The University of Chicago has launched a new master’s program in applied AI, offered through the Physical Sciences Division and the Data Science Institute. The program aims to provide students with backgrounds in machine learning with the skills needed to solve real-world problems. The program is currently accepting applications and will begin in autumn 2027.
The new MS degree is a nine-month full-time program based in downtown Chicago. Targeting professionals with machine learning backgrounds, it offers AI application courses advised by scholars with tech backgrounds and industrial partners focusing on AI architecture, entrepreneurship, and cybersecurity.
Core courses in the program focus on “AI fundamentals, architecture, value creation and leadership, and security and government,” Arnab Bose, the faculty director of the program, told the Maroon. He added that the courses would teach students how to use AI “in a business workflow in a safe, responsible, governed manner.”
Over half of its core faculty members have full-time jobs at tech companies including Google, Harbor, and Abbott, practicing AI as an emerging technology in varied work settings.
“We have an AI advisory council that comprises senior leaders from different organizations, as well as venture capital partners who have firsthand information of current trends in the industry and startups. Industry collaboration will be the key component to the program,” Bose told the Maroon.
The Data Science Institute first announced the new program in August, saying it was “developed for a changing AI landscape.”
“This program is not going to replace any existing program,” Bose said. “The biggest differentiator of MS in applied AI is that we expect the students who are going to join the program [to] already have exposure to AI or machine learning algorithms.”
The Data Science Institute currently offers programs in data science, applied data science, and computational analysis and public policy. This is the first master’s program in artificial intelligence that the institute has offered.
According to Bose, the program will be both fast-paced and practical. “From day one, [students] start solving real world practical examples in a classroom setting,” Bose said.
The announcement of the program follows a $50 million donation to support artificial intelligence and machine learning research. The University also partnered with Anthropic to provide free Claude access for students and faculty this year.
The University’s growing attention to AI education reflects a broader trend across higher education. In September, the University of Pennsylvania announced the launch of a similar master’s program in data science and artificial intelligence. Northwestern University has offered an MS in AI since 2018 and recently launched a new AI major option for undergraduate students.
“This program is designed to help students to grow into innovative leaders that can make a difference in the industry,” Bose said.
