Stony Brook University is offering two new one-credit online courses this fall, focusing on climate change and artificial intelligence. The courses are designed to provide students with a broad introduction to these topics through academic modules led by faculty from various disciplines.
The course “Climate Change and You” will be held during the first half of the semester, from August 25 to October 10. “AI and You” will take place in the second half, from October 15 to December 8. Both courses are asynchronous and open for enrollment now via SOLAR. Students must enroll before the add/drop deadline at 4 pm on Monday, September 8.
“These courses represent a truly interdisciplinary approach to complex issues that are shaping and will continue to shape lives and societies around the world and individual and global interactions,” said Amy Cook, vice provost for academic affairs and professor of English. “Students will gain a multifaceted understanding of these complex issues from experts on our faculty from diverse disciplines: health, social and natural sciences, engineering, the arts, and the humanities.”
The climate change course was initially introduced as a pop-up class in Spring 2025. It quickly reached its enrollment cap of 50 undergraduates due to high student interest.
“Last spring was our pilot phase, where we sought to gauge student interest in these kinds of course offerings and work with faculty experts to build and refine modules offered rewarding learning experiences that scaffolded well with the other parts of the course,” said Kevin Reed, associate provost for climate and sustainability programming and professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, who was the lead instructor of the spring climate course. “We received positive feedback from our students and used that feedback and other metrics to refine the course, and to inform the design of the AI pop-up.”
Both classes were developed with help from instructional design specialists at Stony Brook’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
CIS 101: Climate Change and You covers scientific aspects as well as political, ethical decision-making, and personal impacts related to climate change. CIS 102: AI and You examines how artificial intelligence affects digital literacy, creativity in art, society at large, climate issues, energy use, health care, education systems, along with strategies for using AI tools effectively.
