University of Chicago opens master's degree in applied AI and commits $200 million to recruit twenty researchers

The MS-AAI program, in nine months of full-time work, will welcome its first class in the fall of 2027; applications open in September 2026.

The University of Chicago is creating a Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence, intended for students who already have a solid technical foundation. The format chosen is intensive: nine months full-time, articulating the advanced study of AI methods and their implementation on concrete cases. The application portal opens in September 2026 for a first class expected in the fall of 2027.

This master's degree is part of a broader movement. The same year, the institution announced the Mansueto Faculty of Mind and Machine Challenge, a nearly $200 million initiative to recruit, retain and support twenty leading researchers mobilizing AI and computational approaches across disciplines.

The approach is not isolated: Northwestern is opening a major in artificial intelligence for undergraduate students at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year, Columbia is launching an MSAI in the fall of 2026, and Syracuse announced in July a comprehensive portfolio of courses on the subject.