AI boom drives surge in demand for artificial intelligence courses across US universities

Washington: Artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education in the United States, with growing numbers of students from non-technical disciplines enrolling in AI-related courses and programmes to strengthen their career prospects and better understand the technology's impact on their fields. At Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), psychology student Faith Maeba initially hesitated to study AI because she had no coding background. However, after exploring graduate programmes focused on workplace behaviour and the growing influence of machine learning, she decided to pursue a minor in artificial intelligence. "It's giving me an edge and standing out," Maeba said. The trend comes as hiring for entry-level software developers has cooled and enrolment in traditional computer and information science programmes has declined. At the same time, universities are reporting increased demand for AI education among students from a broad range of academic disciplines. Educational institutions are responding by introducing new AI-focused programmes, minors and graduation requirements aimed at developing AI literacy across campuses. Peter Stone, Chair of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, recently developed an introductory AI course for students outside computer science. "We have to democratize it," Stone said. "In the same way that everybody needs some degree of math, reading and writing, I think everybody needs a degree of AI literacy." Universities across the country are integrating AI into their curricula. Virginia Commonwealth University has launched an AI minor aimed at non-computer science students, while Purdue University has introduced an AI graduation requirement. Harvard University is incorporating lessons on large language models, copyright and disinformation into writing courses, and Ohio State University has introduced an AI fluency requirement that includes practical workshops. Northwestern University, which already offers an AI minor, is adding a dedicated AI major and simplifying entry requirements to make AI and machine learning courses more accessible to students from other disciplines. Samir Khuller, Chair of Computer Science at Northwestern, said the department is teaching increasing numbers of students from outside the field as enrolment among traditional computer science majors begins to ease. "Overall, classes are going to be a lot more accessible moving forward," he said. The university is also expanding AI-related offerings beyond technology-focused fields. Its Bienen School of Music now offers a certificate programme combining music and artificial intelligence. According to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, enrolment in computer and information sciences at four-year institutions declined by more than 8 percent this spring compared with the same period in 2025, a drop that coincided with a reduction in software developer job postings. Despite that trend, interest in AI skills continues to grow among students in disciplines ranging from music and theatre to healthcare and biological sciences. At Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, a new interdisciplinary course will bring together students from music, arts, theatre and digital media with those studying mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering. Assistant music professor Benjamin Guerrero said the goal is to prepare students to work at the intersection of technology and creativity. "In my mind, AI is no more disruptive than the record player, the radio, the metronome, the synthesizer or the computer," Guerrero said. The rapid rise of AI tools has also reduced barriers to learning technical skills. Murtaza Ali, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington who studies computer science education, said AI-powered tools have made coding more accessible to students from science disciplines that rely heavily on data analysis. However, he warned that dependence on AI tools could weaken students' understanding of fundamental concepts. "When you ask the AI to do it for you, on the surface it might just seem it is writing the code," Ali said. "But under the hood, it's actually also doing the understanding of the task for you." The pace of change is notable in a higher education sector often criticised for moving slowly. Paul LeBlanc, a visiting scholar at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, said institutions are adapting rapidly despite the challenge of keeping up with technological developments. "It's impossible to keep up with the technology, but that's true for every organization in the world right now," he said. Community colleges are also moving quickly to introduce AI-focused courses. Johnson County Community College in Kansas recently launched a non-credit course teaching students how to create software using AI-powered coding tools and is developing sector-specific AI training for professions including human resources and healthcare. At Virginia Commonwealth University, senior administrators say programme development timelines have been dramatically shortened in response to demand, with new AI qualifications being introduced within months rather than years. For many students, AI represents more than a career skill. Music composition student Althea Pappas is interested in AI as a tool for exploring philosophical questions, while biology student Makenzie Stovall sees it as a way to better understand the human brain and support future work in neurology. "If I am going to try to make people's brain the best it can be," Stovall said, "why not study AI?"