College of Information Science Expands AI Curriculum with New Minor and Bachelor’s Emphasis Area

 
As artificial intelligence reshapes how we work, think and interact, a new generation of professionals is being called upon not just to build AI systems, but to understand and guide their impact on society. At the University of Arizona, the College of Information Science is answering that call with two bold additions to its undergraduate offerings: a new minor in Artificial Intelligence and Society, and an Artificial Intelligence emphasis area within the Bachelor of Science in Information Science, launching Fall 2026.

Together, these programs reflect a timely and intentional investment in AI literacy, technical expertise and ethical leadership.

“Information science is at the heart of the AI revolution,” says Michael McKisson, associate dean for undergraduate academics and associate professor of practice. “The college’s expanded emphasis on artificial intelligence leverages our faculty’s deep expertise in natural language processing, large language models and machine learning to provide a rigorous, ethical and research-backed foundation.”

Bridging Technology and Society: The AI and Society Minor

Launched this semester, the AI and Society minor reflects a growing recognition: it’s no longer enough to understand how AI systems work, we must also grasp what they mean.

This 18-unit program, offered both on campus and online, equips students with a keen understanding of the sociocultural, ethical and critical dimensions of AI. Through courses like Disruptive Technologies, Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, AI Literacies for the Information Age, and AI and the Art and Design of Learning, students explore topics ranging from algorithmic bias and surveillance to privacy, design and the future of work.

The curriculum is deliberately interdisciplinary, drawing on such areas as philosophy, machine learning and digital culture to contextualize AI not as a standalone technology, but as a powerful force shaping and shaped by human values.

Building Tomorrow’s AI Leaders: The BSIS AI Emphasis

While the minor prepares students to interrogate AI’s societal impacts, the new Artificial Intelligence emphasis within the BS in Information Science does something equally crucial: it prepares students to build the systems themselves.

Launching in Fall 2026, this technical track offers deep immersion into machine learning, natural language processing, neural networks and reinforcement learning, equipping students with the skills that drive today’s most advanced AI applications. Courses like Game AI, Bayesian Modeling and Inference, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing blend theoretical grounding with real-world problem-solving.

Yet even in this technical track, the ethical dimension of AI remains a priority. Students will engage with questions of bias, transparency and responsible deployment, ensuring that graduates not only understand what these systems can do, but what they should do.

The emphasis reflects a growing demand across industries not just for AI users, but for AI creators who can design intelligent systems with a human-centered approach.

A Future-Forward Approach to AI Education

In developing these programs, the College of Information Science isn’t simply responding to a trend. It’s shaping the future of AI education, recognizing that the leaders of tomorrow must be fluent in both algorithms and accountability.

“We are empowering our undergraduate students to move beyond interfacing with AI, to giving them the technical depth and ethical framework needed to lead in the workforce that is being redefined by artificial intelligence,” says McKisson.

The college’s approach to expanding AI undergraduate curriculum also resonates with the University of Arizona’s broader research mission. As part of the university’s Data, Information Systems and AI research pillar, the minor and emphasis area align with interdisciplinary efforts across campus to transform big data into knowledge, applying AI and informatics to fields from business to health to climate science.

By creating curricular pathways that integrate technical mastery with social insight while building from faculty’s leading AI research and expertise, the college is doing more than preparing students for the workforce. It is preparing students for leadership in a world increasingly defined by artificial intelligence.
  

Learn more about the new undergraduate AI and Society minor and the expanded Bachelor of Science in Information Science, or explore ways you can support InfoSci faculty and students.