Penn State Harrisburg to launch bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence this fall

Penn State Harrisburg will begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence Methods and Applications in fall 2026, adding a new undergraduate degree to its computing and information-science portfolio.

The campus, located in Middletown and serving the Harrisburg area, announced the program June 8. The planned degree is one part of a broader effort by Penn State Harrisburg to expand artificial-intelligence literacy, integrate AI across curricula, support interdisciplinary research and encourage responsible AI development.

A new formal AI degree

The Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence Methods and Applications is scheduled to be a new degree program rather than a reported research result, commercial product or technology deployment. The announcement establishes the planned fall 2026 start date, but it does not describe measured outcomes from the program because instruction has not yet begun.

Penn State Harrisburg said the degree will expand its existing offerings in computing and information science. The campus identified Roderick Lee, an associate professor involved in the program and its AI strategy, as part of the effort.

The announcement places the degree within a campus-wide approach to AI rather than presenting it as a stand-alone initiative. Its stated goals include broader AI literacy and opportunities for research across disciplines, alongside attention to responsible development and use of AI.

What remains unspecified

The university announcement does not provide an initial enrollment target, tuition information or the number of faculty members assigned to the new degree. It also does not provide accreditation or approval details beyond the university’s announcement.

Those omissions mean the available information does not establish the program’s eventual size, course capacity or workforce effects. It also does not indicate how many students will enter the program when it begins in fall 2026.

For prospective students and the Harrisburg-area technology community, the immediate development is the creation of a formal undergraduate pathway focused on AI methods and applications. The next known milestone is the program’s planned launch in fall 2026. Penn State Harrisburg has described the degree as an expansion of its academic offerings and AI strategy, not as evidence that a particular AI tool or application has already been tested or deployed in the community.