Artificial Intelligence (AI) Minor
Gain AI skills with confidence and purpose.
The Artificial Intelligence Minor helps students build practical fluency in one of the most transformative technologies of our time through hands-on courses, ethical reflection, and interdisciplinary learning rooted in the liberal arts.
20
credits to complete
Interdisciplinary program for students across majors
Guided, hands-on learning with ethical reflection
A Strong Fit For:
- Any major who wants to pair disciplinary depth with practical AI fluency
- Students curious about how AI may shape our world in the coming years
- Individuals ready to explore innovative uses of agentic AI
- Students who want to debate and critique the role of AI in a human-centered world
Outcomes
Students become effective users of AI. They learn how to question it, evaluate it, and use it responsibly in a setting where guidance, discussion, and encouragement are an essential part of the experience.
Why this Minor Matters
Augmenting your major and increasing work-ready skills
Artificial intelligence is transforming every field鈥攆rom business and healthcare to the arts and humanities. This minor prepares you to engage with AI not as a programmer, but as an informed, capable user and thinker. Studies from organizations like McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group consistently show that AI and digital skills are among the fastest-growing areas of demand across the workforce. This minor gives students practical experience with AI while also asking deeper questions about ethics, culture, creativity, and human responsibility. Rooted in the liberal arts, the program explores not only what AI can do, but what it should do.
Built for every major
Students from any major can develop practical AI fluency that strengthens their primary field of study.
Grounded in ethics and judgment
The minor emphasizes responsible use, thoughtful decision-making, privacy and bias risks, and the human questions surrounding emerging technology.
Hands-on and career-relevant
Coursework focuses on prompting, evaluation, creativity, and applied problem-solving so students can use AI tools with confidence in real-world settings.
Distinctively liberal arts
Students examine AI not only as a tool, but also as a cultural, ethical, and intellectual force through interdisciplinary study and discussion.
Student Outcomes
What Students Gain
The curriculum is intentionally practical and thoughtfully sequenced. Students build fluency they can use as part of major-based internships, future careers, advanced study, and everyday decision-making, with a structure designed to help them grow in confidence.
Use AI tools creatively, critically, and responsibly
Design better prompts and evaluate the quality of AI outputs
Understand ethics, privacy, bias, and governance in AI
Apply AI within a disciplinary or professional context
Build confidence through project-based, hands-on learning
Grow in a learning environment designed to keep students supported and engaged
Curriculum Overview
A 20-credit minor with a clear pathway.
Students move from foundational AI literacy into decision-making, creativity, ethics, and hands-on application. The final course explores human-AI interactions from different viewpoints.
AI for Everyone
3 credits 鈥� Offered every semester
A welcoming introduction to AI literacy, prompt design, ethics, privacy, and real-world uses across fields.
AI for Decision-Making
3 credits 鈥� Offered every semester
Learn how to ask better questions, compare outputs, and use AI to support stronger decisions in any discipline.
AI for Creativity and Design
3 credits 鈥� Offered every spring
Explore generative AI as a creative partner through iterative prompting, search, evaluation, and project work.
Interdisciplinary Choice
4 credits 鈥� Choose one
Study AI through fiction and film or apply human-centered AI concepts inside another disciplinary context.
Practicum and Ethics
3 credits total 鈥� Project-based + ethical inquiry
Develop an AI-based solution to a real problem while also studying the ethical and legal dimensions of AI deployment.
What Does AI Want?
4 credits 鈥� Offered every fall starting Fall 2027
Investigate major questions about intelligence, responsibility, personhood, and the future of human-AI relationships.
For families
Career relevance with the reassurance of a guided education.
The AI minor prepares students for a changing workforce:
Students build adaptable skills that complement many majors and career paths.
The curriculum addresses real concerns about privacy, bias, and the social impact of AI.
Hands-on coursework helps students translate theory into visible, meaningful practice.
The liberal arts context ensures students learn to ask not only what AI can do, but what it should do.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Do students need a technical background?
Not at all! The minor is designed to build practical AI literacy for everyone; there is no programming required in the minor.
How does the minor draw on the liberal arts?
The program combines practical skills with ethical reflection, communication, creativity, and interdisciplinary inquiry鈥攖he hallmarks of a liberal arts education.
What can students do with this minor?
Students can strengthen career readiness, deepen disciplinary study, and gain confidence using AI tools in professional, creative, and civic contexts.
The liberal arts context ensures students learn to ask not only what AI can do, but what it should do.
Next Step
Contact Us
Wayne Johns
Department Co-Chair
212 Cowan Building
336-272-7102 ext. 5415
