The dedicated bachelor’s in artificial intelligence is rare: 19 institutions awarded it in 2024 (IPEDS Completions, 2024). That is not a knock on the subject - it reflects how new the standalone undergraduate credential is, and that most schools teach AI inside computer science instead.
For most people starting out, online computer science degree remains the broader and more portable first credential, with AI coursework available inside it. The dedicated AI title earns its place only when a specific program’s curriculum and compute access are demonstrably strong.
There is no programmatic accreditor in this field, so read the required math sequence and ask what compute students get for training work, and request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll. With those checks in mind, compare online AI bachelor’s programs enrolling now:
Colleges Offering This Degree
Every school listed is verified in federal IPEDS data both to award this degree and to offer programs that can be completed entirely by distance education at this level. Whether this exact degree is delivered fully online varies by school, so confirm the format before you apply.
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
#1
Purdue University-Main Campus
📍
West Lafayette, IN
•In-state option•BOC Score
86.0
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Hovde Hall of Administration West Lafayette, IN 47907-2040
Mathematics foundations - linear algebra, probability and statistics, calculus, usually across the first two years
Programming and data structures - the fluency everything else builds on
Machine learning - supervised and unsupervised methods and model evaluation
Deep learning, NLP and computer vision - typically in the upper-division years
Ethics, safety and governance - increasingly required rather than optional
General education - the part a computer science degree shares anyway
A practical reading test for any program: if the required curriculum does not show the mathematics sequence explicitly, the machine learning coursework on top of it will be superficial. That is the single fastest way to separate a serious AI bachelor’s from a renamed IT degree.
Who This Realistically Suits
Students certain about the specialization early, who have compared the specific program’s curriculum against a computer science degree at the same school and found it genuinely deeper.
Career changers with strong quantitative backgrounds who want the undergraduate credential plus the specialization in one run.
Most other people are better served by computer science first. The broader degree keeps more doors open, is taught in far more places, and leaves the AI master’s route available later - which is how the field itself expects the credential to be stacked.
Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
What These Careers Pay
The roles the degree feeds are counted by BLS as data scientists at a median $120,230, software developers at $135,980 and computer and information research scientists at $140,300, with data science projected to change by 33.5 percent through 2034 (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
Bachelor’s in Artificial Intelligence at a Glance
Metric
Detail
Source
Median annual wage, data scientists
$120,230
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range, data scientists
$67,240 (10th pct) - $199,130 (90th pct)
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment, data scientists
262,440
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
33.5%, about 23,400 openings per year
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
Institutions awarding at bachelor’s level
19
IPEDS Completions, 2024
Geo coverage
Parent page only - supply is far too thin for a state tier
IPEDS Completions, 2024
SOC codes covered
15-2051 data scientists; 15-1252 software developers; 15-1221 computer and information research scientists
BLS OEWS, May 2025
There is no BLS occupation called “AI engineer.” The people doing that work are counted in the occupations above, and any wage figure attached to an AI job title elsewhere is not coming from a federal source.
How the Online Format Works
Online AI bachelor’s programs deliver lectures, problem sets, and projects through the same platforms as their on-campus versions, with proctored exams and cohort discussion filling in the structure. The subject needs no laboratory, so nothing about the material itself requires a campus.
Two things do change online. First, compute: on-campus students often borrow department hardware informally, while online students depend entirely on what the program provisions - which is why the compute question earlier on this page matters more for you. Second, pacing: a four-year quantitative sequence takes sustained discipline without a physical cohort around you, and the students who finish tend to be the ones who schedule the mathematics like a job. Part-time paths stretch the timeline but can pair the degree with paid work in the field, which strengthens the internship story rather than weakening it.
Career Paths After the Degree
The direct path from this degree runs through the data and software occupations in the table above, and which one you land in usually follows from what your capstone and internships demonstrate rather than from the degree title. Data-heavy portfolios move toward data science roles; systems-heavy work moves toward software engineering teams that ship machine learning features.
The computing infrastructure routes are worth knowing about too, because they hire from the same undergraduate pool. Computer network architects design the networks that AI workloads increasingly strain, and computer hardware engineers build the accelerators that training runs on - both are degree-gated careers with their own measured wage data on this site, and both value the mathematics this degree forces you through.
A practical note for undergraduates specifically: internships weigh more at this level than at master’s level, because you are competing against computer science graduates with the same coursework and a better-known degree title. Treat the internship search as part of the program, not something after it.
Is It Worth It?
The honest answer at bachelor’s level: usually the question is not whether AI is worth studying - the growth and wage numbers above speak for themselves - but whether the dedicated title beats computer science for the same four years. With 19 programs nationally versus hundreds of CS programs, the CS route offers more choice, more transfer options, and the same access to AI careers, with the AI master’s available on top later.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many schools offer a bachelor's in artificial intelligence?
19 institutions awarded a bachelor's in CIP 11.0102, artificial intelligence, in 2024 (IPEDS Completions, 2024). That is a genuinely small supply - the master's is the more common form of the dedicated AI degree, with 46 institutions awarding it.
Is a bachelor's in AI better than a bachelor's in computer science?
For most people, no. Computer science is the broader and more portable first degree, AI coursework is available inside it, and far more schools offer it. A dedicated AI bachelor's makes sense when a specific program's curriculum and compute access are demonstrably strong - compare the actual courses, not the title.
What does an AI degree pay?
There is no BLS occupation called AI engineer. The roles this degree feeds are counted as data scientists at a median of $120,230, software developers at $135,980, and computer and information research scientists at $140,300 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Can a bachelor's in AI be completed online?
The subject is entirely computational, and IPEDS records the institutions on this page as offering programs completable entirely by distance education at this level. Whether this exact degree is delivered fully online varies by school, so confirm the format before you apply.
What math does an AI bachelor's require?
Expect linear algebra, probability and statistics, and calculus as core requirements, usually in the first two years. This is where most students stall, and no serious program can skip it.
What careers can an AI bachelor's lead to?
The degree can lead toward roles counted by BLS as data scientists, software developers, and computer and information research scientists. Adjacent infrastructure routes such as computer network architect and computer hardware engineer are also common landing points for computing graduates. Individual outcomes vary with portfolio and experience.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051), Software Developers (SOC 15-1252), Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Completions, 2024 - CIP 11.0102
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
