I. Regulations
Davis Division Regulation 522 sets forth the Baccalaureate Degree Requirement in General Education. Scientific Literacy, a component of Core Literacies (522.C), requires 3 units of coursework (522.C.4).
Regulation 523 sets forth the Criteria for General Education Certification of courses, stating: “A course in Scientific Literacy instructs students in the fundamental ways scientists use experimentation and analysis to approach problems and generate new knowledge, and the ways scientific findings relate to other disciplines and to public policy.” (523.C.8)
II. Interpretation
The objective of Scientific Literacy is to educate students in the ways in which practitioners in the natural sciences approach problems, pose questions, gather and analyze data, make conclusions based on data analysis, and then generate new hypotheses for testing.
Courses that meet the scientific literacy must include discussion and analysis of experimental and/or observational approaches to natural phenomena and show students how the results of scientific studies relate to other disciplines and to public policy. These courses need not have a laboratory or field component.
Minimum Elements Checklist
Courses in Scientific Literacy must:
ME1) Require students to practice and/or critically analyze the scientific method: posing questions, gathering data, making conclusions and generating new hypotheses.
In justifying ME1, describe how the course presents opportunities for students to practice and/or analyze the scientific method.
ME2) Teach students how scientific findings relate to other disciplines and public policy.
In justifying ME2, describe which other disciplines and public policies your course content relates to, and how these connections are covered in your course.
ME3) Assess students for competency in Scientific literacy.
In justifying ME3, describe how course assignments allow students to demonstrate competency in Scientific literacy. Please provide specific examples of how student competency in Scientific Literacy is assessed.
ME4) Ensure that the fundamental ways scientists use experimentation and analysis to approach problems and generate new knowledge and the ways scientific findings relate to other disciplines and to public policy are learning objectives throughout the course.
In justifying ME4, describe how students develop Scientific Literacy throughout the course and how Scientific Literacy is addressed across student learning objectives of the course.
III. ICMS Submission Requirements
The Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) evaluates whether the course proposal satisfies the minimum elements checklist above. COCI uses the information provided in the answers to the General Education literacy justification questions and the Expanded Course Description.
Departments requesting that a course be approved for this GE literacy must answer the literacy questions in the Integrated Curriculum Management System (ICMS). Where applicable, the italicized notes below the Minimum Elements above may help guide course proposers in drafting responses in ICMS.
Last revised and approved by Undergraduate Council
June 5, 2026