University of Pennsylvania announces UG degree in AI: Here are the details

The program’s courses will be taught in the setting of Amy Gutmann Hall, Penn Engineering’s newest building.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science in the US has introduced the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) degree, claiming it to be the first undergraduate major of its kind among Ivy League universities and one of the very first AI undergraduate engineering programs in the US.

The curriculum will offer high-level coursework in topics including machine learning, computing algorithms, data analytics and advanced robotics, the institute said in a statement.

“Data, including AI, is a critical area of focus for our strategic framework, In Principle and Practice, and this new degree program represents a leap forward for the Penn engineers who will lead in developing and deploying these powerful technologies in service to humanity. We are deeply grateful to Raj and Neera Singh, whose leadership helps make this possible,” said Interim President J Larry Jameson.

Students in the Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence will be empowered to develop responsible AI tools that can harness the full knowledge available on the Internet, provide superhuman attention to detail, and augment humans in making transformative scientific discoveries, researching materials for chips of the future, creating breakthroughs in healthcare through new antibiotics, applying life-saving treatments and accelerating knowledge and creativity, the statement added.

The B.S.E. in Artificial Intelligence program will begin in the fall of 2024, with applications for existing University of Pennsylvania students who would like to transfer into the 2024 cohort available this fall.

To be sure, fall 2025 applications for all prospective students will be made available in fall 2024. The program’s courses will be taught in the setting of Amy Gutmann Hall, Penn Engineering’s newest building.

The AI degree provides the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of AI techniques, along with hands-on experience in programming as well as using AI tools and foundation models, according to the university.

Complementing these engineering skills with a broader perspective, students learn about intelligence from a cognitive science perspective, and they develop a sense of the issues(and solutions required to responsibly develop AI to benefit society. Finally, students choose a concentration, ranging from machine learning to vision and language, to data and society, to robotics, to AI and health systems.

Under AI, students choose at least one-course unit from each of the six categories: Introduction to AI, Machine Learning, Signals & Systems, Optimization & Control, Vision & Language, AI Project (must have AI development, 30 percent of grade from term project).

In addition to the mentioned courses, students will have an opportunity to take six AI courses selected from the list of approved courses of AI Electives along with the 1-year senior design sequence.

The seven AI elective courses can be structured along AI concentrations depending on the interests of the student. Concentrations are optional and consist of courses in a specific theme namely Robotics, Vision/Language, Machine Learning, Data/Society, and Health/Systems.

For the 2023-2024 Academic Year, the university said the total tuition and fees of undergraduates stand at $66,104.

Further, the cost of attendance stands at $89,028 for those living on campus, $88,892 for students living off campus, and $73,494 for those living with family.

The cost of attendance represents the cost of attending the University of Pennsylvania for an academic year and includes both direct costs that appear on your student bill such as tuition, fees, housing, and dining, and indirect costs that are not billed by the university, such as books and supplies, transportation, and an allowance for personal expenses

Students should consider their cost of attendance as their budget for each academic year. The university also uses the cost of attendance to help determine a student’s eligibility for financial aid. The cost may change based on the individual and scenario.