Syracuse University this fall will launch two new degree programs in AI – a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in artificial intelligence science.

The programs will be offered through the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. They are being implemented as the demand for AI talent continues to accelerate. 

“I am someone who strongly believes AI is not going to take up all jobs,” said Rohan Tambe, a rising sophomore studying computer science at Syracuse University. He says AI is going to open the doors for more jobs that don’t even exist yet. 

“An AI trainer, for example, that is someone who is going to be training large language models – LLMs, such as ChatGPT and Claude. And something else that is very big, that’s going to be very big is, prompt engineering. Prompt engineering is basically the engineering about how we have to prompt AI. And because AI is the next big thing for computer science,” said Tambe. 

“They’re designed to allow you to build the next generation of AI systems and also learn how to use AI tools to help you do that. Then we have a bachelor’s program called artificial intelligence science, as well as a master’s program, which is a master’s in artificial intelligence science,” said Paulo Shakarian, an engineering and computer science professor of artificial intelligence at the university.

He said many schools across the country are rolling out AI programs but SU’s is unique. 

“There aren’t too many top-tier universities that have combined electrical engineering and computer science, so the ability to offer both parallel tracks and we do. And this is, I think, one of the first, if not the first in the country to do that,” said Shakarian. 

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s AI Skills Dashboard powered by Lightcast, as of April 2026, U.S. job postings requiring AI skills grew 144% year over year compared to a 7% growth for all job postings combined. So these new degree programs are setting students up to excel in artificial intelligence. 

“And I think that the college is taking efficient steps by declaring a major in that, because that is what is going to be the next big thing,” said Tambe.