EUGENE, Ore. – Aspiring Computer Science Majors at Bushnell University will get a head start on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to revolutionize how we live, work, and solve complex problems beginning in the Fall of 2025.
That’s when the university’s College of Professional Studies will be rolling out its revamped Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree with an Applied AI concentration, thanks to a partnership with Rize Education, which serves more than 100 colleges and universities in 35 states. Rize provides course sharing for institutions to help them build hybrid programs, where students can take classes in person as part of their degree with local professors coupled with online courses taught by connected professionals from all over the world.
Bushnell’s updated 39-credit computer science degree has been developed in collaboration with Rize and industry and academic experts from market leaders like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft, which have defined the most valuable outcomes and skills that students need. Bushnell’s 12-credit AI concentration was developed with program advisors from Character.ai, who have contributed significantly to AI development at Google Brain.
“We decided that we wanted to take our computer science academic offering to the next level for our students by building a degree that included theoretical concepts, programming skills and beginning AI development,” according to Dr. Reed Mueller, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Bushnell University. “Our improved bachelor’s degree will offer students real-world practical skills that they can immediately apply in future roles in software development and other innovative frameworks or help prepare them to move into more advanced graduate education.”
Bushnell students will take foundational classes in person on campus in Eugene, taught by local professors with backgrounds in computer science, information technology, engineering, and robotics. They will take their AI and advanced computing coursework through Rize-connected classes, providing high-quality, shared online offerings. Bushnell’s improved major is designed to be accessible specifically to anyone with an interest and aptitude for computer science and provides a flexible on-ramp for coding concepts in lower-level courses.
“Our students will get the best of both worlds in this program,” said Dr. Latrissa Lee Neiworth, Dean of the College of Professional Studies, which houses the revamped degree. “Undergraduate students will get access to a cutting-edge computer science program, paired with an outstanding small-college experience.” She explained that students will also build a valuable portfolio of work through the process, anchoring their assessments around real-world projects and business problems from the industry.
Those interested in receiving more information about the newly improved degree should contact the Admissions Office at Bushnell University. For more information about specific classes and projects in the degree program, contact Bushnell Computer Science instructors Shijo John at sjohn@bushnell.edu and Bryan Olmstead, at brolmstead@bushnell.edu.