New Program Prepares Students to Use AI Critically and Ethically

Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences students will be able to enroll in a nine-credit undergraduate certificate in artificial intelligence starting in the Fall 2026 semester, further preparing them for a world in which the presence of AI is quickly expanding and evolving.

The certificate is grounded in a liberal arts approach where students will be prepared to engage critically and responsibly with AI. It will help them be informed citizens and ethical decision-makers who understand not only how to use AI tools but also how to shape AI's role in society.

This "will provide an accessible introduction to the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence to our students," said David Edelstein, the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. "How we teach our students about this technology is a complicated question, and I believe this is an important first step."

The College, which boasts an expansive range of majors, minors and certificates, is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the AI space. This new certificate will serve students who study a variety of disciplines, including government majors who will craft AI policy, pre-health students navigating the use of algorithmic medicine and humanities students examining AI's impact on creativity and human identity.

"The College has expertise on both the underlying science contributing to artificial intelligence and the ethical and societal implications of the technology," Edelstein said. "This combination positions us to be a leader in the study and teaching of artificial intelligence."

A Liberal Arts Approach

The certificate's curriculum takes a liberal arts approach that treats AI's most pressing challenges as fundamentally human.

Students will be required to complete three courses, one each from three domains: The Problem of AI, which examines ethical, social and political dimensions of AI; The Science of AI, which focuses on understanding how systems work and their capabilities and limitations; and The Applications of AI, which explores the practical use of AI tools in disciplinary and professional contexts.

"What excites me about this certificate is that it is grounded in the College's own strengths: interdisciplinary, liberal arts approaches to contemporary problems that draw on scientific, humanistic and social-scientific perspectives," said Sue Lorenson, the College's vice dean for undergraduate education.

More than 60 courses taught within the last three years in the College have engaged seriously with AI, Lorenson said, on topics ranging from philosophy and linguistics to economics, music and anthropology. These and other future courses for the certificate will be tagged under one of the three course domains and are designed to help students understand AI's technical foundations, evaluate its societal implications and deploy it responsibly in disciplinary contexts.

"I'm hopeful that students will gain unique, multidisciplinary and practical perspectives on the risks, possibilities and ethics of artificial intelligence," said Dagomar Degroot, an associate professor in the Department of History. "There may be no issue that more profoundly shapes their lives."

Some courses may fit more than one category, but students must still complete nine total credits to earn the certificate. The wide variety of options allows students the opportunity to select courses that correspond with their academic disciplines. These courses can also count toward major, minor and core requirements.

"The basic structure of this certificate mirrors the structure of other curricula that we've established around interdisciplinary, 'wicked problems,' including climate change," Degroot said. "To really understand them, you need to study in many academic disciplines. This certificate recognizes that the continued development of AI is a scientific and engineering challenge that has fundamental philosophical, theological, economic, environmental, cultural and political dimensions and consequences."

Georgetown's Jesuit Values

The certificate aligns with Georgetown's Jesuit values and its broader mission of bringing a human-centered and ethically informed approach to AI.

As this technology continues to advance and evolve at a rapid pace, questions and concerns about AI, including issues of algorithmic bias, data privacy, environmental impact, misinformation and the future of jobs, require not just technical expertise but skills that define a liberal arts education.

Students in this certificate program will lean into their ability to analyze across disciplines, explore ethical reasoning grounded in diverse philosophical traditions and navigate complex challenges.

The certificate also emphasizes Georgetown's Jesuit tradition of discernment as a tool for decision-making and fosters a culture of critical thinking and commitment to civic responsibility and social action.

"Like all of the university's engagement with artificial intelligence, we are foregrounding the implications for humans and society in our consideration of this emerging technology," Edelstein said. "Georgetown will be a leader in understanding the societal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence, and we will produce graduates prepared to lead with sound, ethically-informed judgment as they encounter AI in their lives after Georgetown."