What is Quest?

UF Quest is an ambitious project for enhancing all four years of the undergraduate experience. Eschewing rote learning and standardized tests in favor of close reading, critical thinking, and effective communication of ideas, UF Quest promotes a high level of faculty engagement in undergraduate education. UF Quest nurtures the intellectual curiosity of UF students and invites them to grapple with the difficult questions and challenges that they will face as thoughtful adults navigating a complex and interconnected world.

Effective Summer B 2020, Quest 1 courses fulfill the UF Quest 1 requirement and 3 credits of the General Education requirement in the Humanities.

Effective Summer B 2021, Quest 2 courses will fulfill the UF Quest 2 requirement and 3 credits of the General Education requirement in the Biological, Physical, or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Some Quest 1 and Quest 2 courses also count toward the Writing requirement and/or either the Diversity or International General Education requirement

Who is required to complete the UF Quest 1 requirement?

Students who enter the University of Florida in or after Summer B 2020 are required to take one Quest 1 course to complete the UF Quest 1 requirement and to satisfy 3 credits of the general education requirement in the Humanities except if they have an AA from a Florida public college/state university or are in the Innovation Academy program.

Transfer students with an A.A. from a non-public Florida institution will need to consult with an advisor regarding the general education requirements that they need to complete.

A complete list of Quest 1 courses is available on the UF Quest website. In addition, you can search for Quest 1 courses in the Schedule of Courses, by selecting Quest 1 in the Course properties filter and then clicking search.

Who is required to complete the UF Quest 2 requirement?

Students who enter the University of Florida in or after Summer B 2021 are required to take one Quest 2 course to complete the UF Quest 2 requirement and to satisfy 3 credits of the general education requirement in the Biological, Physical, or Social and Behavioral Sciences except if they have AA from a Florida public college/state university or are in the Innovation Academy program

Transfer students with an A.A. from a non-public Florida institution will need to consult with an advisor regarding the general education requirements that they need to complete.

A complete list of Quest 2 courses is available on the UF Quest website. In addition, you can search for Quest 2 courses in the Schedule of Courses, by selecting Quest 2 in the Course properties filter and then clicking search.

How does UF Quest impact the Good Life requirement?

Effective Summer B 2020, all first-time-in-colleges are required to fulfill the UF Quest 1 requirement. This requirement replaces the UF Core (aka "Good Life") requirement.

Students who entered the University of Florida before Summer B 2020 and do not have an A.A. degree from a Florida public college or an A.A. certificate from a Florida public state university are required to complete the UF Core (aka "The Good Life") requirement. Students may substitute any UF Quest 1 course for IDS 1161: What is the Good Life, in order to satisfy "The Good Life" requirement. UF Quest 2 courses do not count toward the UF Core requirement.

How do I propose a new UF Quest course?

Faculty interested in developing a new UF Quest course will need to submit a request for their proposed course to receive temporary UF Quest status. If approved, the course will be taught as a section of IDS 2935.

Check out the UF Quest website to determine your eligibility and to learn how to develop a proposal to teach a new UF Quest course:

After faculty have successfully taught a UF Quest course, they may apply for permanent UF Quest status (see guidelines).

How do I request a permanent course prefix and number for my UF Quest course?

After faculty have successfully taught their UF Quest course at least once as IDS 2935 with temporary UF Quest 1 or UF Quest 2 status, they can submit a request for a department course number and prefix for their UF Quest course (see guidelines). 

Permanent UF Quest courses have a course prefix and number appropriate for the home department, which will schedule the course. However, whenever the faculty member wants to teach the course, they will need to complete the Repeat Quest Course Application.

Can I "cross-list" my UF Quest course or have it meet with another course?

No. UF Quest courses cannot be crosslisted or meet with other courses because a course cannot have the same content as another course. If two different courses were to meet together at the same time for the same instruction, the instructor would be unable to provide full instruction to the students of each course since some instructional time would need to be devoted to the content of the other course.

What are some examples of UF Quest courses?

Syllabuses are available on the UF Quest Website (see Past UF Quest Courses). However, please note there is a new syllabus template that faculty should use when submitting a request to the GEC for a course to satisfy UF Quest and Gen Ed requirements. Examples of syllabi that use the new syllabus template are available in the UF Quest Syllabus Builder.

Whom should I contact if I have additional questions?

If you are interested in developing a course for UF Quest, please contact Uf-Quest@mail.ufl.edu