New York Times Reporter Alan Blinder Reports Surge in AI Majors at U.S. Colleges
U.S. colleges currently offer at least 74 AI major programs and 89 minor programs, a significant increase from only 5 schools having AI majors in 2021.
At least a dozen schools plan to add AI major programs this year, ranging from North Dakota to New Jersey, with significant differences in course content. Data tracking from Northeastern University shows that colleges are accelerating their efforts to attract students.
Market mechanisms indicate that the AI boom is driving capital and resources in colleges towards new majors, with student demand pushing up related tuition and donations. Beneficiaries are rapidly transforming STEM institutions, while traditional humanities or non-technical majors face competition for student enrollment.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
The increase in AI majors from just 5 in 2021, with Carnegie Mellon University as an early adopter focusing on theoretical foundations, reflects a response to student and industry demands following ChatGPT. The surge to 74+ majors continues this trend, as institutions rapidly expand courses through interdisciplinary integration to maintain competitiveness.
On the capital front, colleges are mobilizing donation funds and federal research grants to invest in AI faculty recruitment and lab construction. This strategy attracts high-tuition students and connects them with internship/employment pipelines in tech companies, creating a closed loop for talent supply between education and industry to support long-term revenue growth.
Similar to the expansion of computer science programs during the internet boom in the 1990s, U.S. colleges are currently in a phase of transitioning from general computer education to AI specialization, solidifying their position in the global higher education talent supply chain.
Essentially, this reflects technological substitution and capital concentration: the surge in AI majors directly replaces some functions of traditional disciplines, reallocating educational resources towards high-demand fields, accelerating the shift of pricing power in higher education from broad liberal arts to specialized skills, and reshaping the structure of talent cultivation in the industry chain.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
When a technological wave arrives, education leads, resulting in resource siphoning.
When demand explodes, supply replicates faster than quality settles.
The hotter the major, the deeper the restructuring of talent.