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January 2026 University Catalog

Office of Undergraduate Studies

Division of Arts and Sciences

Essential Undergraduate Learning Outcomes

Intercultural Competence: Students will demonstrate the ability to engage effectively in a local and global society and apply civic knowledge to real-world situations.

Ethics: Students will demonstrate ethical reasoning by making sound decisions, taking appropriate actions with awareness of the rights and well-being of others, and identifying the impact of personal and professional behavior.

Responsibility: Students will make personal and professional decisions and develop self-awareness by understanding personal strengths and limitations.

Relationship Building: Students will demonstrate the teamwork skills necessary to effectively work with others, establish new networks, and cultivate existing networks.

Problem Solving: Students will identify and frame problems, explore big questions and ideas, and create effective, ethical, and evidence-based solutions.

Critical Thinking: Students will develop the thinking skills necessary to think independently, initiate action, integrate differing points of view, and develop a process of reasoning.

Innovative Thinking: Students will develop the creative thinking skills necessary to create innovative solutions and the agility to embrace and adapt to change.

Quantitative Reasoning: Students will apply basic mathematical skills to interpret quantitative information in a results-driven context.

Scientific and Evidence-Based Inquiry: Students will use research and empirical evidence to further develop questions, propose explanations to problems or scenarios, and to use a scientific lens to describe the world around them.

Information Literacy: Students will apply inquiry and analysis skills to the ability to locate, analyze, and use knowledge and resources appropriately. Students will act ethically by providing credit to original authors and sources.

Communication: Students will develop the skills necessary to articulate ideas effectively in a variety of written, oral, and visual formats using an appropriate tone and purpose for the intended audience.

Integrative Learning: Students will use multi-disciplinary and multi-contextual lenses to address complex ideas and questions, synthesize transferable skills and concepts across disciplines, and apply transferable knowledge to professional disciplines.

Capella University’s general education curriculum works in concert with the coursework in a student’s field of study to develop reflective practitioners at the bachelor’s level. Reflective practitioners learn to use analytical and relational skills to improve their professional practices through action, reflection, and adaptation.

At Capella University, the general education curriculum is structured around the development of knowledge and skills within four major distribution areas:

  1. Communication: Capella students develop the communication skills necessary to effectively use the English language to communicate both verbally and in written form. They develop the thinking skills necessary to critically evaluate information, integrate differing points of view, and establish a reasoned course of action for effectively solving problems. These critical thinking skills are reinforced throughout the program and through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
  2. Humanities: Capella students develop an understanding of the arts and humanities as an expression of human culture, and through the critical analysis of works of art, literature, and philosophy, they develop the ability to form their own aesthetic judgments. Through reflection on their own values and positions, as well as those of others, they learn what it means to be a socially responsible citizen in today’s world and develop the ability to appropriately exercise that citizenship.
  3. Natural Science and Mathematics: Capella students develop an understanding of the scientific methods used to study the natural sciences phenomena and an appreciation of the role scientific inquiry plays in addressing the critical issues facing today’s world. They develop an understanding of mathematical and logical reasoning and the ability to use mathematics and logic to address problems in their personal and professional lives.
  4. Social Science: Capella students develop an understanding of the scientific methods used to study human behavior and interaction and acquire knowledge of the predominant social science theories.