Undergraduate enrollment in computer and information sciences at four-year U.S. higher education institutions fell 8.4% in spring 2026 compared with a year earlier, marking an accelerating downturn for a field long regarded as higher education’s safest career path.<\/p>\n
The contraction follows a 3.6% year-over-year drop in fall 2025, when graduate enrollment in computer science<\/a> programs also fell 14%, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center<\/a>. The multi-quarter decline signals a fundamental shift in student enrollment as universities reallocate technical instruction across broader academic disciplines.<\/p>\n To adapt to changing student demand and prepare graduates for an AI-altered labor market, major public universities are expanding artificial intelligence education beyond dedicated computing departments. The University of Florida now offers more than 200 AI-related courses across all 16 of its colleges, enrolling 14,000 students annually\u2014with 71% of its spring 2026 graduating class completing at least one AI course. Meanwhile, Ohio State University introduced an AI fluency initiative last year to ensure all students, starting with the class of 2029, achieve field-specific AI literacy prior to graduation.<\/p>\n Liberal arts institutions are adopting similar strategies. Colby College in Waterville, Maine, established the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence in 2021 with a $30 million gift, creating the first cross-disciplinary AI institute at a liberal arts college to combine technical training with ethical frameworks across all degree programs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vision is really around an interdisciplinary approach to AI,\u201d said David Watts, director of Colby\u2019s Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence. \u201cA lot of the challenges around AI go a lot further than the AI itself.\u201d<\/p>\n