Summer and Fall 2025 Call for UF Quest 1 Courses
UF Quest invites faculty to submit applications to teach new and existing UF Quest 1 courses for Summer and Fall 2025. In UF Quest 1, students explore essential questions about the human condition that are difficult to answer and hard to ignore in a world that is increasingly complex. UF Quest 1 courses are multi-disciplinary, provide students the opportunity for self-reflection and experiential learning, and foster a student-centered learning environment.
UF Quest 1 courses fulfill the UF Quest 1 requirement and 3 credits of the General Education requirement in the Humanities. Some UF Quest 1 courses may also count toward the Writing requirement and/or the International requirement.
The deadline is November 15, 2024. Click on the links below for detailed instructions.
- About UF Quest 1
Grounded in the Humanities (H) subject area of the General Education (Gen Ed) program, UF Quest 1 courses provide first-year students the opportunity to explore essential questions about the human condition that are difficult to answer and hard to ignore: What makes life worth living? What makes a society a fair one? How do we manage conflicts? Who are we in relation to other people or to the natural world? UF Quest 1 courses are rigorous and multi-disciplinary. They reflect the instructor’s area of expertise and are not simply a survey of or an introduction to a field of study.
UF Quest 1 engages students as co-creators of knowledge and provides them with the opportunity for self-reflection and experiential learning. Students will learn how to develop arguments, draw on evidence, and articulate ideas as they explore essential questions in one of the five overarching themes: (1) The Examined Life, (2) Identities, (3) Justice and Power, (4) Nature and Culture, and (5) War and Peace.
Each UF Quest 1 course must align with the Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) of UF Quest 1 and the Humanities (H) Gen Ed subject area. Faculty seeking to add the International (N) Gen Ed designation and/or the Writing Requirement designation to their course must also meet those Gen Ed requirements.
- Eligibility
Faculty on a 9-, 10-, or 12-month appointment from the following colleges are eligible to develop and teach UF Quest 1 courses:
- The Arts (COTA)
- Design, Construction and Planning (DCP)
- Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS)
- Hamilton Center (HC)
Other faculty members, who teach credit-bearing courses at UF, need to be sponsored by a participating college. For more information, contact uf-quest@mail.ufl.edu
- How to Submit an Application to Teach an Existing UF Quest 1 Course
To teach a course in Summer 2025 that has already been approved to satisfy the UF Quest 1 requirement, whether it has the temporary or permanent UF Quest 1 designation, please complete the Repeat Course Application by November 15, 2024.
To teach a course in Fall 2025 that has already been approved to satisfy the UF Quest 1 requirement, whether it has the temporary or permanent UF Quest 1 designation, please complete the Repeat Course Application by November 15, 2024.
- How to Prepare a UF Quest 1 Course Syllabus
The UF Quest Syllabus Builder and the UF Quest Syllabus Template provide detailed instructions, explanations, and examples that will help you prepare your syllabus.
The UF Quest Approval Checklist shows how reviewers will evaluate your proposal.
- Course Formats, Modalities, and GTAs
Faculty may choose to teach to residential students or to both residential and UF Online students. Residential sections may be taught 100% in person, partly in person and partly online (i.e., hybrid, not HyFlex), or 100% online. UF online sections must be 100% online. For more information, please consult the UF Quest Guide to Course Modalities, Formats, and Enrollment Capacities.
Residential Students Only (100% in person, hybrid, or 100% online)
- 35 students, 0 GTAs, no break-out sections.
- 46 students, 1 GTA @ 0.25 FTE, no break-out sections. Your department will need to be able to provide your GTA with an additional assignment to reach a 0.50 FTE.
- 66 students, with 1 GTA @ 0.50 FTE, 3 break-out sections.
- 76 students with 1 GTA @ 0.50 FTE, no break-out sections.
- 132 students, with 2 GTAs @ 0.50 FTE (each), 6 break-out sections.
Residential AND UF Online Students*
- 66 students, 67% asynchronous & 33% synchronous, 1 GTA @ 0.50 FTE, 3 break-out sections.
- 76 students, 100% asynchronous, 1 GTA @ 0.50 FTE, no break-out sections.
- 132 students, 67% asynchronous & 33% synchronous, 2 GTAs @ 0.50 FTE (each), 6 break-out sections.
- 152 students, 100% asynchronous, 2 GTAs @ 0.50 FTE (each), no breakout sections.
*Before teaching UF Online students, faculty are required to work with The Center for Online Innovation and Production (COIP) to prepare their new UF Quest course for the online modality. For this work, UF Online will provide a stipend up to $5000. Once the new UF Quest course is approved through Quest, faculty can submit a Course Development Request form to begin the online course development and stipend application process. Questions about UF Online course development may be directed to academics@ufonline.ufl.edu
GTA Support
- Most GTAs for UF Quest courses are hired at a 0.50 FTE (full-time employment) to do 20 hours of work per week.
- Your department, not UF Quest, will be responsible for selecting and appointing the GTA for your course.
- Before requesting GTA support for their UF Quest courses, faculty should consult with their units regarding the availability of graduate students to assist them in the semester they will be teaching, the rules and regulations regarding the appointment of graduate assistants, and the kind and amount of work that may be assigned to a GTA.
- Additional Information
For additional information, please contact us at uf-quest@ufl.edu