Deepfakes. Chatbots. Search engines. Voice assistants. Every day, AI is changing the ways that we communicate with each other (and, increasingly, how we communicate with computers). Now, you can be at the forefront of using AI and communication to help society. Whether you want to create AI-driven content, improve media literacy for vulnerable populations or develop more effective AI prompts, this unique major lets you prepare for some of the most exciting—and meaningful—careers.
You’ll start with foundational courses to explore how AI works and its impact. For example, you’ll learn how communication platforms like smartphones and social media have disrupted society, how to use AI ethically, and how computing systems are connected into a digital infrastructure. Then, you’ll take communication courses (including many electives) to study mass media, network effects, research methods, communication practices within organizations and other topics based on your interests. The program culminates with a capstone course involving a real-world challenge for you and your team to solve.
Attend events at one of UB’s multiple AI institutes and centers. Join the student newspaper. Or try something completely different. Here are a few of the things you might enjoy at UB:
Research and internships. Check out on-campus and off-campus opportunities with media companies, AI research labs, software start-ups and many other organizations.
Student groups: You’ll find them here, from communication clubs and computer science groups to hundreds of other choices.
Experiential learning. Test your skills in programming competitions and other fun activities right on campus.
Study abroad. Broaden your horizons (literally) when you spend time in another country and study how they communicate and use AI.
When you combine strong communication skills with a thorough understanding of AI, you give yourself more choices—including new types of jobs that might not even exist yet. Your career path might include:
Because communication skills are valued in nearly any organization, you might find yourself working for an advertising agency, law firm, health care provider or elected official. And if you want to go to graduate school, this major provides a solid foundation.
Because this is a multidisciplinary program, you’ll get to take classes with professors from communication and computer science—as well as psychology, social sciences and other related fields.
Our faculty for this program have hosted a popular communication podcast, published their work in leading journals, and have ties to global computing companies (including the ones that run top search and social media platforms). They’ve conducted research that makes a real difference, including determining what types of problems computers can actually solve, and discovering ways to improve healthcare for college students by providing better frameworks for tough conversations.
When it comes to teaching, they’re also at the top of their field, having earned the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, awards for Outstanding Teaching and Student Mentorship, and many other well-deserved honors.