Six years ago, the University of Cincinnati started its artificial intelligence master's degree program through its College of Engineering and Applied Science. The UC program started only a few years after the founding of the OpenAI organization, and it predated the launch of the organization's well-known chatbot, ChatGPT, by several years.
In the beginning, there were only a few students interested in studying AI. But in 2024, things have changed.
"The first year, we had only two or three students in it," Ali Minai, electrical and computer engineering professor at UC said. "This year we had more than 100 applicants and something like 35 or 40 of them are going to be here in [the] fall."
UC's artificial intelligence graduate program focuses on machine learning, which involves students creating computer systems that can be trained using data to solve problems, rather than having humans input commands to solve problems.
The AI degree is advanced, and students are required to have an undergraduate degree in engineering, technology, or computer science before they can enter the program. With limited space, the opportunity to participate isn't open to students without a background in a related field, so other colleges are launching programs to give more students a chance to learn about the emerging technology.
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This fall, Northern Kentucky University will start welcoming students into its AI minor. Students from all areas of study at the university will be able to enroll in the program. NKU says the minor will provide students with a foundational knowledge of the technology, its limitations, and how to use it for various purposes.
NKU's Dean of the College of Informatics Kevin Kirby says a minor in AI can be useful in almost any career. He wants to see students from different majors and backgrounds come together in the program when classes start in the 2024-2025 school year.
"I want to walk into the room and not just scan across the space and see a whole bunch of tech majors," Kirby told WVXU. "I want to see a history major, an economics major, a graphic design major, an anthropology major, an education major. I want to see all those folks and faces in the room bringing their own different perspectives to it."
Kirby calls NKU's minor "the AI edge" because the program intends to make students more desirable candidates once they enter the job market.
"A background in AI adds value to almost any job position that you're likely to obtain with a college degree. So, the idea is, if you were graduating as a teacher, or an accountant, or graphic designer, or as a biochemist — if you add a little AI to that, you will be even more valuable," Kirby said.
As AI technology becomes more prevalent in the workplace and the world in general, those in the academic space agree more colleges will add similar programs.
Across the country, regional and community colleges have partnered with Intel to build AI for Workforce associate degree programs on their campuses. In the Cincinnati area, UC Blue Ash and Southern State Community College in Hillsboro have started workforce programs to prepare students to enter the technology field or pursue a four-year degree.
"At the end of the day, it's about employability from my perspective," Blue Ash mathematics professor Ana Vamadeva said. "This is another way for students to get employment right after graduation with good salaries."
Like other artificial intelligence degree programs, AI for Workforce teaches programming and coding, data science, ethics, and bias reduction, along with career skills so students are ready to meet the coming demand for AI talent.
In Ohio, a new Intel chip plant under construction in the Columbus area is now expected to begin production in 2026 after originally targeting a start date in 2025. Once it opens, Intel says the plant will create thousands of new technology jobs in the region, further increasing the demand for workers with a knowledge of tech and AI.
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"There's expected to be a lot of job openings in that facility," Vamadeva said. "And there are literally hundreds of jobs available in our region, in the Tri-State area, in the state, and in the country."
No matter the level of AI education, experts say the need for AI talent in the workforce will only continue to grow.
Back at UC's main campus, professor Minai says AI has shifted the job market, and soon, fluency in AI will be necessary for many students.
"In some other areas, thousands of people have been laid off and there's been some amount of shrinking, but in AI, it's still very much in its growth phase and that's why not only are we seeing more students come into this particular AI program, we're also seeing students who come into our regular computer science master's and Ph.D. programs and in computer engineering and electrical engineering master's and Ph.D. programs, they are also focusing more on AI now," Minai said.
UC and NKU say AI training is incorporated into several degree programs throughout their institutions, even in some without a direct link to computer science or technology and it will only become a bigger part of higher education in the coming years.
