Michigan State University students in every college can now add artificial intelligence to their degree through a new 22-credit AI minor that launched in fall 2026.

The minor, developed by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, is open to all undergraduates except those already in computing or data-focused programs, according to the MSU College of Engineering. Its core course is CSE 345, Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence. Students then choose electives in areas such as deep learning, biometrics, autonomous vehicles and AI agents.

The minor grew out of conversations across MSU that began in 2023 and led first to an AI concentration within computer science, The State News reported. The College of Engineering spent 2024 consulting departments outside computer science before formally proposing the minor in fall 2025.

Alongside the minor, MSU added two new courses with no prerequisites. Computational and AI Literacy for a Modern Workforce (CSE 291, Section 001) is a three-credit, in-person class covering how to interact with AI tools and some Python programming. It failed to attract enough students to launch in either semester of 2025 but is now full with 30 students.

A one-credit, asynchronous companion course, AI Essentials: What Every Spartan Should Know (CSE 291, Sections 730–732), offers a general overview of responsible AI use on campus.

Marilyn Wulfekuhler, a professor of instruction in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering who teaches both courses, said the one-credit class shows students how AI actually works. "It demystifies the magic, so that you understand you're not really getting an answer. It's not really intelligent. It's making predictions, and those predictions may or may not be correct," Wulfekuhler told The State News.

Wulfekuhler studied AI in the earliest days of the web, worked with an early ancestor of large language models and ran her own software company for 15 years before joining MSU. She said she hopes the one-credit course will eventually become required for all students and that the three-credit class will grow to multiple sections.

The courses launched with backing from MSU's AI Ready Spartans Initiative, created in April 2026 by the Office of the Provost and the Green and White Council. President Kevin Guskiewicz assembled the 18-member council of business and civic leaders in April 2025. A $5 million anonymous donation from an MSU alumnus supports the council's work, including career-readiness and industry-research programs, CBS News Detroit reported in January 2026.

MSU has not made AI courses mandatory. Purdue University, by comparison, announced in 2025 that it would require AI competency for all undergraduates starting in fall 2026.

Most first-year engineering students will also encounter AI in introductory courses in fall 2026. In EGR 100, students will compare outputs from different generative AI tools and practice prompt engineering. In EGR 102, they will spend two to three weeks using large language models to help develop engineering system models.

S. Patrick Walton, associate dean for academic programs in the College of Engineering, said the university plans to expand these offerings as employer expectations for AI skills change. Sanjay Gupta, dean emeritus of the Eli Broad College of Business and council co-chair, told CBS News Detroit in January 2026 that MSU is also reviewing its general education curriculum, with a working committee evaluating how AI capabilities should be reflected across degree requirements.