Global Competency (Certificate)

Upon completion of the Global Competency Certificate, student will be able to:

1) Critically examine global and intercultural issues

Globally competent individuals effectively combine specific knowledge about global issues and localities and critical reasoning to form their own opinions about global issues[1].

2) Engage in open, appropriate, and effective cross-cultural interactions  

Globally competent individuals understand a variety of cultural norms, interactive styles and degrees of formality of intercultural contexts and they can flexibly adapt their behavior and communication to suit³.

3) Take action for collective well-being

Globally competent individuals are engaged to improve living conditions in their own communities, the communities of others, and strive to build more just, peaceful and inclusive communities³.

4) Take action for a sustainable environment

Globally competent individuals understand the uneven impacts of human activity on the environment and actively attempt to improve the environment by following sustainability principles and practices.

5) Link local actions and global issues

Globally competent individuals understand global interdependence and effectively connect environment, cultural, political or economic issues to their local context. They understand that their local actions align with specific worldviews and positions on issues such as sustainable development.

Global Understanding

Worldviews of others:

Demonstrates understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, beliefs and practices[2].

Sustainable and inclusive Economies

Demonstrates understanding of sustainable and inclusive economic engagement with human and natural systems and the concept of ecological interdependence[3].

Global systems, contexts, and issues:

Analyzes major elements of global systems and issues, including their historic and contemporary interconnections and the differential effects of human organizations and actions, to pose solutions to complex problems in the human and natural worlds³. 

Global Competencies

Intercultural communication:

The complex skills and ability that one requires in order to interact effectively and appropriately when dealing with members of another culture; including patience, humility, empathy, tolerance for ambiguity, & target language understanding[4].

Perspective taking:

The ability to process, weigh and synthesize a range of cultural, disciplinary, ethical and emotional interests to inform decision making regarding natural and human systems. High importance is placed here on intercultural empathy and personal reflexivity.

Critical thinking:

The ability to systematically think through problematic situations regarding what to believe or how to act. Critical thinking often requires collecting background information, weighing evidence, suspending judgement and using criteria to evaluate options in order to reach a reasoned decision[5].

Global self-awareness:

The ability to objectively evaluate the global impact of one’s own and others’ specific local actions on integrated social and ecological systems.