Graduate attributes in programme descriptors

Higher education should be a transformative experience for students, developing their skills and abilities, shaping the way they think, their attitudes and behaviours. 

Review the University’s Graduate Attributes Framework and consider what each part means in your context.

The University’s Graduate Attributes Framework describes the skills and mindsets all our students should have the opportunity to develop in broad and generic terms.  Degree programmes should describe these attributes in discipline-specific ways – what skills and mindsets will students develop and need on your programme?

The University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes Framework

Review the external reference points relevant to your degree to identify the graduate attributes they highlight.  These may include:

• Subject Benchmark Statements;
• Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) accreditation requirements;
• descriptions and standards of discipline or professional bodies; and
• expected employers of graduates from your degree.

Subject Benchmark Statements:  All degree programmes are expected to take account of the relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Statement.  These statements define the academic standards that can be expected of a graduate, including sections on the skills and attributes they should be able to demonstrate at the end of their studies.

QAA Subject Benchmark Statements

PSRBs:  A range of accredited degrees must also comply with Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) requirements, which generally also specify the attributes that must be developed in order to retain accreditation.

Employer expectations:  When developing a degree, it is important to consider the employment market your graduates will be entering and what relevant employers will be seeking from your graduates.  The Careers Service can assist you in identifying relevant employer expectations.  In addition, the Careers Service has researched literature on the future of work and produced a summary of the skills and mindsets needed. 

Careers Service

Information on the future of work

Every degree has a defined Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level.  This determines how advanced and complex the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes should be.

Review the SCQF descriptors to determine the appropriate level of skills and attributes for your degree.  SCQF Characteristics 2 to 5 cover a range of skill types.  However, please note that you are not limited to only using the attributes explicitly mentioned in the SCQF.

Context is key.  Rather than simply describing a generic attribute, contextualise it to your discipline.  This allows students to see the relationship between the attributes and your discipline, building their understanding of what it means to be a graduate from your degree, and gives them valuable evidence of using these attributes.

For example:  

• ‘Research the available evidence’ does not make the link to the discipline clear, as opposed to ‘Collect, evaluate and use the best available evidence in order to diagnose, prevent, cure or manage animal health problems’.
• ‘Summarise, interpret and critique others’ work’ versus ‘Summarise, interpret and critique the work of others by competent use of major theoretical perspectives and concepts in the academic study of religions including definitions of ‘religion’.’

Helpful starting points:  The QAA Subject Benchmark Statements provide a range of the contextualised skills and attributes expected of graduates from associated degrees.

QAA Subject Benchmark Statements

Highlight the generic skill and accompany it with a description contextualised to your degree.  This will help your students recognise the wider applicability and value of the skills developed and used in your degree, and build their confidence in these areas.

For example:

• Researching and using evidence – Collect, evaluate and use the best available evidence in order to diagnose, prevent, cure or manage animal health problems.
• Summarising, interpreting and critiquing – Summarise, interpret and critique the work of others by competent use of major theoretical perspectives and concepts in the academic study of religions including definitions of ‘religion’.

Locate each statement under one of the seven headings from the University’s Graduate Attributes.  This will help your students:

• build a coherent picture of their overall development;
• recognise the diversity of attributes they will develop; and
• see the links between the skills and attributes developed across their courses and experiences.

For example:

Research and enquiry:

• Researching and using evidence – Collect, evaluate and use the best available evidence in order to diagnose, prevent, cure or manage animal health problems.

Personal and intellectual autonomy:

• Summarising, interpreting and critiquing – Summarise, interpret and critique the work of others by competent use of major theoretical perspectives and concepts in the academic study of religions including definitions of ‘religion’.
• Analytical skills – Analyse and explain how religious communities are shaped by and interact with their social, cultural and physical environments.

The University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes Framework

Choosing between the headings:  The Graduate Attribute headings necessarily overlap and sometimes an attribute can be located under more than one heading.  If so, decide which heading it is most closely aligned with.  This will often depend on how the attribute is described and what is emphasised.  The Graduate Attributes Framework gives examples of skills that typically live under the different headings.

Completing the DPS template:  Additional guidance on completing the Degree Programme Specifications (DPS) template is available on the Academic Services’ website.

Degree Programme Specifications