CS&E Prepares UMN Students for the AI-powered Workplace
Over the past few years, the world has been buzzing about the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and what it means for the future. In computer science (CS) circles, the latest tech advances have left people wondering if AI might shake up the traditional career ladder, especially after headline-grabbing tech layoffs. After 15 years of climbing enrollment numbers, undergraduate CS enrollment has taken a dip in recent years, but luckily, the job market tells a different story. Companies are still hungry for CS talent. At the University of Minnesota (UMN), job postings on the university’s career platform have jumped between 16-44% from 2024 to 2025, including a 44% increase for software developers and engineers, 22% for IT analysts and consultants, 17% for data analysts, and 16% for data scientists. Furthermore, software jobs are projected to grow by 18% over the next 10 years according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Source, March 11, 2025). The demand is real and growing.
“Ultimately we teach students fundamental problem-solving skills, how to organize data and solve problems using computers,” Department Head Loren Terveen said during an interview with Minnesota Public Radio. “That has become so important to so many professions today, and that's why it's been such a great career over the last number of years. These foundational skills are essential for the effective use of AI in the evolving industry landscape.”
Computer science is no stranger to new tech advances shaking up the industry. The field has seen multiple major transitions: (1) from programming in assembly languages to using high-level languages; (2) from writing code in a stand-alone editor and compiling it, to using integrated development environments; (3) from developing applications to run locally to designing applications for the internet and mobile platforms; and (4) from writing code line-by-line to using powerful libraries and frameworks. Each of these advances have resulted in overall industry growth in both productivity and employment opportunities rather than job cuts.
Longstanding Leadership in AI
UMN is a long-time national leader at the intersection of AI and science, focusing on grand challenges in food, energy, and water security, as well as the stewardship of ecosystems. For example, Professor Shashi Shekhar leads the $20 million AI-LEAF (National AI Institute for Land, Economy, Agriculture and Forestry) project, which aims to accelerate the adoption of resilient and sustainable land-management practices, while advancing AI to reduce hallucinations by incorporating laws of nature, and by combining learning and reasoning. AI-LEAF is also expanding an AI-ready workforce and catalyzing a cross-sector collaboration nexus.
AI-LEAF builds on UMN’s sustained leadership on Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning (KGML), a paradigm that fuses scientific understanding with a data-driven approaches to produce accurate and generalizable predictions in the data-limited contexts common to scientific problems. Pioneered by Regents Professor Vipin Kumar, KGML has proven effective across diverse fields, including freshwater quality prediction, flood and drought forecasting, and agricultural greenhouse gas estimation.
“KGML reflects a broader philosophy in AI for science: design AI models that are grounded in scientific understanding,” Kumar said. “Such models are not only more dependable, but also far more efficient in their use of data and energy, making AI both more sustainable and a force for solving problems that matter to society.”
Integrating AI into the CS Curriculum
In addition to CS&E’s leadership in state-of-the-art AI research, the department continually updates its curriculum to reflect changes in the industry, and has now taken steps to integrate AI into students’ day-to-day experiences in the classroom.
“Artificial intelligence plays a big role in our curriculum, and really it has for decades,” Terveen said. “We have faculty who have been at the cutting edge of AI research and education, and we have been offering classes in AI for that entire time period. But of course, we're keeping an eye on what's going on now, and we have been moving to update our curriculum to offer students new training and new options in modern AI techniques to make sure that they're prepared not just for their first job, but for their careers.”
On top of the technical courses in AI and machine learning, CS&E faculty encourage students to utilize AI throughout their educational journey from introductory courses to senior seminars. In some introductory courses, students are not allowed to use AI to develop solutions because this will hinder them from developing their own solid foundation of computational thinking and problem-solving skills. In many other courses, students are allowed to use AI to generate code for homework assignments and projects, but must be able to explain their work and understand the underlying mechanisms that made their final product possible – this is where they draw on and demonstrate their fundamental computing knowledge. Students also frequently engage in discussions about ethics and possible drawbacks of these new tools to ensure they are using AI in responsible and productive ways.
“I am a big advocate of using AI throughout the learning process, because I have seen the quality of student projects improve over the last few years,” Assistant Professor Ali Anwar said. “Students are now coding more complex and advanced systems that are making their final product more efficient. On a whole, I think AI is helping them learn faster and implement better solutions to class projects, which is exactly what they will be asked to do when they get into the workforce.”
New Course Offerings to Boost AI Literacy
As the demand for AI skills continues to grow across all industries, CS&E is developing two new courses and an AI minor to ensure that students across the entire university have access to AI training. The two courses are expected to debut in fall 2026. The AI minor is in production with a target date of fall 2027. These new offerings aim to prepare an AI-ready workforce and help students enter the job market with the confidence to make an impact wherever they go.
AI for All
The first course, titled “Thinking with Machines: The Art, Science, and Ethics of AI”, was developed by Associate Professor Dan Knights. The course introduces modern artificial intelligence to students from all disciplines, regardless of computational background.
“It’s a very hands-on course where students will actually be practicing problem solving with AI in order to learn what AI is capable of and what they are capable of while using AI,” Knights said. “I think as students take this course, it will encourage them to dive deeper into computer science so they can better utilize AI tools. AI can be immensely powerful, but only if you understand what it can and cannot do, and if you have the right skills to leverage it effectively. There’s a lot of mystery around AI and we look under the hood to demystify the technology.”
This “AI for All” course covers three interconnected areas: understanding how AI works, building real applications with AI assistance, and developing an ethical framework for responsible AI use. The emphasis is on experimentation, problem-solving, and understanding personal strengths and growth areas when collaborating with AI tools. Additionally, students will examine algorithmic bias, misinformation risks, privacy concerns, authorship questions, environmental impacts, and AI's broader effects on work and society.
“Throughout the course, students will build an ethics portfolio that looks at the different issues that can arise from using AI in education and research,” Knights said. “As they learn, they will develop their own position around AI and its appropriate uses, so that they can make a plan for how they want to use AI in their future careers.”
AI-Enhanced Software Engineering
The second new course will focus on how AI can improve production-quality software engineering, and is intended to help students transition from the classroom to the workforce. Developed by Assistant Professor Mattia Fazzini, “GenAI for Software Engineering” teaches students to identify, define, and solve software engineering problems by getting experience with techniques and tools that integrate generative AI with traditional software engineering approaches.
“AI is the most transformative development in software engineering that we have had in many years,” Fazzini said. “I think it is here for the long run and needs to be part of our curriculum for current and future students. I think this type of course will benefit all types of computer science students, even if they don’t aspire to become software engineers.”
The curriculum reflects the evolving reality that modern software systems will increasingly be developed with generative AI in the loop. Students will be better equipped to adapt to industry shifts, critically evaluate AI-based development tools, and integrate these technologies responsibly into their workflows.
“I like to use the analogy of AI and cooking,” Fazzini said. “Anyone can use AI to create code, just like anyone can be a home cook and follow a recipe. However, only someone who really understands the flavors and cooking techniques can be a restaurant-quality chef. My course is preparing the next generation of chefs to create quality software using all the tools at their disposal in the most efficient and productive ways.”
AI Minor
Finally, CS&E is developing a new AI minor that will allow students across the university to delve deeper into AI and learn how these tools can be applied to their area of expertise. Building off the “AI for All” course, the AI minor will empower students to increase their technical experience and build a competitive resume as they enter the job market.
“For students, one of their key motivations for learning about AI is the job market,” Shekhar said. “Many companies are betting on AI right now and students will need to use AI when they get into their first job. We are helping students get familiar with these tools so they are ready to hit the ground running when they get outside of the university.”
Preparing Students for Future Careers
Through the new and existing CS&E courses, one theme rings true: AI is a powerful tool that can improve your productivity as long as you have the fundamental knowledge to understand its limitations and use it effectively. Moving towards the future, CS&E will continue to prepare students for the evolving workforce by solidifying their foundation in the computing basics, while encouraging them to use AI to enhance their learning and efficiency throughout their time at the university and beyond.
“I encourage my students to use AI throughout courses in productive ways that aid their learning process,” said Associate Professor Lana Yarosh. “There are some critical learning pieces that will require them to use ‘their own neural network,’ so they can access that information down the road in their career. In those cases, I do require students to put pen to paper to ensure those core ideas are fully understood. These types of assessments help prepare them for questions that they might get in a future job interview and will need to answer on the spot.”
“I think it comes back to a fundamental belief shared by faculty here and by leaders I've talked to at other universities,” Terveen said. “AI is not going to replace people. It's not going to replace software engineers. Instead, it's going to enable them to be more productive.”