Purdue introduces ‘AI working competency’ graduation requirement | The College Fix
Key Takeaways
Purdue University is introducing “artificial intelligence working competency” requirements for all of its undergraduates, effective in the 2026-2027 academic year.
Experts told The College Fix the move is necessary and said Purdue is likely just the first of many universities to adopt such a policy.
Completing the discipline-specific AI curricula will be a requirement for students to graduate, according to a recent news release from the school.
The goal of the program is to develop “the requisite critical thinking skills to understand, evaluate and effectively use AI technologies and to keep pace with their future changes — all as informed by evolving workforce and employer needs,” according to the news release.
Purdue hasn’t released details about the contents of the initiative, though the university says it will be based on already existing AI majors, minors, and certificates.
The curricula will be reviewed and updated continually by the provost in conjunction with the deans of all academic colleges. Industry advisory boards will also be created within each academic college to provide up-to-date information about employers’ AI competency needs.
Purdue is also implementing AI into many other aspects of the university, including equipping faculty and staff with Microsoft 365 Copilot. According to its AI at Purdue webpage, the school has saved $3.5 million and 127,500 staff hours through AI automations.
President Mung Chiang stated that “The reach and pace of AI’s impact to society, including many dimensions of higher education, means that we at Purdue must lean in and lean forward and do so across different functions at the university,” according to the school’s news release.
An AI expert commended this initiative in an interview with The College Fix.
Alliance for Secure AI spokesperson Peyton Hornberger told The Fix that “Right now, we are in the wild west of new technology, and our ethical standards are all over the place – and people are paying the price.”
But programs like this one “encourage requirements, standards, and benchmarks.”
“This is a good thing, especially if schools are prioritizing medical and manufacturing advancements, and will let good programs prevail and set the tone for AI advancements to come,” Hornberger said.
Stephen Rowe, Program Director at the CATO Institute, told The College Fix that the goal of university AI curricula is to produce “graduates who know when to trust AI, when not to, and how to use it as a force multiplier rather than a crutch.”
“Many employees are ‘secret cyborgs,’ using AI on a regular basis for work without their boss even knowing,” Rowe said.
He also said that other universities will follow suit. “Employers are already screening for AI literacy, not just technical ability but judgment, prompt quality, and the ability to verify outputs.”
Further, Rowe argued that AI education is a matter of national security. “Countries that scale AI literacy early and widely will compound advantages. When a country introduces AI literacy at a young age, it compounds talent over time,” he said.
Rowe said the U.S. “must move faster, empower institutions to experiment, and treat AI literacy as foundational, not optional.”
China has already mandated AI education in primary and secondary schools, for children as young as six, and many CEOs from major US corporations are demanding similar programs for U.S. students.
President Donald Trump has also emphasized the need for AI education. In April, he signed the “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth” executive order to help integrate AI into education and foster “early exposure” to AI technology.
In line with this effort, the Department of Education announced $169 million in federal grants to universities on Monday, with one of the primary goals being “to support the responsible use of artificial intelligence to enhance teaching and learning.”