For the last decade, computer science majors have become highly prized by many colleges and universities. However, a bearish job market has seen entry-level jobs evaporate over the past year. Some of the most forward-thinking institutions have recently pushed themselves into a new foray of the cutting edge: artificial intelligence.
Colleges and universities have slowly begun to launch undergraduate degrees in AI. Carnegie Mellon University became the first in 2018. “Some of the bigger tech firms indicated that they would hire everybody,” Reid Simmons, director of Carnegie Mellon’s AI program, told NBC News. “That was six years ago.”
The University of Pennsylvania touted the first B.S.E. in artificial intelligence of all the Ivy Leagues earlier this year. Likewise, the University of Southern California recently unveiled its B.S. in Artificial Intelligence for Business, which plans to “combine the entrepreneurial concepts of business with the technical operations of AI,” according to a press release. Indiana University Online also offers a B.A. in Artificial Intelligence.
More from UB: Why are employers finding business graduates more attractive hires?
MIT, however, may boast one of the strongest undergraduate opportunities in AI. The school offers a B.S. in Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making, melding interdisciplinary research across electrical engineering, computer science, statistics, operations research and brain and cognitive sciences.
Which universities provide the best opportunities in AI research?
A plethora of other esteemed universities are offering specialized tracks and unique research opportunities. The following universities are highlighted based on rankings from BestColleges, U.S. News & World Report, Computer Science Degree Hub and TechTarget. Institutions listed here are in no particular order.
Arizona State University: Offers a B.S. and B.A. degree in computer science with classes specific to artificial intelligence.
California Institute of Technology: Students pursuing an undergraduate major in computer science can go down different “tracks” related to machine learning.
Columbia University: Multiple B.S. and B.A. degrees related to AI, machine learning, robotics, data science and algorithms. The Ivy League also offers a minor in AI.
Cornell University: Cornell’s Department of Computer Science has been a pioneer in AI research since the 1990s. It also offers an AI-related research focus as part of its computer science degree.
Duke University: Offers a B.A. and B.S. in computer science, combining them with subsets of research in areas such as AI For Social Good, Computer Vision, Moral AI and Natural Language Processing.
Georgia Institute of Technology: Recently unveiled the AI Makerspace Lab in collaboration with Nvidia, one of the premier publicly traded companies advancing the role of AI. Likewise, Georgia Tech promotes interdisciplinary study in AI through a new minor available to its liberal arts and engineering students.
Harvard University: The Kempner Institute for the Study of Artificial and Natural Intelligence founded in 2021 has benchmarked the Ivy League’s revamped faculty and research focus on AI.
University of California, Berkley: The Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Lab offers a variety of research areas, including computer vision, machine learning, NLP and robotics. The university also offers a B.S. in data science that covers machine learning.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Students pursuing a B.S. in computer science can work with the AI Research Group specializing in machine learning and computer vision.
University of Michigan: The Michigan Robotics Department, which offers a B.S. in robotics, combines interdisciplinary research on AI across computer science, linguistics, psychology, economics, biology, controls, statistics and philosophy. It additionally offers specialty labs on assistive technology, constraint-based reasoning, human-centered computing and multi-agent and economic systems.
University of Texas at Austin: Its degrees in computer science offer a concentration in machine learning and AI, and they can also be paired with different research groups.
Stanford University: Stanford’s roots in AI extend back to 1962 with the founding of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Its well of research and faculty make the AI specialization in its B.S. in computer science a favorable degree.
University of Washington: The School of Computer Science and Engineering is world-renowned for its collaboration with the Allen Institute for AI and deep track record in research.
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Through the Wisconsin RISE program, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is making its a systemwide-mission to tackle artificial intelligence. The university stated it will hire up to 50 faculty members recognized as AI innovators and more than double its campus investment in the technology.
