As emerging and evolving technologies continue to reshape the job market, students worldwide are being pushed to adapt their skill sets.
In response, Bradley launched two new majors just two weeks ahead of the fall semester, both within the Computer Science and Information Systems Department.
The artificial intelligence (AI) and data science majors are now accepting students.
Bringing AI to classrooms
According to the official announcement posted on Bradley’s website, the choice to establish the two programs is to “reflect the university’s commitment to meet student interests and emerging workforce demands.”
The AI major is designed to teach students how to apply and develop intelligence technology across a variety of fields they may encounter after graduation. The program will prompt students to dive into machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision and autonomous systems.
While AI has been discouraged in most classrooms for years, this shift aims to prepare graduates of the major for careers like software engineering, AI application development and data science, among other roles.
The data shows a need for a new major
Meanwhile, the data science major is meant to teach students how to transform complex data into insight that can help organizations make well-informed decisions. Computer science, statistics and business analytics skills meet machine learning and AI.
The two majors may seem similar at first glance, but David Brennan, a professor in the Computer Science and Information Systems Department, explained the crucial difference: The AI major entails an extensive project along with a two-semester capstone, but data science is much more interdisciplinary, combining computer science with skills including mathematics, statistics and business analytics.
Brennan also noted how these new majors can enrich other well-established programs.
“Students might opt to major in something like biology and data science and proceed to work towards gainful employment as a data scientist in a biology field or a biology-adjacent field,” Brennan said.
For current computer science students considering narrowing their concentration, these new majors cater to specific interests.
“Computer science is the broader discipline of using data, algorithms and computing systems to solve problems, while AI is a subdiscipline of computer science focused on systems that can learn, reason and act toward goals,” Brennan said. “AI literacy is the ability to understand, critically evaluate and use those systems responsibly while recognizing their capabilities, limitations, risks and effects on society.”
While they’re not common majors, both AI and data science are built to supplement a more holistic education. As long as the world uses information, both will be in high demand — and now Bradley meets that.
