Officials at Northeastern Illinois University announced in recent days a new bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence that will be offered this fall.
According to the school, it will be the first university in the city to offer the degree, and applications are now open for students wishing to enroll in the program.
In a press release, the school detailed some of the offerings of the program, including introductory courses on programming, mathematics and data structures.
Students will also be taught the basics of machine learning and language processing, and will also be required to take courses on ethical usage of AI programs, as well as the impact those uses can have on the public at large.
“We believe AI should serve people — not the other way around. Ethical reasoning, fairness and social responsibility are integrated throughout the curriculum, preparing students to develop responsible and impactful AI solutions,” Dr. Xiwei Wang, chair of the school’s Computer Science department, said in a statement.
According to the school, applications for the new program will be open through August 1, with courses beginning later in the month.
“Now, as we launch our new major in AI, we are empowering Northeastern Illinois University students to not just learn how to use AI as a tool, but to delve deep into AI — to understand how it works, why it works, and how to keep people at the center of its implementation. Our program will ask students to consider moral and ethical challenges new technology demands that we tackle so our students become more than innovators; they will be leaders with hands-on skills as well as purpose,” Dr. Michael Bedell, dean of the College of Business and Technology, said in a statement.
The program is aimed to help students land a variety of jobs in the technology sector, including as machine learning engineers, data mining, and many others, according to the school.
