Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business
Program Co-Director: Kimon Drakopoulos, Marshall School of Business
The Bachelor of Science degree program in Artificial Intelligence for Business is offered jointly by the Marshall School of Business and the Viterbi School of Engineering. It offers qualified students an opportunity to gain an educational foundation in both areas.
This program was created to develop future business leaders who will have a deep understanding of Artificial Intelligence technologies. Specifically:
Students will have expertise in leveraging AI within organizations with the goal of enhancing societal value and understanding the ethical issues and risks in AI technologies.
Students will be able to conceptualize new products and services that leverage AI, with a sophisticated understanding of the state-of-the-art capabilities and practical limitations of what AI technologies can realistically achieve in a business context.
Students will be capable of forming effective teams with the expertise required to implement and scale AI technology solutions and formulate realistic timelines for AI products.
Students will have expertise in analytics-driven decision-making and strategy, able to discern the value of data assets in an organization and the effort required to realize the full potential of analytics in a business context. · Students will understand and situate advanced AI technologies, make realistic assumptions about potential and risks for business ventures, and envision new markets through AI innovation.
The degree cannot be combined as an additional major in either Business Administration or Engineering. The degree is administered by the Marshall School of Business.
A cumulative grade point average of C (2.0) is required for all courses taken at USC as well as all upper-division courses applied toward the major, regardless of the department in which the courses are taken. Finally, this degree requires at least 128 units.
Admissions are made by the central USC Admissions Office.
The most up-to-date description of the program is in the USC Catalogue. Data Science course descriptions are available here.
This degree requires at least 128 units including USC's General Education requirements.
Composition/Writing Requirements (8 units)
WRIT 150 Writing and Critical Reasoning–Thematic Approaches (4 units)
WRIT 340 Advanced Writing (3 or 4 units) * * Note: A section of WRIT 340 titled “Advanced Writing for Business” is recommended for BUAI majors.
Math Requirement (4 units)
MATH 125g Calculus I (4 units)
**Note: A-level mathematics examination scores of A or B may receive subject credit for MATH 125g. Eligible students should speak with their academic advisers for additional information.
Major Core Requirements (88 units):
Business Requirements (42 units)
BUAD 280 Introduction to Financial Accounting (3 units)
BUAD 281 Introduction to Managerial Accounting (3 units)
BUAD 302 Communication Strategy in Business (4 units)
BUAD 304 Organizational Behavior and Leadership (4 units)
BUAD 306 Business Finance (4 units)
or
BUAD 308 Advanced Business Finance (4 units)
BUAD 307 Marketing Fundamentals (4 units)
BUAD 310g Applied Business Statistics (4 units)
or
BUAD 312g Statistics and Data Science for Business (4 units)
BUAD 311 Operations Management (4 units)
BUAD 313 Advanced Operations Management and Analytics Units: (BUAD 313 is preferred) (4 units)
BUAD 497 Strategic Management (4 units)
ECON 351x Microeconomics for Business (4 units)
ECON 352x Macroeconomics for Business (4 units)
Artificial Intelligence Requirements (36 units)
Introductory Courses (16 units)
CSCI 102L Fundamentals of Computation (2 units)
CSCI 103L Introduction to Programming Units: (4 units)
CSCI 104L Data Structures and Object Oriented Design Units: (4 units)
CSCI 170 Discrete Methods in Computer Science Units: (4 units)
ITP 115 Programming in Python (2 units)
ITP 116 Accelerated Programming in Python (2 units)
AI Foundational Courses (16 units)
CSCI 360 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Units: (4 units)
DSCI 281 Foundations of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (4 units)
Choose at least two courses from the following:
CSCI 445L Introduction to Robotics (4 units)
ITP 449 Applications of Machine Learning (4 units)
ITP 459 Applied Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing (4 units)
Ethics Courses (4 units)
EIS 370 Ethical Issues in Artificial Intelligence (4 units)
Integrative Requirements (10 units)
BUAD 112 AI for Business Freshman Academy (2 units)
DSO 429 Digital Transformation of Business: AI and Smart Contracts (4 units)
DSO 488 Hands-on AI for Business (2 units)
MOR 458 Technology Strategy: The Case of AI (2 or 4 units)
Current students follow degree requirements in effect for the academic year they began their studies at USC. If you are a current student, please refer to your STARS report or the appropriate USC Catalogue for your year. Students seeking to advance their catalogue year to follow updated curricula may contact their department advisor.