April 19, 2024
By Louis DiPietro
Beginning Fall 2024, Cornell undergraduates can minor in artificial intelligence (AI).
Offered by the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, the AI minor is intended for any undergraduates who anticipate AI playing a critical role in their academic and professional careers. Students will get a solid foundational understanding of the algorithms and techniques that underlie AI capabilities like machine learning, automated reasoning, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics.
“The new minor presents another opportunity for all Big Red undergraduates to tap into Cornell’s leadership in AI and learn from world-class scholars who develop, critique, and refine AI systems for the greatest good,” said Claire Cardie, associate dean for education in Cornell Bowers CIS.
AI is poised to have a transformative impact on all disciplines and society more broadly, making education around AI essential, said Kavita Bala, dean of Cornell Bowers CIS and lead dean of the Cornell AI Initiative.
“Our students will graduate and live and work in an AI-enabled world. Education around AI is needed now more than ever, as AI becomes more powerful and ubiquitous in everyday life and as industries shift to hire talent to leverage it,” Bala said. “This minor serves students across campus, and across disciplines, who want to understand AI technology and apply it in other disciplines.”
To earn the AI minor, students must complete six courses: four required Foundations of AI core courses on machine learning, reasoning, human-AI interaction, and ethics, governance, and policy; and two electives. There are nearly 50 electives, including courses like Robot Learning (CS 4756), Text Mining History and Literature (INFO 3350), Statistical Computing (STSCI 4520), and dozens more.
Students with questions about the minor can contact ai-minor@cis.cornell.edu. Please note that while the AI minor was officially approved last May, it will become available to students starting Fall 2024.
Louis DiPietro is a writer for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.