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bIOLOGY Learning Outcomes

Saint Xavier University is dedicated to providing top-quality education that is intentionally designed to develop your skills and expertise as you prepare for the next step in your education or career. The learning outcomes reflect the specific competencies that you will gain from our biology program, while the curriculum map portrays how these competencies will shape and prepare you for the real world.

Contemporary Student Learning Outcomes:

Introductory Level

  • Identify the major lineages of organisms (domains, kingdoms and major phyla/classes)
  • Identify defining characteristics and evolutionary relationships
  • Recognize and use appropriate terminology to explain evolutionary relationships
  • Describe information storage and transfer at the molecular and cellular level
  • Outline and quantify energy transfer in biological systems
  • Distinguish and rank organization levels in biological systems

Genetics Level

Explain how the structure and replication of genetic material manifests the flow of information in context of storage, expression and inheritance.

Cellular Level

Explain cellular structure and function, metabolic processes, gene expression and the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

System Level

Explain how organ systems maintain homeostasis and apply feedback principles to physiological regulation.

Organism Level

Explain the distinguishing characteristics of major lineages as defined by their organismal structures and corresponding functions, development and evolution.

Population Community Level

Explain how populations evolve as a result of interactions with their living and non-living environment.

Scientific Literacy

Find, interpret and use appropriate literature for scientific writing and research.

Quantitative Literacy

Generate logical interpretations and conclusions from graphs, models and data of scientific research.