Recognizing that the field of the microbial sciences has rapidly advanced since the previous version of the Curriculum Guidelines in 2012, ASM recently convened a new task force to evaluate and update the ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology. The 2024 Curriculum Guidelines identify what all students in the microbial sciences should truly understand, as opposed to just obtaining surface-level knowledge, after studying a particular concept. In addition to 29 fundamental statements that encompass the entire field, there are 8 scientific thinking and laboratory skills.
How to Implement the Curriculum Guidelines
In addition to the guidelines themselves, ASM offers a variety of resources to help you implement them in your classroom.- Teaching microbiology to nursing/allied health majors? MINAH guidelines can help!
- Add some new Learning Outcomes to your course, using the 2026 ASM Example Student Learning Outcomes as your guide. The ASM Task Force for Student Learning Outcomes put forth several curriculum guidelines—aligning learning outcomes for both higher order and lower order thinking levels.
- ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE), where educators can meet and share teaching resources and curricula.
- Engage with other users of the guidelines by joining our microedu listserv.