University of Adelaide Graduate Attributes

The University of Adelaide is a research-intensive university which seeks to develop graduates of international distinction by supporting high quality education. The University of Adelaide provides an environment where students are encouraged to take responsibility for developing the following attributes:

• Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.
• The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.
• An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.
• Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.
• A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies.
• A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life.
• A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.
• An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.

University of Adelaide Graduate Attributes define the philosophy underpinning the University's teaching programs. They describe the essential qualities, knowledge and capabilities to be developed by students during the course of their studies at the University. The Graduate Attributes encapsulate for a student, and the wider community, the defining characteristics of their university degree programs rather than a list of skills to be mastered; and describe a set of characteristics that are designed to be transferable beyond the particular disciplinary context in which they have been developed. While Graduate Attributes are nurtured in the context of the curriculum, they also develop within the total university experience of the student, and encourage students to reflect on the broader purpose of their university education.

Developing Academic Program-Specific Graduate Attibutes

In reviewing existing programs or developing new ones, teaching staff must ensure that opportunities are explicitly provided for students to develop not only the broader University Graduate Attributes and disciplinary knowledge, but also Graduate Attributes related to the whole of their academic program. No individual course is expected to develop every program-specific Graduate Attribute, but it is expected that as students progress through a program they will be provided opportunities to build a portfolio of activities and assessment tasks that, taken together, will have nurtured the attainment of all program attributes.