U.S. universities expand undergraduate AI degrees

U.S. universities are expanding undergraduate pathways in AI as employers seek more AI expertise. The Center for Inclusive Computing at Northeastern University counted at least 1,000 AI programs across nearly 584 U.S. colleges and universities, including 78 majors and 103 minors as of April. The growth is sharp: In 2021, just five schools offered majors in AI, according to The New York Times.

Program design varies widely. Carnegie Mellon University became the first U.S. university to offer a bachelor’s degree in AI in 2018, with a curriculum built around math, statistics, computer science, AI, ethics, cognition, perception and language, machine learning, and human-computer interaction. The University of Oklahoma Polytechnic Institute emphasizes applied skills such as robotics, reinforcement learning, computer vision, cloud computing, and DevOps.

Other schools are taking broader routes. Drake University offers a bachelor of arts in AI for humanities and business students with flexible course clusters in philosophy, English, computer science, information systems, and psychology. Stanford University offers an AI track through qualifying courses in areas including natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. Supporters see the programs as a way to prepare students for future roles, while critics question whether specialized AI degrees could weaken broader computer science foundations.