Artificial intelligence has moved from a niche technical capability to one of the most sought-after skills in the global labor market. With AI embedded in everyday workflows, business schools are under growing pressure to treat AI fluency as a core component of workforce preparation rather than a specialized add-on. This shift is reshaping how business education is thinking about its program offerings.
In this post, we examine how business schools are responding, programmatically, to the increased demand for AI skills, through an examination of new research conducted by Eduvantis on business school portfolios. It highlights the strategic choices certain business schools are making as AI education becomes a competitive and consequential part of their academic offering.
A New Imperative for Business Schools
It is common knowledge now that, across industries and roles, employers are increasingly looking for people who understand how to work with AI:
- According to Coursera’s Job Skills Report 2025, generative AI is the fastest-growing skill overall, surpassing many traditional business and technical competencies such as business communication, risk control, and threat modeling.
- McKinsey & Company estimates that demand for AI fluency—the ability to use and manage AI tools—has grown sevenfold over the past two years, faster than for any other skill in U.S. job postings.
- In an analysis of more than one billion job postings, labor insight platform Lightcast found that “Salaries for postings that mention AI skills are 28% higher than postings that do not, representing roughly $18,000 more per year.”
For business schools, there is no choice. You either bring AI into your curriculum, or you risk harming the employment prospects of your graduates. This was true in 2024, when an Eduvantis survey of business school deans found growing pressure to introduce AI-related content, and has only accelerated from there. Schools that fail to adapt risk falling out of step—not just with the market, but with the future their graduates are entering.
Treating AI As A Discipline or A Red Thread?
The choice for business schools then comes down to how they teach AI. Should it be woven through the curriculum of every program offered and/or should be treated like a standalone discipline, à la marketing, finance, accounting, business analytics, etc.?
Eduvantis recently conducted an analysis of the graduate programs across the top 100-ranked business schools in the U.S. to help answer this question. We found that many business schools are going the “discipline” route already. Here are the highlights:
- 10% have already introduced a graduate degree in AI or a closely related field. These institutions moved quickly to get these programs introduced, and they now sit at the forefront of testing if AI expertise can take the lead on a resume.
- 15% have created an AI specialization in at least one of their MBA programs. These business schools—which are mostly different from those that created a standalone program—are still relying on the broad learning of an MBA to help those with an interest in deep AI knowledge. Often, business schools introduce a specialization first to gauge content interest before moving to launching a new degree.
- 18% have launched an AI graduate certificate at this point. This is typically the least cumbersome product type to get off the ground at a business school. Notably, there are now roughly as many AI graduate certificates offered at top 100 business schools as there are in healthcare, accounting, supply chain, and marketing.
What This Says About How Business Schools Are Treating AI
This research brought forward interesting data for those considering AI programming to chew on. Here are the items that we thought most interest as we analyzed it:
1. AI programming is being developed quickly (by higher ed standards)
It may seem like it’s been with us longer, but ChatGPT was released only just over three years ago. While AI existed well before then, this moment brought advanced AI into the day-to-day reality of your average employer and its employees. The fact that so many business schools have already moved to develop AI-specific programs underscores how integral it has become to employment success.
2. And even that adoption rate may be too slow relative to employment demand
It’s too early for there to be good data about graduate program enrollments. But if undergraduate interest can be used as a proxy, there is more graduate demand out there than is likely being soaked up right now.
According to reporting by The New York Times, a number of schools are having strong undergraduate success.
- At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a new major in artificial intelligence and decision-making (introduced in 2022), has become the second-most-popular undergraduate program, with nearly 330 students enrolled in this year.
- At University of California, San Diego, 150 first-year students signed up for a newly launched AI major.
- More than 3,000 students enrolled this semester in the new College of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida.
3. Most business schools are focused more on the red thread approach for now
While the number of AI graduate programs is increasing, the vast majority of the top business schools do not yet have a standalone AI program or MBA concentration.
This does not mean that these institutions are ignoring AI as an important part of their curriculum. Rather, many are choosing to embed AI across the curriculum instead of isolating it within a single course or program. AI is increasingly taught as a practical skill within discipline-specific courses, such as AI in accounting or AI in supply chain management. Some schools are taking an even broader approach, weaving AI into every relevant course.
4. The West Coast appears less quick to adopt AI as a specialty area
Much of the AI programmatic development has occurred east of the Mississippi. Depending upon your perspective, this geographic concentration can be seen as an advantage—regardless of where your institution is located.
For schools in the eastern U.S., the presence of multiple regional options helps normalize AI as a standalone discipline and temper market risk. For institutions in the West, the relative scarcity of programs presents an opportunity to stand out in a less crowded competitive landscape.
Preparing Business Schools for the Next Phase of AI Education
AI is quickly becoming a standard part of higher education offerings, and early signs suggest students are responding. What’s still unfolding is how employers will ultimately value AI-specific credentials, particularly whether they will seek out graduates from dedicated AI programs or simply expect AI fluency to be built into every degree.
For business schools, that uncertainty makes strategy more important than speed alone. The institutions best positioned for the next phase will be those that take a deliberate approach—grounded in market demand, aligned with academic strengths, and clear about the outcomes they want to deliver.
Eduvantis helps institutions navigate these decisions by combining market insight with portfolio and positioning strategy, ensuring AI offerings are not only timely, but meaningful, differentiated, and built to last.
Reach out to our strategic research & advisory team to start a focused, data-informed conversation about AI education strategy.