The Wharton School announced Wednesday that it will begin offering a new undergraduate concentration and MBA major titled "Artificial Intelligence for Business" this fall.
The addition of the concentration and major was announced by Wharton Dean Erika James in an April 2 press release. The new AI program will be jointly administered by the Statistics and Data Science Department and the Operations, Information and Decisions Department with support from the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative.
“At Wharton, we are simultaneously focused on harnessing AI’s transformative potential while also understanding and addressing its risks," James wrote. "Artificial Intelligence for Business represents a bold step forward in our mission."
Students will be able to declare this concentration or major starting in the Fall.
As part of the program, students will be required to complete four credits in areas related to the concentration or major. This includes two credits in the “Foundations of AI in Business” and “Impact and Ethical Implications of AI in Business” categories. A list of currently approved courses is available on the undergraduate concentration and the MBA major website. Currently approved classes cover a variety of topics including applied machine learning, analytics, and behavioral sciences.
Additionally, all students will be required to take “STAT 4230/7230: Applied Machine Learning in Business” and “LGST 2420/6420: Big Data, Big Responsibilities: Toward Accountable Artificial Intelligence.” The press release described the latter as a course “dedicated to advancing the responsible development and governance of AI technologies.”
Operations, Information and Decisions associate professor Prasanna Tambe and Statistics and Data Science professor Giles Hooker will advise both the undergraduate and graduate program. In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Tambe described the program as “an exciting step toward preparing future leaders for the rapidly transforming world of AI-driven industry.”
“As AI continues to revolutionize decision-making, it’s essential for our graduates — tomorrow’s managers — to understand and leverage its power to lead with confidence,” Tambe wrote.
Hooker wrote to the DP that the program will prepare students to “leverage this rapidly evolving technology and shape the way it will transform business and society.”
“These programs put students at the leading edge of the application of AI and we are enormously excited to support them,” Hooker wrote.
The launch of the program comes as Penn has increased its commitment to AI-related initiatives. Last year, Penn became the first Ivy League school to offer a bachelor's degree in artificial intelligence. This past week, Penn AI hosted its official launch event at Amy Gutmann Hall.
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