UPenn students can now major in AI

The Future. The University of Pennsylvania recently announced the Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence — named after the owners of the private telecommunications investment firm Telcom Ventures — which will launch this fall and permit current students to transfer into it. As the AI industry evolves, it’s likely that other universities will follow in UPenn’s footsteps to train their students for jobs “that may be completely new or revolutionized by the time they graduate.”

Calc-u later, I’m off to class
On top of being the first Ivy Leaguer to offer an AI degree, UPenn is also the first school to offer a degree in AI engineering, reports Business Insider.

• So far, the program has 59 courses specializing in AI (machine learning, computing algorithms, data analytics, advanced robotics), including 31 electives like autonomous racing cars, human-computer interaction, and brain-computer interfaces.
• Once enrolled, students must pick a concentration in machine learning, vision and language, data and society, robotics, or AI and health systems.

Just hoping this degree pays off
While this major was developed within the last semester, UPenn’s engineering program has been moving more towards AI by onboarding AI courses over the last ten years, according to Robert Ghrist, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education at Penn Engineering.

If UPenn’s program helps more people go into a range of fields that use AI, it might also encourage more people to apply to college — and get a return on their investment for that pricey tuition.