Northwestern University will offer undergraduate AI major in McCormick School of Engineering starting this fall

Undergraduates at the Northwestern University McCormick School of Engineering will be able to major in artificial intelligence starting in the fall.

Northwestern said the new major showcases how intelligent systems are built, deployed and used responsibly. The school said the AI industry has demands for specific technical skills that are distinct and different from the core computer science curriculum.

"This new major will span the breadth of AI, while also preparing students to deploy AI systems (work with GPUs), build systems that interact with users (human-computer interaction) and consider their impact (ethics)," said Sara Owsley Sood, Chookaszian Family Teaching Professor of Instruction and associate chair for undergraduate education in the McCormick School of Engineering, in a statement.

While the major will be administered by Northwestern Engineering's Department of Computer Science, students in other schools will be allowed to add it as a second major if interested.

Northwestern has offered an AI minor for the last two years, and also has graduate school programs in AI.