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Something strange happened at UC campuses this fall. For the first time since the dot-com crash, computer science enrollment dropped. System-wide, it fell 6% this year<\/a> after declining 3% in 2024, according to reporting this past week by the San Francisco Chronicle. Even as overall college enrollment climbed 2% nationally<\/a> \u2014 according to January data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center \u2014 students are bailing on traditional CS degrees.<\/p>\n The one exception is UC San Diego \u2014 the only UC campus that added a dedicated AI major this fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n This all might look like a temporary blip tied to news about fewer CS grads finding work out of college<\/a>. But it\u2019s more likely an indicator of the future, one that China is much more enthusiastically embracing. As MIT Technology Review reported last July<\/a>, Chinese universities have leaned hard into AI literacy, treating AI not as a threat but instead as essential infrastructure. Nearly 60% of Chinese students and faculty now use AI tools multiple times daily, and schools like Zhejiang University have made AI coursework mandatory, while top institutions like Tsinghua have created entirely new interdisciplinary AI colleges. In China, fluency with AI isn\u2019t optional anymore; it\u2019s table stakes.<\/p>\n U.S. universities are scrambling to catch up. Over the last two years, dozens have launched AI-specific programs. MIT\u2019s \u201cAI and decision-making\u201d major is now the second-largest major<\/a> on campus, says the school. As reported by the New York Times in December, the University of South Florida enrolled more than 3,000 students<\/a> in a new AI and cybersecurity college<\/a> during its fall semester. The University at Buffalo last summer<\/a> launched a new \u201cAI and Society\u201d department that is offering seven new, specialized undergraduate degree programs, receiving more than 200 applicants<\/a> before it swung open its doors.<\/p>\n The transition hasn\u2019t been smooth everywhere. When I spoke with UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts <\/a>in October, he described a spectrum \u2014 some faculty \u201cleaning forward\u201d with AI, others with \u201ctheir heads in the sand.\u201d Roberts, a former finance executive who arrived from outside academia, was pushing hard for AI integration despite faculty resistance. A week earlier, UNC had announced it would merge two schools<\/a> to create an AI-focused entity \u2014 a decision that drew faculty pushback. Roberts had also appointed a vice provost specifically for AI. \u201cNo one\u2019s going to say to students after they graduate, \u2018Do the best job you can, but if you use AI, you\u2019ll be in trouble,\u2019\u201d Roberts told me. \u201cYet we have faculty members effectively saying that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Parents are playing a role in this rocky transition, too. David Reynaldo, who runs the admissions consultancy College Zoom, told the Chronicle that parents who once pushed kids toward CS are now reflexively steering them toward other majors that seem more resistant to AI automation, including mechanical and electrical engineering.<\/p>\n But the enrollment numbers suggest students are voting with their feet. According to a survey<\/a> in October by the nonprofit Computing Research Association, whose members include computer science and computer engineering departments from a wide range of universities, 62% of respondents reported that their computing programs saw undergraduate enrollment declines this fall. Meanwhile, AI programs are ballooning. The University of Southern California is launching an AI degree<\/a> this coming fall; so are Columbia University<\/a>, Pace University<\/a>, and New Mexico State University<\/a>, among others. The bet is that students aren\u2019t abandoning tech; they\u2019re choosing programs focused on AI instead.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston, MA<\/span> It\u2019s too soon to say whether the shift is permanent or a temporary panic. But it\u2019s certainly a wake-up call for administrators who\u2019ve spent years wrestling with how to handle AI in the classroom. The debate over whether to ban ChatGPT is ancient history at this point. The question now is whether American universities can move fast enough or whether they\u2019ll keep arguing about it while students transfer to schools that already have answers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 23, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n