Climate Futures Team-Teaching Incubator
The 2027–2028 Competition is NOW OPEN!
Click Here to Apply to the Incubator Competition
Call for Proposals
The Humanities Institute is thrilled to launch the 2027–2028 Climate Futures Team-Teaching Incubator, generously funded by the Mellon Foundation and the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI). We invite teams of faculty from different disciplines across Stony Brook University to propose a new course under the Cross-Disciplinary Studies (CDS) designator. Preference will be given to teams of three faculty, but teams of two will be considered. Each member of the team must come from a different department. The proposed course must address multiple but interrelated aspects of climate change and climate change mitigation.
Description of Program
The course should be designed to accommodate a class size of 120 undergraduate students. HISB will host a mixer/information session on Monday, November 30 at 5:00 P.M. to allow interested faculty to learn about the program and meet potential collaborators (you do not need to have formed a team to attend).
The winning team will be selected early in Spring 2027 and will work together to develop the course syllabus during the Spring 2027 semester for submission to the CAS Curriculum Committee by April 1, 2027. Fall 2027 will be used to develop course materials. Team members will teach the course in Spring 2028.
Award Terms
In Spring 2027, each member of the selected team will receive a research stipend of $5,000 to support their course development. Funds must be spent by the end of the 2026–2027 academic year.
Participating faculty will not be asked or expected to teach their newly developed course as an overload. The semester the course runs (in Spring 2028, contingent on departmental approvals), the course will count as one of each of the team members’ regular course load.
Eligibility
- Tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenured faculty from the Stony Brook University community, including Southampton, may apply.
- Each team member must come from a different department.
- Applicants must be available to work with their team members during the period of the award (Spring 2027–Spring 2028).
Selection Criteria
The Selection Committee, comprising Stony Brook faculty from across disciplines, will look for courses that are poised to provide a new kind of educational experience, and to produce new kinds of knowledge and understanding about climate change. Proposals will be assessed based on:
- relevance to the stated goals (addressing multiple but interrelated aspects of climate change and climate change mitigation)
- relevance to the Stony Brook’s commitment to cutting-edge undergraduate education
- feasibility
- creative and innovative combinations of disciplines
- clearly articulated plan for interactive integration of team members’ diverse disciplinary perspectives in the classroom
- appeal to early stage undergraduates across the disciplines and across Stony Brook University’s constituent Colleges and Schools
Application and Timeline
Deadline
Applications are due by 11:59 P.M. on Friday, January 29, 2027.
Application Requirements
Applications must include:
- applicant information (names, position and rank, departments/schools)
- a designated team leader (this person submits the application form)
- a shortened CV (maximum 5 pages) from each team member
- written permission from the unit head or chair of each team member to teach the proposed class, with the CDS designator, as part of their normal teaching load in Spring 2028 (if selected)
- name of the proposed course
- a provisional syllabus with a 250-word description of the proposed course, with representative readings, activities, and assignments
- a 500-word rationale for the collaboration (why this combination of disciplines?)
All uploaded documents must be in PDF format.
Decision Timeline
Results will be communicated to applicants by February 5, 2027.
Questions
If you have questions about the program, please contact Michael Rubenstein (michael.rubenstein@stonybrook.edu). If you have questions about the application form, please contact Adrienne Unger (adrienne.unger@stonybrook.edu).