College Students Flock to a New Major: A.I.

At M.I.T., a new program called “artificial intelligence and decision-making” is now the second-most-popular undergraduate major.

Colleges are rushing to rebrand “computer science” as “artificial intelligence,” and students are lining up for it.

  • New A.I. schools and majors are exploding.

    • Over 3,000 students just enrolled in a new College of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida.

    • U.C. San Diego launched a brand-new A.I. major with 150 first-year students already in.

    • SUNY Buffalo created a “Department of A.I. and Society” with degrees like A.I. and policy analysis.

    • M.I.T. now has a major called “A.I. and decision-making,” which has grown to nearly 330 students,  its second-largest major after computer science.

  • Why the sudden rush?
    The rise of tools like ChatGPT and the soaring value of A.I. companies (Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, etc.) has made A.I. feel like the future. Big tech firms are pouring billions into A.I. and launching programs to train millions of people, so students see A.I. degrees as a direct path to hot jobs.

  • Students want more than just coding, they want A.I. skills.
    Many students who might have chosen computer science now prefer A.I.-focused programs, especially if they like working with data or applying A.I. to fields like biology, health care, and policy.
    One example: Leena Banga, an 18-year-old from California, got hooked on A.I. after using chatbots and attending an A.I. summer program. When she discovered U.C. San Diego had a full A.I. major, she jumped in, excited to be “at the forefront” of the technology.

  • Meanwhile, traditional computer science is cooling off.

    • Undergrad CS majors ballooned from 65,000 (about 10 years ago) to 173,000 in spring 2024.

    • But in fall 2024, 62% of computing programs reported drops in enrollment.

    • A big reason: job worries. Tech layoffs, tougher hiring, and A.I. tools that write code are making students nervous about standard software engineering paths. About two-thirds of surveyed computing programs said their recent grads were struggling to find jobs.

  • So A.I. is becoming the shiny new specialization.
    Instead of a broad “computer science” degree, students are gravitating toward more targeted programs in things like A.I., machine learning, and data. At places like U.C. San Diego, the A.I. major still sits inside the computer science department, but with extra courses in:

    • foundations of A.I. and machine learning

    • advanced math

    • social and ethical impacts of A.I.

In short: as tech jobs shift and A.I. hype accelerates, universities are racing to slap “A.I.” on their programs—and students, hoping to future-proof their careers, are racing right toward them.

 

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