New Artificial Intelligence MS Degree Bridges Disciplines, Including Public Health

Columbia University has a new Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program that combines core AI courses in computer science and engineering with a broad range of concentrations, through partnerships with multiple Columbia schools. Housed in the School of Engineering, the degree will be offered with concentrations across Columbia, including public health, medicine, the arts, statistics, and architecture.

With the rapid advancement of AI affecting all sectors of society, the program draws on faculty and academic support from many disciplines, including Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, among others, to provide students with specialized domain-specific training.  Additional concentrations—such as Journalism—may be added in the future. The MSAI program will begin in the fall of 2026. Students interested in the program may find further information on the program websites. 

This new program comes at a time of unprecedented demand for talented graduates with solid foundational skills in AI and the ability to apply those skills across diverse fields. The program will have both an in-person, on-campus version and a fully online version. Both share the same rigorous requirements, and the online program will feature a high-touch, cohort-based approach to enhance the online learning experience.

“The intersection of AI and public health is a frontier that holds immense promise for transforming healthcare and promoting well-being on a global scale,” said Kathleen Sikkema, Interim Dean of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, the Barbara and Bruce P. Dohrenwend Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, and director, Public Mental Health. “This novel program is an essential step towards preparing leaders who can harness AI's potential to advance public health. I am excited about the transformative impact this initiative will have on both academia and real-world health outcomes.” 

“We have enthusiastically worked with SEAS to develop a concentration in health and medicine, leveraging our complementary strengths in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and related areas,” said Katrina Armstrong, Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “With this partnership, Columbia will be poised to lead the way in training a new generation of experts capable of integrating AI into medicine and health. This program promises to cultivate pioneers who will drive innovation and elevate healthcare to new heights.”

Specialized concentrations are designed to leverage the School’s unique excellence in related fields, such as advanced computing, robotics, operations and finance, biomedical engineering, infrastructure and hardware, and in various academic disciplines across the university. Students completing the program will be awarded an MS in Artificial Intelligence degree with an annotation of the specific concentration on their transcript. 

The MS program will be a 30-credit degree program consisting of four core AI foundational courses and four courses in a chosen concentration. Two additional courses will be electives or an option for a two-semester capstone project that includes working with industry partners on real-world challenges.

While many students will have computer science background, the program is designed to accommodate students from other disciplines and professionals with different backgrounds. Accordingly, someone with a healthcare background and basic programming skills can learn AI to become a specialist in AI for healthcare.

“With its unique rigor and broad scope, this program is the first AI graduate program to include such comprehensive cross-disciplinary concentrations,” said Shih-Fu Chang, Dean of Columbia Engineering. “21st-century society demands that these kinds of educational pathways be made possible for our students. We’re proud to offer such a unified and rigorous AI curriculum with opportunities to apply AI in various domains so that students are prepared for success in their chosen field.” 

(Read more about the degree program on the School of Engineering website.)