about

Civics literacy

  • The civics literacy program is a graduation requirement for all undergraduate students beginning with the fall of 2021. Once the activities are completed, a notation of Civics Literacy Proficiency will be placed on a student’s transcript.
  • The program will be available and optional for all other students (those who began in 2020 or earlier) and will lead to a notation of Civics Literacy Proficiency on a student’s transcript.
  • Civics Literacy activities are accessed via Brightspace. Students for whom Civics Literacy is a graduation requirement will have automatic accessibility to Brightspace where the activities are housed. Students who complete the activities voluntarily will register through MyPurdue.  

To obtain the Civics Literacy Proficiency, students will complete an educational activity as part of their chosen Civics Literacy Pathway and pass the Purdue Civics knowledge test.  The knowledge test can be completed at any time while the pathway is being perused.  There are three different pathways:

  • Civics Event pathway – Attend six approved civics-related events and pass the required exam; or
  • Civics Literacy Podcast pathway – Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required exam; or
  • Approved course pathway – Complete  one of the following approved courses and pass the required exam.

More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue.

 The campus community is encouraged to submit their events with a focus on civics to the Civics Literacy page. Student organizations can submit their events through  Boiler Link. All others (colleges, depts.) can submit their events here. To be listed as a Civics Literacy event, the event must be designed to address one or more of these:

  • Increase understanding of important contemporary political issues.
  • Grow student engagement in American politics.
  • Expand awareness of processes and options for civic participation.
  • Increase civics knowledge.