Civics Literacy

Welcome to the Civics Literacy homepage

In June 2021, the Purdue University Board of Trustees adopted a civics literacy graduation requirement for undergraduates, including all transfer students.  This requirement applies to all undergraduate students  - on the West Lafayette campus - who enter Purdue in the fall of 2021 or any subsequent semester.  The requirement for Purdue’s regional campuses took effect in the fall of 2022.

The Civics Literacy activities were created to enhance the educational experience of Purdue students and graduate a more informed citizenry.

The activities and required test to establish Civics Literacy proficiency will build and increase your civics knowledge.  

The Civics Literacy activities will:

• Increase your understanding of important contemporary political issues.
• Identify opportunities to grow your engagement in American politics.
• Expand your awareness of and options for civic participation.

Facts you need to know 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.  

Purdue Civics Knowledge Test resources for students: 

• Overview of the Purdue Civics Knowledge Test
• Civics Literacy Study and Resource Guide
• Sample questions from the Purdue Civics Knowledge Test

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.

Questions may be directed to  CivicsLiteracy@purdue.edu