Graduate attributes
Graduate attributes (also known as soft skills or employability skills) relate to the knowledge, skills and capabilities that the University seeks to help you develop throughout your time at St Andrews.
As well as developing these attributes through the academic curriculum, you can also develop them through various activities beyond your academic studies, such as:
- training courses
- internships and employability experiences
- competitions
- part-time work
- involvement in student societies and sports clubs
- volunteering
- research assistantships (like the St Andrews Research Internship Scheme).
Track your progress on the graduate attribute portal and build your personal graduate attributes skills wheel.
Benefits
Personal benefits
Developing these attributes can:
- enhance your aspirations and personal growth
- foster life-long learning and professional development
- help you communicate your skills to employers
- guide informed decisions about programmes and modules
- connect curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.
Institutional benefits
For St Andrews, the framework:
- creates a shared identity and language to describe the value of a St Andrews education
- supports academics, professional services staff and students with programme and module specifications
- helps parents, guardians, and employers understand student skills developed at St Andrews
- links student skill development activity to the University strategy.
Key areas
The University groups 20 graduate attributes into five key areas: