AI Degrees Now at 79 Colleges. What to Know

In 2020, you could count on one hand the number of U.S. colleges offering a degree specifically in artificial intelligence. Four schools. Today, researchers at Northeastern University estimate that number is 79, with more than 100 schools offering AI minors or concentrations.¹

That's not a trend. That's a structural change in how colleges think about what a useful education looks like.

The latest evidence comes from Boston. In August 2026, multiple news outlets reported that several area colleges are launching new AI programs this fall, and the programs are not just computer science rebrands. They're designed to weave AI literacy across disciplines that didn't used to need it.²

What Northeastern, Wentworth, and Others Are Building

Northeastern University is rolling out roughly two dozen new interdisciplinary majors combining AI with fields including business, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and philosophy. These aren't AI-adjacent programs. They're majors where AI is a required competency, not an elective add-on.

Wentworth Institute of Technology, also in Boston, is launching a degree in applied AI this fall. The program requires core coursework in AI ethics, policy, and regulation alongside the technical components, and it includes a required internship. The idea is to graduate students who understand both how to build AI systems and how to work inside institutions shaped by them.²

Endicott College in Beverly and Suffolk University plan to add their own AI programs starting next year.

For context on the demand side: MIT launched its Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making major in 2022 inside the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. It has since become the second-most-popular major in that department.²

Student demand is real, and colleges are responding to it fast.

What This Means If You're Picking a Major

Here's what doesn't get said directly: most students who benefit from AI literacy won't be AI majors. They'll be business students, pre-med students, journalism students, and social work students who understand what AI can and can't do in their field.

The value of a dedicated AI degree depends heavily on what you want to do after graduation. If you want to build AI systems, write the code, design the models, and ship the products, then a computer science or AI degree makes sense. Clear career paths exist: data scientist, software engineer, machine learning engineer.

If you're heading somewhere else, the more useful question is whether your program has integrated AI tools and ethics into its curriculum, not whether it offers a full AI major. A minor in AI may give you more return per credit hour than a complete degree pivot. Doubling up with a strategic combination like business and machine learning is another path worth considering.

Before choosing an AI major, ask the program: "What percentage of graduates are working in AI roles 18 months out?" Enrollment numbers mean nothing without outcomes data. Ask admissions for it before you commit.

The Part Students Are Pushing Back On

Not everyone is enthusiastic. Some students are pushing back on programs that feel like AI being imposed on curricula that didn't ask for it.² There's a real difference between a program that integrates AI as a tool and one that substitutes AI content for foundational knowledge.

Northeastern's two dozen new AI majors include some, like AI and philosophy, where the combination is genuinely interesting and not obvious. Others may feel forced. Knowing the difference requires actual research: look at sample syllabi, talk to current students, and read learning outcomes carefully before committing to a program because "AI" appears in the name.

The Bigger Pattern

A Gallup survey found that students are already changing their majors because of AI, not just in tech fields but across disciplines. And employers have flagged a persistent AI skills gap in new graduates, with hiring managers wanting fluency that most programs haven't historically provided.

These new degree programs are a direct response to that gap. Whether they fill it well will depend on individual programs, not the name on the degree.

What to Do Now

If you're choosing a major this fall, look at whether programs in your area of interest have updated their curricula to include AI, not just whether an AI major exists. Many popular majors have added AI components without renaming the program.

If you're already enrolled, ask your department whether it has updated coursework to include AI tools and ethics. If it hasn't, that's a gap worth knowing about now.

If AI careers interest you specifically, the data scientist career path rewards a mix of domain expertise and technical skill. A single-discipline AI degree may be less valuable than a combination of two areas, say biology and machine learning, that you build yourself.

The 79-school count will keep climbing. The question isn't whether to pay attention to AI in your major. It's whether the program you're choosing is thoughtful about what it's actually adding.

Footnotes

1. Researchers at Northeastern University, reporting on federal IPEDS data, as cited in The Boston Globe (2026, August 16). Boston-area colleges are looking to make students 'AI natives' with new majors. The Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/16/metro/artificial-intelligence-degrees/ ↩

2. Goodnough, A. (2026, August 16). Boston-area colleges are looking to make students 'AI natives' with new majors. The Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/16/metro/artificial-intelligence-degrees/; WBZ NewsRadio 1030. (2026, August 17). Boston-Area Colleges Launching Majors Focused on AI. https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2026-08-17-boston-area-colleges-launching-majors-focused-on-ai/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴