Interdisciplinary Courses

Undergraduate Affairs oversees interdisciplinary courses that are open to all undergraduate students in all colleges.

IDSP 300 Interdisciplinary Special Topics

Understanding Contracts: Law, Power and Everyday Life

Summer 2026: Asynchronous online from May 11 to July 4; Honors mini-section seats available
Taught by: Tiffany Puckett, associate professor, College of Law

Every time you rent an apartment, accept a job offer, sign up for a gym or click “I agree” online, you’re entering a contract. This course demystifies the world of contracts and shows how they quietly shape housing, work, money and technology in everyday life.

You will learn the basics of how contracts are formed, interpreted and enforced, but we will go beyond legal rules to ask bigger questions, including: Who writes these contracts? Who has real bargaining power? Whose interests are protected, or ignored and in the fine print?

Using real world documents like leases, employment offers and app terms of service, you will practice reading, analyzing and rewriting key clauses in plain language. By the end of the course, you will be a more confident, informed signer of contracts and more aware of how agreements both reflect and reinforce social inequality.

IDSP 310 Interdisciplinary Special Topics

Generative AI Across Disciplines: Strategies, Implications and Real-World Applications

(also meets general education knowledge domain “creativity and critical analysis”)

Summer 2026: Asynchronous and synchronous from May 11 to July 4 online, Tuesdays from 6-8:40 p.m.; Honors mini-section seats available
Taught by: Cindy York, associate professor, College of Education

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we learn, work and create. This interdisciplinary course examines the transformative impact of generative AI across educational and professional contexts, preparing you to become informed leaders in an AI-driven world. You will critically analyze the evolution, capabilities and societal implications of AI while gaining hands-on experience with tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Claude and others.

Through collaborative design challenges, learners from diverse academic backgrounds create innovative GenAI-augmented experiences for classrooms and workplaces. The course addresses essential questions, including: How do we verify AI-generated information? What ethical considerations guide responsible AI use? How can we harness AI’s potential while preserving human creativity and critical thinking?

Weekly modules focus on applications including academic writing, visual content creation, research synthesis, professional communication and task automation. You will develop practical AI literacy, explore cross-disciplinary use cases, envision effective human-AI collaboration and leave with immediately usable skills and a portfolio of GenAI-enhanced work.