Universities add AI literacy programs as student demand reshapes curricula

Colleges across the United States and Turkey are expanding artificial‑intelligence education beyond computer‑science departments. Universities such as the University of Texas at Austin, Purdue, Harvard, Ohio State and Northwestern have introduced AI minors, graduation requirements or dedicated workshops for non‑CS majors, arguing that AI literacy is becoming as fundamental as reading and math. Peter Stone, chair of computer science at UT‑Austin, said “everybody needs a degree of AI literacy.”

In Turkey, major institutions including Hacettepe University, Istanbul Technical University, Yıldız Technical University and Istanbul University have launched bachelor programmes in AI Engineering, AI and Data Engineering, and have added elective AI courses in existing engineering faculties. The shift reflects employers’ expectations that graduates from all disciplines possess basic AI skills.

At the same time, enrollment in traditional computer‑science and information‑science majors is falling – the National Student Clearinghouse reports an 8% decline for the 2026 spring term – while AI‑focused classes are filling the classrooms. Faculty workloads are rising as professors teach larger, more diverse groups of students about machine learning, large‑language models, copyright and disinformation.