Key points:
- Beginning in 2024, one school will be the first in Florida to offer a bachelor’s in Applied Artificial Intelligence
- The demand for AI and AI skills in the workforce is only going to increase, according to projections
- See related article: Students, faculty adopting generative AI at different rates
Miami Dade College (MDC) has received approval to offer Florida’s first Bachelor of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI). The program will begin in 2024.
The new bachelor’s program will prepare students for immediate entry into the workforce as AI Analysts, Natural Language Processing Specialists, Computer Vision Analysts, Machine Learning Specialists and AI Programmers. The curriculum also prepares students to pursue advanced degrees in computer science or other STEM fields.
Labor market projections indicate a growing demand for AI experts. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity projects more than 1,000 annual job openings in AI in South Florida with an average hourly wage of $45.58 and average annual salary of $94,815.
“There is a significant demand for AI professionals in our state, and MDC is poised to train that future workforce,” said MDC President Madeline Pumariega. “We are proud to be leading the way to ensure students have the skills they need to succeed.”
MDC has been leading the way in AI education. Earlier this year, the College announced a new Associate in Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence and two new College Credit Certificates in AI, available in the fall term. Both the associate and bachelor’s degrees are among the first in the nation. MDC is also home to two state-of-the-art AI Centers offering access to the latest technology.
When it comes to overall AI adoption, students and faculty report drastically different rates, with students using AI writing tools such as ChatGPT more than 3 times as much as faculty, according to the 2023 Time for Class research publication from Tyton Partners, published in collaboration with Anthology and Turnitin, with additional research support from Macmillan Learning, Lumina Foundation, Every Learner Everywhere, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The publication details the differences between student and institutional stakeholder experiences with digital learning in higher education and how institutions and solution providers can address these differences to produce better outcomes for students.
Students shared that while they prefer digital modalities for learning, they face access challenges with regards to reliable internet and devices and that their experiences and preferences differ from institutional stakeholder perceptions.
Additionally, instructors shared insight regarding instructional challenges they see implementing digital learning in their classrooms, notably with the innovation in generative AI technology (e.g., ChatGPT) making “detecting student cheating” their most frequently cited in-course challenge.
This press release originally appeared online.
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