OXFORD, Ohio — Classes are underway at Miami University, and for thousands of students, artificial intelligence is already becoming part of the classroom experience.
The university's new AI in the Majors initiative, a discipline-specific, faculty-led curriculum program, aims to ensure every undergraduate student graduates with AI competencies aligned with their professional field.
The first cohort includes nearly 5,000 students across 13 departments for the 2026-2027 academic year. A second cohort of 15 departments, impacting 10,949 students, will implement the program in spring and fall 2027. A final cohort of 21 departments, reaching 18,982 students, will complete the rollout in the 2027-2028 school year.
Ellen Yezierski, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning and professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is leading the initiative.
"We're working with all of the departments for them to define what responsible and capable AI use looks like in particular majors, and then where those skills can be developed in the courses that the students are already taking," Yezierski said.
The 13 departments participating this fall are: Accountancy; Anthropology; Art; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Educational Psychology; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Languages, Literatures, and Writing; Mathematics; Physics; Sport Leadership and Management; Speech Pathology and Audiology; Statistics; and Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry.
Yezierski said the variety of disciplines involved illustrates why a one-size-fits-all approach would not work.
WATCH: Miami University launches new AI initiative
"Taking art, chemistry, marketing — and what's really interesting, if you think of just those departments, AI use looks very different. Capable and responsible AI use in those disciplines is very different," Yezierski said. "And that's why we thought a one-course-fits-all strategy wasn't going to be the best for our Miami students."
She said the uniqueness extends beyond the subject matter itself.
"Not only is there uniqueness to how AI is embedded in those disciplines in the world, but it's also different in how it's embedded in those courses as the students work through those majors," Yezierski said. "And then we're also ensuring that as students grow and develop in their major, they're also building those capabilities with AI."
Yezierski said protecting student thinking is at the core of the initiative.
"We have to protect thinking. And protecting thinking means helping students not just learn the tools, but also to learn when not to trust it, when to trust it, and when not to use it," Yezierski said. "And all of those capacities I think students can build if it's embedded in their coursework, as opposed to something separate that we're trying to teach them."
She also pointed to the broader context driving the urgency.
"If it's this embedded in the world, then it needs to be embedded in the learning and in the coursework," Yezierski said. "I trust our faculty to make great decisions on where it fits."
Yezierski added that the technical and practical dimensions of AI are only part of the picture.
"When we're thinking about how AI is embedded in each discipline, we have to think not just about the technical and the practical, but the evaluative and the ethical, and that's different for each discipline," Yezierski said. "And that's why a one-size-fits-all kind of situation wouldn't work for Miami."
The initiative grew out of MiamiTHRIVE, the university's strategic plan, which calls for building AI literacy for faculty and students.
Yezierski has worked closely with AI Provost Fellows Heidi McKee, professor of English and faculty affiliate in the Department of Emerging Technology in Business and Design, and Dennis Cheatham, associate professor of Art and ETBD faculty affiliate. Cheatham and McKee are set to co-present their work in AI at the 45th Original Lilly Conference on College Teaching in November.
Yezierski is also bringing AI into her own first-year honors chemistry course through a tutor bot she designed called CC the Chem Coach. The tool is built around Socratic tutoring and metacognitive prompting designed to guide student thinking rather than provide answers.
"She says, 'I'm here to help you learn chemistry by working with your thinking, not just by handing you answers,'" Yezierski said.
When a student types a question, the tool works to address gaps in understanding rather than deliver a direct response.
"It's going to go through a process of trying to kind of remediate some inaccurate ideas," Yezierski said. "So that's how CC works, and I hope that she helps my students."
McKee emphasized the importance of the initiative for students navigating an AI-driven world.
"Students need critical knowledge," McKee said.
As move-in week brought freshmen to campus, I asked some of the newest students how they feel about AI becoming part of their college experience.
One student said the balance between AI and direct instruction matters.
"If it's too much, then maybe not... the professor should have hands-on involvement; it shouldn't all be AI," the student said.
Another student said the uncertainty is real, but so is the potential.
"It is scary, but I would like to see if it prepares us for the real world... things are changing all the time ... I guess I'm here for it," the student said.
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