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MS in AI in Business Starts Up at UMW Through Interdisciplinary and Industry-Spanning Courses

The new Master of Science in AI in Business is in its startup year at the University of Mary Washington, and the first-of-its-kind graduate program in Virginia is already attracting entrepreneurs and business owners, project managers and business analysts, account executive and directors, as well as engineers and vice presidents. The varied titles and career fields are part of the appeal, as the program spans leadership roles across industries, offering working professionals ways to apply technology to business problems, rather than developing the technology itself.

“More and more products that my teams produce use AI, and in order to be able to evaluate their output, I knew I needed a better understanding of the mechanics underlying the models and the results. I need to know how the sausage is made,” said Patrick McGarrity, owner and CEO at PMW in Dahlgren, who has more than 25 years of experience working with NASA and the Department of Defense.

That’s why the graduate program teaches more than technical knowledge. Students in the MS in AI in Business program at UMW combine courses in organizational strategy, data visualization, decision making, leadership and organizational behavior, and ethics and governance. Many of the graduate students start their required courses with Python for Business Analytics, a challenging class that is essentially an eight-week course in learning a new language. The fast pace sets the momentum for the program — which can be completed in one calendar year full-time by coupling classes or in two years part-time, by taking one course each eight-week term. The degree requires 30 credit hours. Learn more about the startup year of UMW’s MS in AI in Business.