Christian university in Arkansas adds AI program
Harding University, a private Christian school in central Arkansas, is boosting its artificial intelligence curriculum thanks to a $1 million gift, a local NBC affiliate reported Thursday.
The university, which enrolls about 4,600 students, will use the funding to begin offering an AI major next fall. The school is also adding a one-credit course on bitcoin.
“It’s difficult to overstate the speed and complexity of technological change in today’s marketplace,” said Bennett Holloway, an employee of the cryptocurrency firm Blockworks who will teach the bitcoin course. “A solid understanding of the core technologies driving innovation and the historical forces behind them will equip students to keep pace and excel in the modern workforce.”
AI courses and degree programs are growing in popularity among higher education institutions. Rice University in Houston last May announced it would begin offering a bachelor of science in AI, with a focus on multidisciplinary study. The program will be housed in the Department of Computer Science, and provide undergraduates a “cohesive program that covers an array of approaches to AI.”
