Generative artificial intelligence has become a much larger part of people’s daily lives. According to Inc., a business magazine, AI “is accelerating so fast that even the tests designed to measure it are struggling to keep up.” Bloomberg reported in 2023 that the AI market is expected to become a $1.3 trillion market by 2032, and Forbes says 64% of businesses expect AI to increase productivity. 

In response to the recent AI boom, USC has implemented two new AI programs across its schools. In Fall 2026, the Viterbi School of Engineering launched an AI major, and the Marshall School of Business launched an applied AI in business minor. 

Viterbi and the Stevens School of Advanced Computing announced the Bachelor of Science in AI in July. According to a July 2025 Viterbi News article, the new program is “an innovative, interdisciplinary undergraduate program … designed to provide students with both a rigorous academic foundation and the practical skills needed to lead in the rapidly evolving field of AI.”

Beyond Viterbi’s new major, Marshall said its minor is about the idea of “career readiness.” According to the announcement, Inge Lindholm, assistant professor of clinical data sciences and operations and faculty lead for the Marshall minor, “believes the program will position USC students as decision-makers, collaborators, and entrepreneurs in an AI-driven world.”  

Artificial intelligence for business (Bachelor of Science)

According to the USC Catalogue, the Bachelor of Science degree program in AI for business is offered by Marshall and Viterbi. The program is intended to help students understand the ethical considerations of AI, the capabilities and limitations of AI technologies in business, and the “effort required to realize the full potential of analytics in a business context.”

The major requires 88 units, including four units of ethics in AI and four units of calculus. Required courses include “Discrete Methods in Computer Science,” “Basics of Artificial Intelligence” and “Applied Linear Algebra for Engineering.” 

Artificial intelligence (Bachelor of Science)

A new interdisciplinary program in AI awards a Bachelor of Science across the Lord Department of Computer Science, the Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

The major has pre-major requirements in engineering, mathematical foundations and basic science, as well as core lower-division requirements in programming and discrete methods, probability and statistics, embedded systems, and AI core. The major intends to teach students the principles and foundations of AI as well as machine learning for engineers.

Students choose one of three tracks: computing foundations and applications, hardware systems for AI, or AI systems and operations engineering. 

Artificial intelligence minor

This minor is designed to allow students in STEM disciplines to gain additional skills in the theory and use of AI. Using course work from the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, the minor is meant for students who have a foundation of college-level math, probability, statistics and programming.  

Required courses include “Discrete Methods in Computer Science,” “Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Foundations” and “Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence.” Additionally, four elective units are required in courses ranging from robotics to computer interface design.

Artificial intelligence applications minor

In this minor, students can learn the foundations of AI and how it can be used to solve real-world problems. Students will not only comprehend computer vision and natural language processing, but also ethical issues. 

Required courses are “Basics of Artificial Intelligence,” “Applied Neural Networks” and “Applied Natural Language Processing and Generative AI.” For programming fundamentals, which are two to four units, students can choose a computer science course or the technology and applied computing sequence on programming in Python. Students can also choose an elective in ethical issues, embodied AI, or ethics, technology and value.

“AI is a rapidly advancing discipline at the intersection of computer science, technology, cognitive science, and data science,” the USC 2026-27 Catalogue reads. “AI has great promise to change the world in ways we cannot foresee.”