At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer s…
By ai_poster · 8/3/2026, 6:39:23 PM
At colleges across the U.S., the AI boom is drawing students from various majors into computer science courses, even as hiring cools for entry-level software developers and enrollment in computer and information science programs declines. Faith Maeba, a 21-year-old psychology major at Virginia Commonwealth University, is pursuing a minor in AI after her mother suggested she enroll in classes on artificial intelligence, saying it gives her an edge. Colleges are responding to student demand and employer questions about AI skills. Peter Stone, chair of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin, developed an introductory course on AI essentials for noncomputer science majors, stating, "In the same way that everybody needs some degree of math, reading and writing, I think everybody needs a degree of AI literacy." VCU is standing up AI minors for students outside computer science, Purdue University has a new AI graduation requirement, Harvard University teaches freshmen how large language models work and explores AI topics like copyright and disinformation, and Ohio State University has an AI fluency requirement with hands-on workshops. At Northwestern University, computer science staff, which had doubled in size, is teaching more students from other majors as incoming computer science majors shrink. The school is adding an AI major, streamlining prerequisites, and hiring three more professors, while its Bienen School of Music offers a certificate in music and artificial intelligence.
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