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Undergraduate Education
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UB Curriculum Policy

View UB Curriculum policies in the Undergraduate Catalog by going to the home page of the Degree & Course Catalog and then clicking the Undergraduate Catalog button and then clicking the UB Curriculum (General Education) link in the left sidebar navigation.

Scientific Literacy and Inquiry

Scientific Literacy and Inquiry courses are designed to promote scientific literacy. Students must complete at least 7 credits, including at least one credit of laboratory. Laboratory courses must be from the same subject area as one of the completed lecture courses.

For a current list of approved SLI courses, visit the Undergraduate Catalog.

Course Proposal Process

Requirements

When proposing a course for SLI:

  • Lecture courses must be a minimum of 3-credits.
  • Lab courses should be a minimum of 1-credit.
  • Course content must be related to one of the Natural Sciences.

Learning Outcomes

Scientific Literacy and Inquiry courses aim to provide students with the tools to evaluate information and answer questions from a scientific literacy perspective and that goal must be central to the overall design of the course. Having completed the Scientific Literacy and Inquiry sequence, you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate that scientific knowledge applies across multiple scales of size and/or time.
  • Demonstrate understanding of and employ the scientific method through work that involves hypothesis development, evaluation of evidence, and data analysis.
  • Demonstrate an understanding that science is a continuous process and that our understanding of scientific phenomena has changed across time.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how scientific principles are used to solve tangible problems.
  • Recognize key ethical issues in scientific practice.
  • Distinguish scientific information from pseudo-scientific information and demonstrate an understanding of the nature of legitimate scientific debate.

All UB SLI courses will meet the SUNY Natural Sciences (NS) requirements.

SLI Learning Outcomes Chart Examples

SLI proposals and revisions will be submitted via the curriculum management system. You will log in with your UBIT name and password.

For a new course proposal, click the "New Proposal" button and navigate to form "New Course Proposal (Undergraduate)."

For an existing course, click the "New Proposal" button and navigate to form "UBC Course Proposal for SLI (Undergraduate)".

For questions, contact VPUE@buffalo.edu.

Submit: SLI Proposal

Additional Resources

University of Oregon: Scientific Literacy Program
Stanford: Core Courses in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Have a question about Scientific Literacy and Inquiry?

Contact the Scientific Literacy & Inquiry Sub-Committee Chair.