Choosing a university course that is right for you is one of the most important decisions of your life. When you choose to study in the Faculty of Business and Law at Deakin University you are getting a course that is backed by high quality, contemporary research and consultation with industry, employers, the professions and government and is designed to be relevant to your career and life aspirations.
What are they?
Graduate attributes are the skills that employers are looking for, skills that make you employable. Business and Law courses equip you to develop your employability skills.
All Deakin programs will encourage students to develop attitudes of intellectual curiosity and
motivation for independent thinking, autonomous learning and reflective professional and
personal practice, and a commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. Appropriate to its
level of study and discipline composition, each program will be designed to ensure that
students develop their knowledge and understanding as well as a range of generic skills.
These are described below.
Knowledge and understanding
- understanding of, and the ability to work with, a systematic body of knowledge,
appropriate to the focus and level of the qualification based on the highest standards of
scholarship and research and where research is undertaken:
- ability to initiate and formulate viable and relevant research questions
- contribution to new knowledge, or an original interpretation and application of existing
knowledge
- understanding of the social, economic and cultural impact and application of their
research, and its academic relevance and value
- understanding of the professional, social, economic and cultural contexts of the discipline
and related fields
- awareness of ethical issues, social responsibility and cultural diversity
- understanding and appreciation of international perspectives in a global environment.
Skills
- critical analysis, problem solving, and creative thinking
- identifying, gathering, evaluating and using information
- communicating effectively and appropriately in a range of contexts
- developing, planning and managing independent work
- working effectively as part of a team
- effectively using information and communication technologies
- applying knowledge learned in the program to new situations.
Business and Law courses develop your employability skills with learning activities that:
- require you to demonstrate a critical understanding of how knowledge develops in each field of study.
- require you to maintain a reflective journal in which they focus on theories and methods within the field.
- provide opportunities for experiential learning that are designed to develop specific understandings of external contexts.
- ensure that technologies used are similar or comparable to those used in the workplace.
- assess a variety of communication modes and media (such as oral, spoken dialogues, conventional essay, report, diagram form, modest website, etc.).
- use problem-based learning strategies and assign projects that require problem solving.
- ensure the use of appropriate information technological literacy requirements.
- expose you to the practices and customs of different cultural groups.
- expose you to ethical theories and modes of reasoning to help them address ethical dilemmas.
Why have we developed these attributes?
We want you to be in the best possible position to gain employment in your field of study.
Employers consistently report that subject knowledge is not enough to ensure a graduate will be successful when they enter a profession. Employers are looking for graduates who can demonstrate that they have well-developed graduate attributes or employability skills. A course from the Faculty of Business and Law will help develop the skills or attributes that employers seek and those that will help you continue to be successful life-long learners.
Each unit of your course introduces you to and/or develops your understanding of, a coherent, current and intellectually stimulating body of knowledge. The employability skills being developed are clearly identified in the unit guide. By completing the learning activities and assessment tasks for the unit you can develop key generic skills and attitudes which can be transferred easily into the workplace.
