The Great Computer Science Exodus (And Where Will Students Go Instead)

Something strange happened on the UCLA campus this fall. For the first time since the dot-com bust, computer science enrollment has declined. Systemwide, it’s down 6% this year after falling 3% in 2024, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report last week. Even with overall college enrollment rates up 2% nationally — according to January data from the National Center for Student Exchange Research — students are relying on traditional computer science degrees.

The one exception is UC San Diego — the only UC campus to add a dedicated AI major this fall.

All of this may seem like a temporary blip tied to news about fewer computer science graduates finding work outside of college. But it is likely an indicator of the future, and one that China embraces most enthusiastically. As MIT reported last July, Chinese universities have taken a keen interest in AI literacy, treating AI not as a threat, but as essential infrastructure. Nearly 60% of Chinese students and faculty now use AI tools multiple times daily, and schools like Zhejiang University have made AI coursework compulsory, while major institutions like Tsinghua have created entirely new interdisciplinary AI colleges. In China, fluency with AI is no longer optional; It’s table stakes.

American universities are struggling to catch up. Over the past two years, dozens of AI programs have been launched. The “Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making” major at MIT is now the second largest on campus, the school says. As the New York Times reported in December, the University of South Florida enrolled more than 3,000 students in a new college of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity during the fall semester. Last summer, the University of Buffalo launched a new department called “Artificial Intelligence and Society” offering seven new, specialized undergraduate programs, and received more than 200 applicants before opening its doors.

The transition hasn’t been smooth everywhere. When I spoke with UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Lee Roberts in October, Roberts described a broad spectrum to me — some faculty members are “leaning forward” with AI, others are “burying their heads in the sand.” Roberts, a former CFO who arrived from outside academia, has been pushing hard for AI integration despite resistance from faculty. A week ago, UNC announced it would merge two schools to create an entity focused on artificial intelligence, a decision that sparked faculty opposition. Roberts also named a vice provost dedicated to artificial intelligence. “No one is going to say to students after they graduate, ‘Do the best job you can,’” Roberts told me, “but if you use AI, you will get in trouble.” “However, we have faculty effectively saying that now.”

Parents play a role in this difficult transition as well. Parents who once pushed their children toward computer science are now reflexively steering them toward other majors that seem more resistant to AI automation, including mechanical and electrical engineering, David Rinaldo, who runs the admissions consulting firm College Zoom, told The Chronicle.

But registration numbers indicate that students are voting with their feet. According to an October survey conducted by the nonprofit Computing Research Association — whose membership includes computer science and computer engineering departments from a wide range of universities — 62% of respondents reported that their computing programs saw a decline in undergraduate enrollment this fall. But as AI software explodes, it looks less like a tech migration and more like an exodus. USC will launch a degree in artificial intelligence next fall; As well as Columbia University, Pace University, and New Mexico State University, among many others. Students don’t give up on technology. They are opting for AI-focused programs instead.

It is too early to say whether this recalibration is permanent or a temporary panic. But it certainly serves as a wake-up call for administrators who have spent years struggling with how to handle AI in the classroom. The debate over banning ChatGPT is ancient history at this point. The question now is whether American universities can move quickly enough or will continue to debate what to do as students move to schools that already have answers.