Program Overview

Introduction to the Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence Program

The Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence (BSAI) program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in artificial intelligence, including math and statistics, computer science, AI, science and engineering, and humanities and arts.

Degree Requirements

The BSAI program requires students to complete a series of courses in math and statistics, computer science, artificial intelligence, humanities and arts, and science and engineering. The curriculum is designed to provide students with a broad foundation in AI and related fields, as well as the opportunity for academic exploration via electives.

Math and Statistics Core

The math and statistics core consists of 7 courses:

• Math Foundations of Computer Science (15-151)
• Differential and Integral Calculus (21-120)
• Integration and Approximation (21-122)
• Matrices and Linear Transformations (21-241)
• Calculus in Three Dimensions (21-259)
• Probability Theory for Computer Scientists (36-218)
• Modern Regression (36-401)

Computer Science Core

The computer science core consists of 5 courses:

• Principles of Imperative Computation (15-122)
• Principles of Functional Programming (15-150)
• Parallel and Sequential Data Structures and Algorithms (15-210)
• Introduction to Computer Systems (15-213)
• Great Theoretical Ideas in Computer Science (15-251)

Artificial Intelligence Core

The artificial intelligence core consists of 3 courses:

• Introduction to AI: Representation and Problem Solving (15-281)
• Introduction to Machine Learning (10-301)
• One of the following courses:
  • Introduction to Natural Language Processing (11-411)
  • Introduction to Computer Vision (16-385)

Humanities and Arts

BSAI students take 7 courses in the humanities and arts as part of the SCS General Education requirements. One of the courses must be in cognitive science or cognitive psychology. Examples include:

• Cognitive Psychology (85-110)
• Human Information Processing and Artificial Intelligence (85-213)
• Visual Cognition (85-408)
• Perception (85-413)
• Language and Thought (85-421)

AI Cluster Electives

Students take 4 courses, one from each of the following areas:

Decision Making and Robotics Cluster

• Neural Computation (15-386)
• Autonomous Agents (15-482)
• Cognitive Robotics (15-494)
• Planning Techniques for Robotics (16-350)
• Mobile Robot Programming Laboratory (16-362)
• Robot Kinematics and Dynamics (16-384)

Machine Learning Cluster

• Deep Reinforcement Learning and Control (10-403)
• Machine Learning With Large Datasets (10-405)
• Deep Learning Systems: Algorithms and Implementation (10-414)
• Intermediate Deep Learning (10-417)
• Machine Learning for Structured Data (10-418)
• Foundations of Learning, Game Theory, and Their Connections (10-422)
• Generative AI (10-423)
• Bayesian Methods in Machine Learning (10-424)
• Introduction to Convex Optimization (10-425)
• Machine Learning for Text and Graph-based Mining (11-441)
• Introduction to Deep Learning (11-485)
• Advanced Methods for Data Analysis (36-402)

Perception and Language Cluster

• Search Engines (11-442)
• Speech Processing (11-492)
• Computational Perception (15-387)
• Computational Photography (15-463)

Human-AI Interaction Cluster

• Design of Artificial Intelligence Products (05-317)
• Human-AI Interaction (05-318)
• Designing Human-Centered Software (05-391)
• Human-Robot Interaction (16-467)

Ethics Elective

Students take one course from the following:

• Artificial Intelligence and Humanity (16-161)
• Ethics and Robotics (16-735)
• Ethics and Policy Issues in Computing (17-200)
• AI, Society and Humanity (80-249)

SCS Electives

BSAI students take two electives within the School of Computer Science. Students who take two of the major-intro mini-courses (02-180, 05-180, 07-180, 16-180) during their first year may combine these two mini-courses together to count as one SCS elective.

Science and Engineering

BSAI students take four courses in science and engineering as part of the SCS General Education requirements.