Colleges Launch AI Degrees: What Employers Should Expect Next

Short answer: Pace University, Stevens Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, and several other colleges are opening bachelor's degrees in artificial intelligence this fall. Their graduates will understand how AI systems are built. For a business owner, the more practical question is what that means for hiring, and for how your own team uses AI. A degree in AI won't automatically make someone good at running your phones, your follow-up, or your review requests. What matters most is whether a person can connect a tool to a real process and check that it works.

Until recently, most universities taught AI inside computer science, data science, or engineering. A student who wanted it took an introduction to machine learning, then picked up a natural language processing elective where they could. Now a growing number of schools list AI as a named major. That tells you where the talent pipeline is heading, even though those graduates won't reach the hiring pool for several years.

Key takeaways

Pace University and Stevens Institute of Technology both list bachelor's degrees in artificial intelligence beginning in Fall 2026. Both sit in the New York metro area.
USC, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Utah, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Alabama are also launching AI undergraduate programs this year.
A four-year program that starts in Fall 2026 graduates its first class around 2030, so these degrees won't fill a hiring gap this year.
A degree tells you what someone studied. It doesn't tell you whether they can connect a tool to a workflow and check the result.
For a small business, the most useful AI skill is process knowledge: knowing where leads, calls, and reviews go missing.

What changed in college

For most of the last decade, AI education lived inside other departments. A student could build a strong foundation without ever seeing AI on a transcript. That's starting to change. The University of Kentucky says its new bachelor's program is the first of its kind in the state. The Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah announced the state's first AI major on June 18, 2026, and said it follows an AI minor launched the previous fall.

The new programs tend to follow the same plan. They start with computer science and mathematics, then move into machine learning, data analysis, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. Several also add a course on the ethical and effective use of AI. Utah's program pairs its technical training with that kind of judgment, which is the part a business that uses these tools will care about most.

Which schools are launching now

We checked each of these against the school's own announcement:

Pace University, through its Seidenberg School, launches a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence.
Stevens Institute of Technology begins a bachelor's degree in artificial intelligence this fall.
The University of Southern California, offered jointly by the Viterbi School of Engineering and the School of Advanced Computing, plans a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence with its first class entering in Fall 2026.
UC Santa Barbara introduces a dedicated Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence starting in Fall 2026.
The University of Utah, through the Kahlert School of Computing, launches the state's first AI major.
The University of Kentucky welcomes the first class of its Bachelor of Science in AI this fall.
The University of Alabama launches new bachelor's and master's degrees in artificial intelligence beginning Fall 2026.

Before anyone enrolls, check the current requirements and course list on the school's site. New programs change their curricula in their first years.

Why this matters for hiring, even if it's slow

Employers already hire on skills more than credentials. In NACE's Job Outlook 2026 survey, 70% of employers reported using skills-based hiring. We covered that in our guide to marketing internships. A new AI degree gives a student a stronger technical base, but the employer still has to test what the student can actually do.

Expect job postings to ask for AI literacy in roles that have nothing to do with engineering. Marketing, operations, and customer service teams will want people who can write a good prompt, check an AI draft against the facts, and recognize when a tool shouldn't be trusted. A motivated employee can learn those habits in a few weeks. They're harder to pick up from a tool demo.

There's a risk in the other direction too. A graduate may know a great deal about how models are trained and still have no idea how a dental office books its calendar, or why a roofer loses leads on weekends. Understanding the technology and understanding a business are different skills. Most small businesses need the second one first.

What this means for a small business owner

You don't need to hire an AI graduate to get value from AI. Most small businesses need three things: a clear problem, someone who checks the output, and a tool connected to the place where the problem lives.

Start by looking for where customers go missing. Calls after 6 p.m. that go to voicemail. Web form replies that wait a full day. Customers who finished a job and never got asked for a review. Those are process problems. A graduate with a machine learning degree won't fix them unless someone on the team knows how the business runs and can tell whether the fix worked.

That's also why "which AI tool should we buy?" usually comes too early. A better first question: where do we lose the most leads this month, and how would we know if that changed?

The skill to look for when you hire or buy

When you hire someone for AI-related work, or choose an agency or vendor, ask three questions:

What process will this change? A clear answer names a specific step, such as the first reply to a web form or the follow-up after a missed call.
How will we know it worked? A clear answer names a number you already track, such as booked appointments, quotes sent within a day, or reviews requested after each job.
Who checks the output every week? A clear answer names a person, not a dashboard. Someone has to read the messages, review the responses, and catch the mistakes.

A candidate or vendor who answers those three questions clearly is worth more to a small business than one who lists a long set of AI tools.

Frequently asked questions

Are AI degrees worth it?

That depends on the student's goals. A dedicated major offers a structured path into building AI systems. For a business owner, the more useful test is the work a candidate can show on a real process, not the name of the degree.

Do I need to hire someone with an AI degree?

No. Most of the AI work a small business needs is process design and checking the output. You can buy that as a service, or train an existing employee to do it.

Will AI graduates be cheaper to hire?

Nobody has data on that yet, because the first classes haven't finished their programs. Be cautious about any early salary claim until graduates and employers have reported real outcomes.

What should I ask a vendor about AI?

Ask what process the tool will change, how you will measure the result, and who will check the output each week. A vendor who answers all three in plain terms is easier to trust than one who leads with features.

Does this change what marketing interns need to know?

The core skills stay the same: clear writing, comfort with common tools, and curiosity about the business. AI literacy is becoming part of that list. Our internship guide covers the majors and skills employers look for in more detail.

Next step

If you want to know where AI would help your business first, start with the AI Automation & Integration page, listed at $2,000 in our shop. It connects an AI receptionist and chat, workflow automation, CRM lead scoring, and review automation as one layer over an existing business. It suits a business that already knows where leads go missing. It is a poor fit for one that bought AI because a competitor mentioned it.

Before you buy anything, we start with a free consultation. We look at where calls and leads go unanswered today, which number you'll track, and whether this layer is the right first step. Request a free consultation. Results depend on your leads, your offer, and how well the process is run, so no one can promise a specific increase in bookings or revenue from AI.

Sources

Pace University, "New AI Bachelor's Degree at Pace University," Seidenberg School, Fall 2026. pace.edu
Stevens Institute of Technology, "New AI Degree Launches Fall 2026." stevens.edu
University of Utah, John and Marcia Price College of Engineering, "Kahlert School of Computing Launches Bachelor's Degree in Artificial Intelligence," June 18, 2026. price.utah.edu
University of Kentucky, UKNow, "'AI is the future': UK launches state's 1st Bachelor of Science in AI." uknow.uky.edu
University of California, Santa Barbara, College of Engineering, announcement of a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence. engineering.ucsb.edu
University of Southern California, Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence, first class Fall 2026, as summarized by Programs.com. programs.com
National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job Outlook 2026, skills-based hiring. naceweb.org