The great computer science exodus (and where students are going instead) | TechCrunch

"Something strange happened at UC campuses this fall. For the first time since the dot-com crash, computer science enrollment dropped. System-wide, it fell 6% this year after declining 3% in 2024, according to reporting this past week by the San Francisco Chronicle. Even as overall college enrollment climbed 2% nationally - according to January data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center - students are bailing on traditional CS degrees."

"As MIT Technology Review reported last July, Chinese universities have leaned hard into AI literacy, treating AI not as a threat but instead as essential infrastructure. Nearly 60% of Chinese students and faculty now use AI tools multiple times daily, and schools like Zhejiang University have made AI coursework mandatory, while top institutions like Tsinghua have created entirely new interdisciplinary AI colleges."

"U.S. universities are scrambling to catch up. Over the last two years, dozens have launched AI-specific programs. MIT's "AI and decision-making" major is now the second-largest major on campus, says the school. As reported by the New York Times in December, the University of South Florida enrolled more than 3,000 students in a new AI and cybersecurity college during its fall semester."

UC campuses experienced a decline in computer science enrollment, falling system-wide 6% this year after a 3% drop in 2024, while national college enrollment rose. UC San Diego added a dedicated AI major and was the only UC to expand CS-related capacity. Chinese universities made AI literacy central, with nearly 60% of students and faculty using AI tools multiple times daily, mandatory AI coursework at Zhejiang, and new interdisciplinary AI colleges at Tsinghua. U.S. universities launched dozens of AI-specific programs in two years, with large new majors and colleges enrolling thousands of students.

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