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New nine-month program prepares technically experienced students to move beyond AI fundamentals and build, deploy, and lead with emerging technologies.
The Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence (MS-AAI) program, offered by the University of Chicago’s Physical Sciences Division and Data Science Institute, is designed for the evolving AI landscape. It focuses on preparing technically experienced students to advance beyond foundational machine learning and deep learning expertise into the frontier of applied AI. Students will gain conceptual knowledge and practical skills to leverage foundational models and AI agents in real-world scenarios. The curriculum includes four core courses covering AI foundations, advanced architectures, AI security and governance, and value creation with AI. Additionally, students choose five electives from three focus areas: AI in Practice, Frontier AI, and Performance AI, with options like multi-modal agents, production AI, quantum computation, and biomedicine.
The MS-AAI program emphasizes immediate practical application, requiring students to tackle real-world problems from the start and build a professional portfolio. The curriculum rigorously integrates AI theory with hands-on application, ensuring that every concept learned is grounded in practice. Faculty members, who possess backgrounds spanning academic research, entrepreneurship, and AI development in industry, inform this approach. The program aims to equip AI professionals with the ability to translate business needs into effective AI solutions, anticipate potential issues, and refine their work to deliver tangible results, rather than just understanding the underlying technology.
The launch of this new master’s degree aligns with significant investments in artificial intelligence across the University of Chicago. In 2026, the University initiated the Mansueto Faculty of Mind and Machine Challenge, a nearly $200 million initiative to attract and support 20 leading scholars in AI and computational approaches. UChicago is also expanding interdisciplinary AI research and education across various fields, including physical and biological sciences, economics, medicine, law, and the arts. The MS-AAI program offers a professional graduate experience within the Data Science Institute, training students to contribute to the constantly evolving AI field. The program will be conducted in-person at UChicago’s downtown campus, with the inaugural cohort starting in Autumn 2027, and the application portal opening in September 2026.