The computer science exodus (and where are the students going?)

This fall, something strange happened on the campus of the University of California. For the first time since the dot-com crash, enrollment in computer science has declined. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that the system as a whole is down 6% this year after falling 3% in 2024. Even though overall college enrollment increased 2% nationwide, students continue to rely on traditional CS degrees, according to January data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

The only exception is the University of California, San Diego. It is the only UC campus to add a dedicated AI major this fall.

This may all seem like a blip related to the news that fewer CS graduates are entering the workforce right out of college. But it’s likely an indicator of a future that China is more enthusiastically embracing. As MIT Technology Review reported last July, Chinese universities are working hard on AI literacy, treating AI not as a threat but as essential infrastructure. Almost 60% of students and faculty in China now use AI tools multiple times every day, schools like Zhejiang University are making AI classes mandatory, and top institutions like Tsinghua University are creating entirely new interdisciplinary AI colleges. Mastering AI is no longer an option in China. It’s table stakes.

American universities are scrambling to catch up. Over the past two years, dozens of companies have launched programs focused on AI. MIT’s AI and Decision-Making major is now the second-largest major on campus, according to the school. As the New York Times reported in December, the University of South Florida enrolled more than 3,000 students in its new AI and Cybersecurity College for the fall semester. Last summer, the University at Buffalo launched a new “AI and Society” department offering seven new professional degree programs and accepted more than 200 applicants before fully opening its doors.

The transition hasn’t been smooth everywhere. When I spoke with UNC-Chapel Hill President Lee Roberts in October, he described a variety of situations. Some teachers say they are “leaning forward” to AI, while others are “putting their heads in the sand.” Roberts, a former finance executive who comes from outside academia, was an enthusiastic advocate of AI integration despite resistance from faculty. A week ago, UNC announced it was merging the two schools to create an organization focused on AI, a decision that drew backlash from faculty. Roberts also appointed a vice chancellor specializing in AI. “No one would say to a student after graduation, ‘Do the best job you can, but with AI, you’re going to be in trouble,'” Roberts told me. “But now we have faculty who are effectively saying that.”

Parents also play a role in this difficult transition. David Reynaldo, who runs the admissions consultancy College Zoom, told the Chronicle that parents who once pushed their kids into CS are now reflexively steering their kids toward other majors that might be more resistant to AI automation, such as mechanical or electrical engineering.

But when we look at enrollment numbers, we see that students are voting with their feet. In an October survey by the nonprofit Computing Research Association, whose members include computer science and computer engineering departments from a wide range of universities, 62% of respondents reported a decline in undergraduate enrollment in computing programs this fall. But as AI programs expand, it’s becoming more of an migration than a technology outflow. The University of Southern California will offer an AI degree this fall. So are Columbia University, Pace University, and New Mexico State University. Students are not abandoning technology. They are instead choosing programs that focus on AI.

It is too early to tell whether this readjustment is permanent or a temporary panic. But it’s certainly a wake-up call for administrators who have struggled for years with how to handle AI in the classroom. The debate over whether to ban ChatGPT is ancient history at this point. The question now is whether American universities can act quickly enough or continue debating what to do while students transfer to schools that already have the answers.