Applied AI, BA Ethical Decision-Making Emphasis

36 credit hours

The Bachelor of Arts in Applied Artificial Intelligence with an Ethical Decision-Making emphasis concentrates applied AI practice around questions of responsibility, governance, and defensible judgment in high-stakes environments. Coursework examines AI systems as socio-technical infrastructures embedded within legal, organizational, and cultural frameworks, requiring students to assess not only performance but also consequences. Students engage with ethical analysis, risk assessment, bias evaluation, and transparency frameworks while applying AI tools to realistic decision scenarios in policy, business, and institutional settings. The emphasis develops professionals capable of articulating and justifying AI-supported decisions to diverse stakeholders, including regulators, leadership, and the public. Applied projects foreground accountability, auditability, and human oversight rather than optimization alone.

Requirements

Major Coursework

15 credit hours of coursework from the following options. Each course includes hands-on applied components such as prompt engineering, automation design, and ethical evaluation of AI-assisted outputs.

CAH 20501 - Fundamentals of Applied AI Credit Hour: 3
CAH 30502 - Intermediate Generative AI Tools Credit Hour: 3
CAH 30503 - Human-Centered AI Applications Credit Hour: 3
DCS 36000 - Information Literacy Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 42500 - Ethics of AI Credit Hour: 3

Ethics Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following options. The course not selected to fulfill this requirement may be taken and applied toward the Ethical Decision-Making Emphasis Coursework requirement.

PHRL 21200 - Ethics & Human Action Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 34000 - Truth, Reality, & Virtual Reality Credit Hour: 3

Ethical Decision-Making Emphasis Coursework

15 credit hours of coursework from the following options, with at least 9 credit hours at the 30000-level. This emphasis develops analytic, philosophical, and governance-oriented approaches to AI, emphasizing ethical evaluation, transparency, and human accountability.

PHRL 21000 - Practical Logic for Daily Life Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 21001 - Traditional Logic Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 21002 - Symbolic Logic Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 21200 - Ethics & Human Action Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 21201 - Ethics, Media, & Technology Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 21202 - Bioethics Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 30000 - The Natural Law Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 30200 - Political Philosophy Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 30400 - Philosophy of Law Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 34000 - Truth, Reality, & Virtual Reality Credit Hour: 3
PHRL 34300 - Free Will Credit Hour: 3

Capstone Coursework

3 credit hours of coursework from the following option. Capstone projects must align with the selected emphasis and include an applied portfolio component.

CAH 44444 - Internship Credit Hour: 1-6