Creating a Joint-Faculty Artificial Intelligence Concentration within a Graduate Program

The global demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) talent is growing at a rapid pace, leading to significant AI skills shortages. This experience report describes the creation of a new and uniquely joint-faculty AI concentration within our existing Master's program, characterized by its applied research internship in industry. We describe the experience of creating a multi-disciplinary AI program through broad consultation across two of the largest faculties in our institution. The new concentration has been well-received by the collaborating faculties and with industry partners; its popularity with applicants has resulted in admitting exceptional candidates from around the world and becoming the most popular concentration in the program. We offer this experience report in the hope that it may serve as a model for other practitioners who are considering navigating the creation of a joint-faculty concentration within a graduate program, especially in the popular field of AI.