AI Degrees: All Schools with Artificial Intelligence Bachelor’s Degrees

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere now. With AI’s potential to help people across all industries, those who design, create, research, and train in AI are becoming some of the most sought-after professionals in the workforce. As AI has grown, schools have built dedicated curricula to launch AI-focused degrees.

This guide introduces you to the bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence and explores what you can expect to learn while getting your AI, or related, degree and the kinds of jobs you can pursue after graduation. You will also find a list of schools offering AI Bachelor’s degrees.

What Is a Bachelor’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence?

A four-year undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence teaches students essential computer science skills such as programming and math with a special focus on machine learning and data analysis. AI involves large amounts of data which must be processed and run through decision-making models and outputs in ways that are helpful to humans.

With how rapidly AI is transforming our world, schools often include courses on ethics, requiring participation in social responsibility programs such as the Responsible AI initiative at Carnegie Mellon University.

Upon graduation students will be prepared to work in AI jobs in areas such as robotics, data, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP). Or they can specialize further by pursuing advanced studies through a master’s degree in artificial intelligence before entering the workforce.

Prevalence and Evolution of AI Degrees

AI bachelor’s degrees are extremely new. In fact, only a handful of the top colleges in AI have a dedicated bachelor of science in artificial intelligence. Carnegie Mellon introduced the first bachelor’s degree in AI in 2018.

At many schools, AI starts out as a concentration or minor within the computer science bachelor’s degree program. Given AI’s programming roots and the large overlap in curriculum, that makes sense. However, several factors contribute to universities creating dedicated AI degrees.

The rapid expansion of AI throughout virtually every industry has increased the need for workers who are specially trained in AI. With all these breakthroughs, the technical scope of AI continues to expand, and the increasing complexities around topics such as large language models (LLMs) and AI ethics can justify creating a dedicated program.

Key Concepts and Fundamental Skills

An AI degree starts with a solid foundation in computer science and mathematics. You’ll learn programming fundamentals, including algorithms, data structures, and an introduction to computer systems. In addition to math and statistics, you may be required to take advanced calculus.

Augmenting this computer science foundation is the AI core curriculum. These courses introduce students to artificial intelligence concepts and topics like natural language processing and computer vision. For students interested in NLP, additional linguistics courses may be required. AI programs also typically include required electives related to ethics, society, and policy issues.

Programs like the one at Carnegie Mellon feature different “AI clusters” in their curriculum, which group electives into four AI areas: Decision Making and Robotics, Machine Learning, Perception and Language, and Human-AI Interaction. Students must take one elective from each area to experience the breadth of AI topics, and can use their free electives to take additional AI cluster courses once they discover an area they enjoy.

To illustrate what classes you might take as an AI student, check out some examples from Carnegie Mellon’s elective clusters:

Decision Making and Robotics

• Focuses on how to make machines work more like the human brain.
• Includes courses in neural computation, which explores how the human brain and cognition function; and cognitive robotics, which looks at how human functions can be modeled in computers and robots.

Machine Learning

• Focuses on using data and self-learning algorithms to imitate human learning.
• Includes courses in deep learning, large datasets, game theory, and generative AI.

Perception and Language

• Focuses on computational neuroscience, which MIT describes as “combining methods from computer science, neuroscience, and cognitive science to explain and model how perception and cognition are realized in human and machine.”
• Includes courses in cognitive computing, computer vision, speech processing, and computational perception.

Human-AI Interaction

• Focuses on creating AI to interact with and assist humans.
• Includes courses in designing human-centered software, human-robot interaction, and human-AI interaction.

Other Relevant Degrees for Studying AI

Because artificial intelligence is a multidisciplinary field, you have several related degree programs to consider in addition to a dedicated AI program. The most obvious choice is computer science. A bachelor’s degree in computer science has significant overlap with AI curriculum, and many schools offer minors or concentrations in artificial intelligence for students that want to focus their electives on AI.

Behind every technological advancement are mathematical structures and principles that help ground ideas in the real world. Mathematics and statistics degrees are good for students who are strong in math and want to work in data science using game theory, probability, logistic regressions, and more.

Computer and electrical engineering degrees are ideal if you wish to be more hands-on with hardware and robotics. The additional focus on computer architecture, chip design, circuits, and robotic programming can prepare students both to work on AI and leverage AI to accelerate traditional computer and electrical engineering jobs.

For a closer look at relevant degrees, check out our guide to the best majors for learning artificial intelligence.

Jobs for Graduates of AI Bachelor’s Programs

AI skills are in demand and that demand continues to grow as the field evolves. An undergraduate degree in AI prepares you for jobs in artificial intelligence, giving you the skills and understanding necessary to leverage AI across the numerous fields rapidly adopting it. According to Coursera some of the AI job opportunities are AI engineer, machine learning engineer, data engineer, robotics engineer, software engineer, and data scientist.

• AI engineers help build AI systems across many industries, assisting companies with being more efficient and using AI more productively.
• Machine learning engineers build and maintain the learning systems for AI and work with data scientists on how to develop models for building the AI systems.
• Data engineers build the systems that collect, organize, and store data for organizations.
• Robotics engineers develop robots and their applications, and might be involved in production or overseeing them in production as they carry out their tasks.
• Software engineers, also called developers or programmers, create software for computers; this can include developing software in conjunction with any of the other AI roles.
• Data scientists help determine what data to collect and analyze; they also interpret the data and develop predictive models.

With average annual salaries of around $115,000, these jobs are all strong options offering entry-level openings.

Is a Bachelor’s in AI Worth It?

For most students, getting a degree in AI from a reputable university is worth it. It will set you up for success as you join an infusion of new talent specifically focused on AI and how to use it for good. Artificial intelligence is impacting practically every area of human life and has the potential to revolutionize many industry sectors. It is important to have trained individuals working across industries to ensure AI is properly implemented and to help guide ethical conversations as we learn to adapt to these new technologies.

Being a relatively new stand-alone degree, it might be challenging to find a fully accredited, dedicated undergraduate AI program. Keep in mind the importance of the school having a regional or institutional accreditation. Once you have established that the university is accredited, there are ways to ensure the program you’re evaluating is academically strong.

While new engineering programs often don’t meet ABET accreditation requirements, an alternative way to gauge the strength of a program is to look at their more established degrees. Are the other computer science, math, and engineering degrees ABET accredited? If so, that would indicate that the university has a good reputation and is serious about holding engineering and technology education to high standards. Another item to investigate is the degree of overlap in curriculum between the programs. If several accredited classes are included in an AI program, that’s a good sign.

You can also ask the faculty if they are pursuing accreditation—if they are, it means they expect to qualify once they have graduating students. While you’re at it, research the faculty themselves. Are they experts in their fields? Do they attend conferences, sit on boards, or consult in industry? Are they involved in research that’s being published in well-known journals? What opportunities are there for undergraduate students to participate in or learn from this cutting-edge research? A vibrant, active faculty offers better instructors that will keep themselves, and students, up to date in their field.

Conclusion

A bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence is a great way to get a solid foundation in AI concepts, computer science, and math. With a variety of concentration areas like robotics, machine learning, and natural language processing, you can prepare for various careers that are in high demand and learn how to think about human-AI interaction. An undergraduate degree in AI also includes a strong focus on ethics and how AI impacts society—valuable understanding that companies will need to help them navigate the future of AI.

Explore our directory of AI bachelor’s degrees to find the one that resonates with you.