Dartmouth Engineering Launches New AI Offerings for MEng and BE

MEng program director, Professor Eugene Santos Jr. (left), says the new AI track teaches high-demand skills and integrates Dartmouth's systems-based and human-centered approach to engineering.

At the graduate level, a new AI track is now one of seven options within its Master of Engineering (MEng) program. And undergraduates pursuing the Bachelor of Engineering (BE) can now choose a concentration in AI, one of many guided areas of study within the BE for building technical depth alongside Dartmouth's systems-based and liberal arts-grounded engineering foundation.

"At a time when artificial intelligence touches every sector of society, we are excited to introduce new opportunities for students to gain expertise and take on leadership roles in AI and related fields," said Douglas Van Citters, interim dean of Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. "We are even more excited to do this the Dartmouth way—by teaching our students to ask critical questions and consider the human impact to ensure AI serves society in responsible and meaningful ways."

Courses within the MEng and BE programs span machine learning, reinforcement learning, game theory, high-dimensional sensing, optimization, signal processing, and other AI-relevant subjects. Both graduate and undergraduate courses emphasize hands-on, project-based learning to prepare engineers to assess, design, and implement solutions to real-life problems, said Eugene Santos Jr., the Sydney E. Junkins 1887 Professor of Engineering and MEng program director.

In a recent interview, Santos—whose research focuses on AI and human behavior—highlighted a distinctive feature of the MEng AI track: the integration of Dartmouth's systems-based and human-centered approach to engineering, where students are taught to address problems within the context of complex systems while considering human needs and societal impact.

The new offerings build on the School's ongoing efforts to refine its AI curriculum to meet real-world demand. In 2024, Dartmouth Engineering launched its first fully online graduate degree, the MEng in Computer Engineering, which equips students with the hardware skills that power modern AI systems. The program's inaugural cohort will graduate this June. Last fall, the school introduced a new online certificate in practical machine learning. Additional AI-related certificates are expected to launch in the coming year.

The expansion also coincides with a milestone year for Dartmouth: the 70th anniversary of the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, the historic 1956 workshop where the term "artificial intelligence" was first coined.

"In the end, AI is about humans, and AI will always interact with humans—it's not something that exists out in the wild," Santos said. "We want students to be 'AI architects' who not only understand AI, but who also know how to create solutions that ultimately improve lives."