Master's in Artificial Intelligence Programs in Washington

Washington is home to some of the biggest and most revolutionary tech giants in the world: Amazon, Apple, Blue Origin, Microsoft, Intel, Google… the list goes on. For years, the state has been funding, promoting, and incentivizing innovative solutions, including in artificial intelligence. If you’re looking for the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in AI, you’ll find a handful of options in the Evergreen State.

Below we discuss the emerging artificial intelligence industry and unique educational offerings in Washington state, and list every Washington university offering master’s in artificial intelligence programs.

Washington’s Growing AI Industry

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic in the State of Washington. On the one hand, it’s bringing innovative technologies across the state:

• The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded eleven AI research institutes, each slated to receive $20M dollars over the next five years. One of these institutes, AI Institute for Dynamic Systems, is located at the University of Washington and will help integrate machine learning and AI practices into various science and engineering disciplines. It also seeks to create an open-source code to share with the science community.
• The University of Washington partners with agriculture leaders to bring AI innovation to farming. The AgAID Institute will integrate AI agriculture operations for prediction, decision support, and robotics “to address the complex agricultural challenges facing Eastern Washington and the nation.”
• In 2021, Washington legislature funded the automated decision-making systems (ADS) workgroup. This group will convene to develop recommendations to the state related to legislation, development, procurement, and use of automated decision systems by government agencies.
• Like the State of Colorado, Washington seeks to leverage AI to prevent wildfires. By installing multiple high-definition, 360-degree cameras, this revolutionary technology will be able to detect even the faintest wisps of smoke, allowing for much faster response times.

On the other hand, AI is raising some concerns:

• A 2020 landmark bill establishes guardrails for Washington state and local agencies using facial recognition software to protect citizen privacy.
• Another bill was introduced that would regulate government agencies by banning them from using AI to profile individuals in public areas. The bill helps ensure that any AI technology used by the state be proven non-discriminatory.

Through landmark initiatives and state-wide incentives, Washington is invested in not just artificial intelligence but also higher education.

Artificial Intelligence Education in Washington

Washington offers many great public and private education opportunities in AI.

The University of Washington is one of the best schools in the nation, offering in-person and online certificate-based and graduate programs. You can earn your MS in Computational Linguistics, a cutting-edge field focused on helping machines process human language. This unique program combines linguistics, machine learning, and natural language processing—a valuable skill set in this emerging field.

Through UW’s Professional and Continuing Education, you can earn your Online MS in Applied and Computational Mathematics. This flexible learning opportunity lets you earn your degree part time in three years, or full time in one.

UW also offers several certificate programs. These nine-month courses will help you prepare for a career in your desired field. With the Certificate in Machine Learning, you’ll apply advanced algorithms and statistical methods to solve real-world business problems.

If you’re already working full time, you can earn your Professional Master’s of Computer Science and Engineering from the Paul G. Allen School at UW. This flexible program takes an online/in-person hybrid approach that will expand your software development skill sets, with an emphasis on machine learning and AI.

UW is committed to extensive research that continues to position them as one of the leading contributors to the field of AI. Here are just a few examples of what their researchers have been working on:

• Studying automated approaches to help detect breast cancer earlier by using machine learning and computer vision
• Researching deep neural networks to express the relationship between genetics and Alzheimer’s
• Developing the first battery-free cellphone
• Exploring AI’s capacity for ethics, this tool is designed to model moral judgment

Washington State University offers an MS in Computer Science. This research-heavy curriculum consists of a “Cloud Computing” theme, including advanced computer theory, software development, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The school’s impressive computer science laboratory features four state-of-the-art supercomputers.

An MS in Computer Science at Seattle University allows students to specialize in data science. This unique education experience combines the fundamentals of computer science with advanced courses on machine learning and big data.

Here in the Evergreen State, the options for earning an advanced AI degree are as flexible as they are numerous. Check out our exhaustive list below.