Natural Sciences

1. Pose questions or hypotheses based on scientific principles.
2. Use appropriate scientific methods and evidence to evaluate claims or theoretical arguments about the natural world.
3. Analyze and interpret research results using appropriate methods.

The course submission must reflect the following information:

Natural Sciences courses help students become effective interpreters of scientific results and critical analysts of claims about the natural world. The course objectives, course materials, activities, and grading criteria should reflect how students will achieve these outcomes.

If not clearly incorporated into the course syllabus, a sample assignment or two (and associated grading criteria) should be included in an appendix to the syllabus. These materials should illustrate how students will be assessed on their achievement of the student learning objectives.

Credit hours:

• General Education courses should not be less than 3 credit hours. (This does not include 1-credit labs.)
• Variable credit hour courses should have a clear justification (ex: internship, seminar with rotating topics).

Note: General Education courses must be offered at a level of 1000, 2000, or 3000. Only college-level courses (1000 or higher) are approved for the CoreFSU curriculum.

There are two components of required syllabus language:

1. Statements approved by the Faculty Senate, and
2. Statements for each CoreFSU designation the course is certified for

Faculty Senate required syllabus language:

All syllabi are required to include the syllabus language statements approved by the FSU Faculty Senate, available at https://facsenate.fsu.edu/Curriculum-Resources/syllabus-language.

CoreFSU required syllabus language:

The following statement can either be 1) adapted specifically to the course content, or 2) pasted verbatim into the syllabus. In either case, the meaning of the language should be clearly communicated to students.

This course has been approved to meet FSU’s CoreFSU Natural Sciences requirement and helps you become an effective interpreter of scientific results and a critical analyst of claims about the natural world.

By the end of this course, students will:

1. Pose questions or hypotheses based on scientific principles.
2. Use appropriate scientific methods and evidence to evaluate claims or theoretical arguments about the natural world.
3. Analyze and interpret research results using appropriate methods.

For laboratory (L) or combined lecture/laboratory (C) courses:

As required by Florida State University, the student must earn a course grade of “C–” or higher in order to meet the CoreFSU 1-credit laboratory requirement.

• Natural Sciences can be combined with any of the University Wide Graduation Requirements.
  • If you choose to add a writing designation to your course proposal, note that a course can only fulfill one type of Writing requirement.
    • A course may be E-Series/State-Mandated Writing “W” or Upper-Division Writing.
  • If you are considering a capstone experience for your course proposal, note that a course can carry either the Scholarship in Practice (SIP) or Formative Experience designation, but not both.

Yes. While there is no strictly required format for syllabi, our office has created the following document that you may use to facilitate the process of creating a CoreFSU syllabus: Syllabus Guide - Natural Sciences

• Faculty may contact Kestrel Strickland with any questions about CoreFSU course design, as well as questions about using the Curricular Request Application (CRA) to submit curricular requests for CoreFSU approval.
• You may also browse the FAQ for commonly asked questions and answers.