At Ursinus, digital fluency is the shared responsibility of students, faculty, and academic programs working in conjunction with lbrarians.

Indeed, digital fluency infuses our entire curriculum, beginning with the Common Intellectual Experience (CIE). If students are to “cultivate the self-knowledge necessary to live a considered, independent, and responsible life,” as articulated by one of the main goals of CIE, they must be information and digital literate – that is, thoughtful, curious, and aware individuals who can navigate through the world exercising informed judgment and participate in civic life based on well-considered opinions. Students take the first step toward that end in CIE, learning to read texts and images closely and to consider them critically.

First-year students are also introduced to college technology and information sources, best practices, and library resources and services in their first year advising cohorts.

Digital fluency training continues beyond the first-year, progressing from departmentally based introductory courses, to intermediate research methods courses and courses that integrate digital projects, and culminating in “capstone” courses. Yet the acquisition of digital fluency does not cease when our students graduate; if we do our jobs right, it will continue for the rest of our students’ lives.

Students interested in taking their digital fluency development to the next level can pursue the digital studies minor, an interdisciplinary minor that introduces students to the approaches and mindsets they need to engage in digital work within and across disciplines.

Curriculum Map

Consult our curriculum map to learn in which courses we teach certain outcomes.