SALT LAKE CITY — The David Eccles School of Business will offer a minor in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to all University of Utah undergraduate students — regardless of major or college — beginning in Fall 2026.
It is the first AI-related academic program at the U, following official approval by the Board of Trustees.
The Business AI minor is a cross-disciplinary program designed to equip students with critical skills in AI technologies and their practical applications in business. It will bridge the gap between AI and business strategy, enabling students to make data-informed decisions, automate processes, and create competitive advantages in diverse industries. This new program reflects the Eccles School’s vision to prepare students who are fluent in emerging technologies and anchored in enduring business fundamentals and durable skills.
“The future of jobs is going to require understanding of and skills in AI. The benefit of this Business AI minor is to help students gain a skillset that they can apply immediately in the business world,” said Chong Oh, director of the undergraduate Information Systems program. “It will give them ideas about what’s possible, and the know-how to build ideas that are immediately applicable, so that when they go into industry, they become a great resource for the organizations they belong to.”
The program will focus on practical AI tools with real-world applications, such as machine learning, natural language processing, image recognition, predictive analytics, and chatbot development. Students will get hands-on experience by building real AI-driven solutions including intelligent assistants, data pipelines, and strategic decision tools such as Tableau, Python, Retool, and generative AI tools.
Kurt Dirks, dean of the Eccles School, said the timing is right to make AI an official component of the academic experience.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming every corner of business, and employers are clear that they need graduates who can apply it effectively,” said Dirks. “Eccles students will be AI-fluent and fundamentals-strong. Our new Business AI minor will be a step beyond, giving them the knowledge and skills to use AI strategically and responsibly. This addition to our curriculum ensures our graduates are not just prepared to enter the workforce, but ready to drive innovation and create lasting value for their organizations and communities.”
The minor will entail 16 credit hours, with a core of three required three-hour courses and a required one-hour capstone class, plus two three-hour electives. Courses have been designed with minimal coding prerequisites, making AI accessible to students in business, humanities, arts, health, science, and other majors.
Among the offerings are Python Programming, Business Strategy, Machine Learning and Analytics, and Data Visualization and Communication. There will also be an elective focused on “AI ethics,” an area of particular importance in the feedback process with the Academic Senate. This aligns with the Eccles School’s commitment to ensuring that students are guided by responsibility — considering how to use AI ethically, transparently, and with integrity, while understanding both its power and its limits.
Oh added that because the minor will, of course, require extensive usage of generative AI, there will be robust requirements and safeguards in place to ensure academic integrity.
“If AI is not used responsibly, it can produce results that are detrimental to society in general. AI is very good at generating content, and the content is very impressive — but is this content legitimate? Does it have evidence to support that it’s accurate?” he said. “We want AI to help students learn, not for them to use it as a vending machine: ‘I want a paper,’ and boom, a paper comes out. So how do we redesign our classrooms so that they use AI correctly, as a tool to help their learning? The whole idea is that the student becomes the architect of their learning, and not just a consumer.”
The development of the Business AI minor has been a thorough, deliberate, and collaborative process spanning several years, with a focus on building a program that is both rigorous and relevant. In doing so, the Eccles School is preparing students both for today and tomorrow — ensuring they not only keep pace with technological change but help shape the future of responsible business in an AI-enabled world. The University of Utah and the Eccles School’s forward-looking approach will ensure that students graduate ready to apply AI with insight, integrity, and impact across industries.