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Purdue University plans to add artificial-intelligence competency as a graduation requirement for incoming students beginning next year.
The university made the announcement Thursday, during an AI summit hosted in downtown Indianapolis by Purdue and tech giant Google.
The requirement still must be approved by Purdue’s board of trustees, who are set to consider the issue at a meeting next month. If the board approves, the new requirement would go into effect with incoming freshmen in fall 2026 but would not apply to upperclassmen or returning students. It would eventually apply to all undergraduate students, regardless of their major.
The AI competency requirement is part of the university’s existing partnership with Google.
“Purdue and Google will work together to put the most advanced AI tools in the hands of every Purdue student, as all Boilermaker graduates from one of the largest top universities in the country will be ready for an AI-driven workplace no matter their choice of career fields,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said in a written statement.
A Purdue spokesman said students will not have to take additional credit hours in order to meet the requirement.
Purdue has been expanding its AI-focused educational offerings in recent years.
In 2023 the university announced its Purdue Computes initiative, which among other things included a goal of hiring 50 new faculty members in the field of AI over the next five years and developing a new AI institute. (Purdue Computes also includes goals related to computer sciences and microchip research.)
Last year, Purdue launched an online master’s degree program in AI that offers two majors: an AI and machine learning major and an AI management and policy major.
Purdue also offers undergraduate majors in AI through both its College of Liberal Arts and its College of Science; as well as online “microcredentials” in AI. The microcredentials, which are designed for working professionals, are non-credit courses that students can complete in about 15 hours.
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That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard to day. Shame on you, Purdue President Mung Chiang.
Universities have a responsibility to prepare students for the world they are entering, not the world their parents or grandparents knew. That means equipping them to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly as an integral part of their future work.