North Carolina A&T University is set to be the first school in the state of North Carolina to offer an undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence (AI). The program was approved by the UNC System Board of Governors earlier this week.

Some universities in the state offer AI as a concentration in their computer science programs, but North Carolina A&T will offer the only stand-alone AI degree in the state. They will soon join Howard University in being an R-1 institution, as the university is well on its way to Research-1 Carnegie Classification. Talks of graduate degrees in AI are already in the works.

AI implementation and research are nothing new to North Carolina A&T, the country's largest HBCU and the leading source of Black engineers and STEM graduates. The university's Chancellor, James Martin, pointed out that A&T has collaborated with other colleges, business executives, and federal and state authorities.

"Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly part of everyday life with the potential for profound and far-reaching impact on virtually every facet of society," said Martin. "Our new bachelor's degree will prepare students for immediate impact, especially in the critical area of human interaction with AI."

Earlier this fall, the institution teamed up with leading AI chipmaker NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) to boost innovation, workforce, and economic growth in the state. On AI projects, A&T claimed it also collaborates with renowned organizations like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, and Duke University, as well as companies like Google, Microsoft, SAS, Collins Aerospace, and Boeing.

Two concentrations will be available at A&T: Applied AI in its science and technology college and Advanced AI Systems in its engineering department, with plans to enroll the degree's first cohort next fall. Foundational principles, advanced techniques, and real-world applications will be covered in the curriculum.

"Offering this degree in an interdisciplinary curriculum positions it in way that is aligned with the intent of scientists in the 1950s who first labeled and defined AI - scientists who included computer experts, anthropologists, technologists, engineers and more. We seek the same holistic, inclusive approach," said Provost Tonya Smith-Jackson.