Summer 2026 Quest 2 Courses
ABOUT UF
UF Quest invites students to consider why the world is the way it is and what they can do about it. Students examine questions that are difficult to answer and hard to ignore in a world that is swiftly changing and becoming increasingly more complex. In UF Quest 2, students draw upon the biological, physical or social and behavioral sciences to explore pressing questions about human societies and/or the planet.
THE UF QUEST 2 REQUIREMENT
Students who enter UF in or after Summer B 2021 are required take one UF Quest 2 course to complete the UF Quest 2 requirement and/or to satisfy 3 credits of the General Education requirement in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Biological Sciences, or the Physical Sciences (see the UF Quest Requirement page for more information). Students must first complete the UF Quest 1 requirement before taking a UF Quest 2 course. Some UF Quest 2 courses may also fulfill either the International (N) requirement and/or count toward the Writing requirement.
UF QUEST 2 COURSES
Click on the links below to learn more about the individual courses and to access course syllabi, which will be posted at least 3 days before the semester begins. Click the Campus or UF Online button to filter by program or type in the search field to look for a particular subject, topic, instructor, etc.
CAMPUS
- Instructor: Sarah Bush, Agricultural Education & Communication
- Format: Hybrid
- The Pressing Question: Can big data save the world?
- Instructor: Jennifer Clark, Food & Resource Economics
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: How can we create more circular (recycle, reuse, & repurpose) food systems and evaluate the benefits and costs to society from our decisions to use scarce resources sustainably?
- Instructor: Naibi Marinas,Astronomy
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: How do cosmic events that took place billions of years ago and millions of light years away, affect our lives and humanity today?
- Instructor: Won-Ki Moon, Advertising
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: How can experts/scientists apply AI-powered services and programs in communicating (social) scientific problems for the public?
- Syllabus
- Instructor: Michael Harmon, Dial Center
- Format: 100% Online
- The Pressing Question: How do we with communicate with AI, as explored through the ideas of who is a communicator, who is a mediator, and what is intelligence?
- Syllabus
- Instructor: Alexander Panayotov, European Studies
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Questions: What are the legal principles for regulating privacy in the United States and the European Union?
- Syllabus
- Instructor: Tie Liu, Horticultural Sciences
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Questions:
- What are the connections between food waste and climate change, and how can addressing food waste contribute to broader sustainability efforts?
- How can we improve the measurement and tracking of food waste and loss at every stage of the supply chain to better understand the scale of the problem and identify areas for improvement?
- How can we improve public awareness and education about food waste, its environmental impact, and strategies for reducing it?
- How can emerging technologies, such as data analytics and artificial intelligence, be harnessed to predict and prevent food waste and loss?
- Syllabus
- Instructor: Benjamin Hebblethwaite, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: How do emerging technologies change the way we use language and interact with others?
- Syllabus
- Instructor: Angela Bacsik, University Writing Program
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: Whose interests are served by privacy protection and whose interests are served by surveillance? How does ubiquitous data collection and use create challenges for individuals and for social structures? What kinds of limitations might be needed and why?
- Instructor: Kevin Folta, Horticultural Sciences
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: New technologies in food and medicine are amazing; why do people oppose them, what information is real and what isn't?
- Instructor: Drew Brown, African-American Studies
- Format: 100% Online
- The Pressing Question: What can we learn from sports?
- Instructor: Gail Fanucci, Chemistry
- Format: 100% Online
- The Pressing Question: How can novel approaches/innovations in chemistry help alleviate or answer current and arising challenges in our world today, such as our food supply and pollution, novel medicines to combat resistance and addiction, and our water supply and the built environment?”, and “How has chemical innovation been motivated by and impacted diverse groups of people?”
- Instructor: Jessica-Jean Stonecipher, University Writing Program
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: What is romantic love, and how do the experiences, expectations, discourses, and desires related to romantic love help us to understand ourselves and others?
- Instructor: Kelsi & Keri Matwick, Journalism
- Format: 100% Online, Asynchronous
- The Pressing Question: What do we eat, and how can we eat for a more sustainable future?
- Syllabus
HONORS
- Instructor: Kevin Folta, Horticultural Sciences
- Format: 100% Classroom
- The Pressing Question: New technologies in food and medicine are amazing; why do people oppose them, what information is real and what isn't?
UF ONLINE
- Instructor: Michael Harmon, Dial Center
- Format: 100% Online
- The Pressing Question: How do we with communicate with AI, as explored through the ideas of who is a communicator, who is a mediator, and what is intelligence?
- Syllabus
- Instructor: Drew Brown, African-American Studies
- Format: 100% Online
- The Pressing Question: What can we learn from sports?
- Instructor: Kelsi & Keri Matwick, Journalism
- Format: 100% Online, Asynchronous
- The Pressing Question: What do we eat, and how can we eat for a more sustainable future?
- Syllabus