or Leadership. Students in the Agricultural Education specialization will complete a professional education curriculum, as well as supportive instruction in technical agriculture, basic science, and other competencies. Graduates of the Education Specialization will qualify for a secondary teaching certificate, and will also be prepared for a variety of careers in the agricultural industry.

Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Agricultural Education Specialization of the Agricultural Education, Communication, and Leadership Major, students will:

• Demonstrate knowledge and skill across the broad field of the Agricultural, Food, and Natural Resources industries.  
• Demonstrate and apply educational content knowledge related to effective teaching and learning of diverse groups of secondary students.
• Explain the importance of and show evidence of ethical and professional behaviors. (Cross-curricular Skill: Ethical Reasoning)
• Locate and evaluate information to solve real world problems. (Cross-curricular Skill: Information Literacy; Problem Solving)
• Evaluate core competencies and create plans for effective lifetime learning. (Cross-curricular Skill: Foundational Lifelong Learning Skills)
• Demonstrate effective written and oral communications skills.
• Evaluate a diverse spectrum of agriculturally related global challenges to communicate culturally responsible solutions to a variety of audiences. (Cross-curricular Skill: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity)

The Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) program prepares professional leaders with specialized knowledge and skills to meet the nation’s needs in design, build, and education.  The aim of the program is to prepare architecture majors to practice in a full range of contexts and settings.

The Master of Architecture degree is comprised of a 48 credit hour, four semester graduate curriculum which rounds out the department’s seven semester NAAB accreditation candidate professional program. (See department website (www.sdstate.edu/arch/) for NAAB Professional Program details.)

Student Learning Outcomes

• Research: Understand the theoretical and applied research methodologies and practices used during the design process.
• Project Implementation: Demonstrate the skills associated with making integrated decisions across multiple systems and variables in the completion of a design project. This demonstration includes problem identification, setting evaluative criteria, analyzing solutions, and predicting the effectiveness of implementation.
• Integrative Decision-Making: Be able to make design decisions within a complex architectural project while demonstrating broad integration and consideration of environmental stewardship, technical documentation, accessibility, site conditions, life safety, environmental systems, structural systems, and building envelope systems and assemblies.
• Mediated Practices: Use a diverse range of mediated practices to think about and convey architectural ideas, including writing, investigating, speaking, drawing, and modeling.  
• Ethics: Understand the ethical issues involved in the exercise of professional judgment in architectural design and practice and understanding the role of the NCARB Rules of Conduct and the AIA Code of Ethics in defining professional conduct.Team Building: Understand the methods for selecting consultants and assembling teams; identifying work plans, project schedules, and time requirements; and recommending project delivery methods.

The focus of the M.S. in Mathematics program is the development of sophisticated mathematical models and their implementation on high performance computing platforms. The curriculum features a balance of application, computation, and theory with particular emphasis in the areas of operations research, computational science, and the development of probabilistic and deterministic models. Areas of faculty and graduate student research activity include computational biology, computational finance, molecular dynamics simulation, operations research, optimization, and Ramsey theory. The program is particularly effective at preparing graduates to work in business, industry, or government as well as preparing students to continue on to the CSS Ph.D. or other Ph.D. program.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students will understand mathematical or statistical models.
• Students will be able to construct and apply standard mathematical and statistical models.
• Students will be able to solve problems using appropriate software to implement the appropriate models.
• Students will be able to disseminate the results of their work to others.
• Students will be able to apply Argument Deconstruction in mathematics and statistics.

The Department’s chemistry faculty research programs fall into the thematic focus areas of environmental chemistry and green chemistry, chemical sensor development, organic synthesis, materials chemistry, natural products chemistry, and chemical education. Within these multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary focus areas, students can select research projects that involve the traditional subdisciplines of chemistry – analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic and physical. Currently active research projects in the Department focus on various aspects of analytical chemistry, drug discover and delivery, synthesis or photoactive materials including polymers, materials chemistry and self assembly, chromatography, the chemistry of cell membranes, cancer biology, environmental and green chemistry, chemistry of climate change, photo-physical chemistry, natural products synthesis, biophysical chemistry, computational chemistry, and solid-state NMR. For additional information about these options review the descriptions of current faculty research interests on the Department.

In addition to a traditional thesis-based (Option A) M.S. degree, the Department also offers a predominantly online Chemistry M.S. with chemical education specialization. This is a non-thesis (Option B) degree that focuses on the content necessary for practicing high school teachers to achieve highly qualified status. Admission in this program is limited to practicing high school science teachers. Students interested in thesis-based M.S. degree in the sub-disciplinary area of chemical education should select the Chemistry (M.S.) program in their application for admission.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Comprehensive knowledge: Graduate degree recipients will possess comprehensive disciplinary knowledge with high competence.
  • M.S. degree recipients will be able to demonstrate chemistry knowledge and advanced technical skills.
  • Graduate degree recipients will be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and technical skills in a large variety of professional fields, careers and endeavors.
  • Graduate degree recipients will communicate effectively in an oral, written and visual manner to technical audiences and stakeholders.
  • Graduate degree recipients will possess and practice high standards of scientific integrity and professional ethics.
• Trans-disciplinary professional skills: Graduate degree recipients will possess trans-disciplinary professional skills.
  • Graduate degree recipients will apply creativity to innovation.
  • Graduate degree recipients will recognize the importance of workplace diversity in culture, gender, perspective, and experience.
  • Graduate degree recipients will work effectively with peers and develop mentoring skills.
  • Graduate degree recipients will develop an understanding of the intellectual property process and the business needs of their workplace.
• Students will be familiar with the research literature of their chemistry subdiscipline and have the ability to keep abreast of major developments to acquire a working background in any area.
• Students will be able to demonstrate skill in the recognition of meaningful problems and questions for research.
• Students will possess technical skill in laboratory manipulation.
• Students will be able to demonstrate skill in designing experimental protocols and in conducting productive self-directed research.

The Master of Engineering program is a professional degree designed to grow your capacity to manage and lead in complex technical organizations. The program is 50% advanced engineering courses, 50% management and leadership courses, and can be completed on-campus or on-line.

The Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) is a terminal or professional degree as it is coursework only – no thesis. This graduate program is tailored to meet the needs of working professionals at their own pace or for senior-level engineering students who want to earn a graduate degree while still at SDSU. Core classes include project management, operations, and management and leadership, culminating in an applied industry-based project.  Advanced engineering courses come from civil, electrical, mechanical, or agricultural engineering disciplines.

The M.Eng. program has a dedicated industrial advisory board to provide input and guidance on expected student competencies and program outcomes.

Student Learning Outcomes

At the time of graduation from the Master of Engineering program, students will have:

• in-depth technical knowledge in engineering;
• knowledge of contemporary leadership and management in professional practice;
• a demonstrated ability to apply engineering, management and leadership concepts; and,
• a demonstrated ability to effectively communicate verbally, graphically and in writing.

The Capstone course (GE 750) is used to determine whether students have met expected program outcomes. In the Capstone course, students are expected to manage and execute an industry-based project or similar complex application of technical knowledge and management analysis skills.