An interdisciplinary group of faculty members from Tufts University developed an undergraduate civic science course designed to help students better understand and interpret the broad, sociocultural impacts of science. The course teaches principles of civic science and was designed around four facets of learning. These facets lay groundwork for students to fully explore, through dialogue and writing, connections between science, personal values, and civic life. We present an overview of the course structure, challenges and goals, and student feedback from surveys and focus groups about the impact of the course. Students developed an appreciation that science is accessible, personal, relevant, and indispensable to their civic lives--especially those with interests in the humanities and social sciences. Students also learned a "working language" of a science issue and an understanding of the personal relevance of an issue in ways that informed their personal and professional lives. The approach frames science learning around real-world issues of personal relevance that challenge students to find personal and civic solutions to society's most daunting problems that exist at the nexus of science, technology, and society.