College AI degree programs are booming. Are they worth the cost?

Computer science is not a new major at top schools, but with AI jobs in high-demand, there’s a growing list of colleges and universities offering a four-year “AI” degree specifically.

These programs generally move beyond the foundations of computer science to home in on topics such as machine learning, computing algorithms, data analytics and advanced robotics. The University of Pennsylvania recently announced that its B.S.E. in Artificial Intelligence program will begin in fall 2024. Carnegie Mellon introduced a program well before gen AI was a buzzword, in fall 2018, and MIT’s program began in fall 2022. Purdue University offers an AI undergraduate major, while many colleges and universities offer AI classes within their computer science department, even if there’s not a dedicated major.

The rise of AI-specific degree programs comes as companies are short on talent for this fast-developing field. Half of the highest-paid skills in technology are AI-specific, according to the employment website Indeed.com. Even so, there’s some degree of skepticism about the applicability of an AI-specific four-year degree given how quickly the technology is changing. But proponents say that as long as a program is steeped in computer science and other fundamentals, a focus on AI could provide a resume-building boon.

Here’s what students and their parents, as well as anyone thinking about going back to school for a new career, needs to know about a four-year AI degree:

STEM fundamentals remain critical

Students that want to pursue a degree in AI should look for a program that teaches fundamental information such as computer science concepts, statistics, mathematics and engineering, which lay the foundation for a career in an AI-related field, said Kerem Koca, chief executive of BlueCloud, a cloud service provider. The technology itself is changing, but these core underpinnings do not, and they can prepare students to be successful, even as…