AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Our climate is changing, creating problems that are being tackled by the scientists and policy makers of today, but who will study the changing climate in the years to come? Until recently, there was no major at the University of Texas for studying climate change. That is, until now, this new major should help educate the scientists of tomorrow to better understand our climate. KXAN Chief Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with Dr. Kerry Cook, Professor of Climate Systems Science at the University of Texas about the new program. KXAN Chief Meteorologist Nick Bannin: You just launched a brand new undergraduate major in Climate System Science at UT. What will your students be learning? Dr. Kerry Cook, Professor of Climate System Sciences at UT Austin: Well, the major is focused on the science of how climate works, and of course, that involves components of the not just the atmosphere, but also the oceans and the cryosphere. In their first couple of years, they have to study, you know, math and the basic sciences, but we also have in place these introductory courses that give them a very broad understanding of the Earth, the Earth system, from the core of the Earth, all the way up to the top of the atmosphere. In the last two years, then they study specialized courses on the atmosphere, the oceans and the cryosphere, also the land surface and we have a big emphasis also on computer skills, developing computer skills for the students. They'll need to know how to handle big data and all of the all of the problems that go along with that, how to extract knowledge from all the data we're getting about the climate system. So we have a big emphasis on that as well in our program. Bannin: Why are you creating this major, and why now? Dr. Cook: The students are very, very interested in this. They see that the climate is changing. They see all the effects it's having on their lives. They're thinking about what might be happening in the future and, you know, they're just really motivated to help. They want to help with energy solutions, they want to help us deal with the effects of climate change on all aspects of our life, not just hazards in our life -- like storms and flooding and wildfires -- but also issues associated with health, heat stress, new diseases that are coming into different areas, for example, mosquito borne diseases. It's affecting all of our lives and not unrelated to that, there are a lot of jobs now coming along...and they need people with climate expertise. Bannin: Now, you touched upon it a little bit. But can you describe the importance of understanding our climate as our climate continues to change? Cook: Yeah, it's just hugely important. We need to have a basic understanding of how the climate is changing if we're going to craft solutions. We're heading into an era when we hear more and more about geo-engineering, you know, some kind of fixes, maybe to stop the warming. These all the solutions and approaches need to be based in a solid understanding of the climate and the way the system works. Bannin: Now, maybe there's some future climate science scientists watching us now that are interested in...this major what sorts of jobs might they end up taking this major? Cook: So many jobs are rising in all sectors. One example is the government sector, both at the federal level, at the state level, even at the local level. We have a climate sustainability office here in Texas. In Austin, we have state climatology positions available, all kinds of research arms within the federal and state governments. Also the private sector. All of industry is interested in how climate is going to affect manufacturing, finance, the insurance and the reinsurance industry, the people who insure the insurers, are interested in understanding how climate is going to change and what are the impacts for their industries. Our students will also be generally able to deal with, again, with big data, with having the computer skills to to go into a lot of different related areas that have to deal with large amounts of information.