Certificate seeks to foster working ties between people, AI

A new graduate certificate will place CMU Online students at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into how they shape successful careers.

AI for Learning, Design and Technology is a four-course certificate that is part of the Master of Arts degree in learning, design and technology and housed within the College of Education and Human Services.

The certificate’s creators say it promises value to anyone thinking about the next steps in their careers, whether they are in education, business or one of the hard sciences. That’s because the certificate is built around relationships between people and technology.

“We want people to understand it and use it at all levels,” said Michael DeSchryver, a faculty member in the Department of Teacher and Special Education.

AI is quickly changing the relationship between people and work, he said. One component expected to remain distinctly human is creativity.

That makes it critical for people to develop a partnership with AI where they supply the creativity while letting the technology handle other, less-glamorous tasks.

The four courses in the certificate cover different, critical facets of using AI not just in education but in a wide range of fields, said Jennifer Weible, the other primary instructor involved, who is also a member of the teacher and special education department faculty.

The facets include AI basics, innovations such as AI agents and tutors, creativity development and issues like ethics.

The concepts have appeal across the economy, so the online program will accept any student who applies. The goal for every student is the same: certificate holders who view the potential of AI with an eye to the future.

“We want people coming out of that program with a vision,” DeSchryver said.

The program is also built with a shifting technology landscape in mind. Weible said that the AI concepts she was teaching as recently as four months ago were replaced.

That, too, is a good lesson for the future.

“If change happens in the middle of class, that’s great,” DeSchryver said. “That’s life.”

The program is currently open to anyone from any field with a bachelor’s degree who meets the 3.0 GPA requirement. They could expand access to doctoral students and high-level undergraduate students.