Dean Raju Balakrishnan was recently interviewed about the new M.S. in Artificial Intelligence for Business program. The following is an excerpt taken from the Special Education Section of the The Baltimore Sun (Sunday, July 28, 2024). The article titled “Online technology master’s programs recognized nationally. Flexible degree and certificate programs for working students seeking advancement,” was written by Contributing Writer, Lisa Baldino.

Actual Artificial Applications
The University of Baltimore recently became the first and only business school in Maryland to offer a Master of Science degree in artificial intelligence for business. “What we talk about today in the application of AI in business may be changed in four months. We are training the next generation of business leaders to be experts in AI,” says Raju Balakrishnan, dean of the Merrick School of Business at the university.

Balakrishnan says that business curriculum needs to address critical issues such as how to collect and analyze data, how to use the data to generate good AI models and then apply them to improve the bottom line, and how to protect the data through cybersecurity. The new degree is meant to fill a void that Balakrishnan sees in this model – effective application of AI in business.

“On the hardware side, they are focused on developing faster processors. On the software side, they are focused on developing better AI modules. We are focused on how businesses actually go about using AI in areas such as customer relations or R&D,” he says. “People have all these AI tools available, and more are becoming available each day, but they don’t always know how to use them effectively to improve the bottom line.”

Balakrishnan proposed the new degree program when he joined University of Baltimore in 2023. It was immediately supported by the faculty members, and they shared a sense of urgency for the introduction. The faculty worked to create the curriculum from August 2023 to January 2024, and the program received final approval in April. It will be available to students in the fall of 2024. Qualifying students can have any undergraduate degree but must possess some basic knowledge of core business disciplines.

Balakrishnan says the curriculum also includes a course on ethical and regulatory issues. “AI can also be used to manipulate data,” he says. “People need to understand how to not only use AI effectively but also recognize when it is used improperly.”

The school estimates an initial class of 30 students, with roughly a 20-30% increase in the next four years. Balakrishnan notes, “We’ll be growing at first, but then there will be increased competition as other schools get similar programs. It is an emerging field that’s here to stay.”

And that’s worth recognizing.

University of Baltimore students Farhan Aslam, Elisha Urayayi and Sean Curley talk with Dean of the Merrick School of Business, Raju Balakrishnan.