While the advent of AI chatbots is forcing faculty and staff to scramble and prepare new ways to enforce academic integrity, a larger issue looms: Students are beginning to question how its broader use affects their preparation for the workforce—and they’re holding institutions accountable for their readiness.
Cengage Group’s 2023 Employability Survey found that more than half (52%) of graduates said the technology makes them question how ready they are for today’s workforce. Similarly, 49% say their educational institution is accountable for placing them in jobs upon graduation.
The need for AI extends beyond student sentiment. PwC predicts AI’s economic impact in North America will reach $3.7 trillion by 2030, translating to a 14.5% boost in the country’s GDP.
Fortunately for Carnegie Mellon University students, the R1 university beat the marketplace to the punch, offering its first bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence in 2018. But the implementation of such a degree is still catching up nationwide. Florida’s board of education just approved the state’s first Bachelor of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence this month at Miami Dade College.
Institutions struggling to keep up with the AI boom should look to other colleges and universities offering cutting-edge programs in artificial intelligence by way of a full degree, minor or specialization track.
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Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech’s College of Computing has the highest placement rate across all institution programs, according to Great Value Colleges. Its bachelor’s degree in computer science is highly customizable with a tailoring program dubbed “threads,” allowing students to specialize in computer artificial intelligence.
“The student who pursues Intelligence can combine it with Devices to become a roboticist, with People to build adaptive interfaces, or with Media to build smart and adaptive entertainment,” according to Georgia Tech’s webpage on intelligence.
University of Washington
The Paul G. Allen School of Computer Sciences and Engineering at the University of Washington contains nine different focuses for research related to artificial intelligence. Among them is computational biology, which focuses on developing machine learning algorithms to predict or diagnose diseases, and to find or create the best therapy for that individual, according to the school’s website.
Additionally, students regularly collaborate in high-profile research at The Allen Institute for AI, a non-profit founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
