Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
OH · AI Readiness #194 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 5.2 /10
BGSU launched the nation's first customizable AI+X bachelor's degree in 2025, letting undergrads pair a core AI education with a second field like history, journalism, or computer science, making it a genuine first-mover among Ohio public universities.
Bowling Green State University also offers the AI and Society minor, open to students in any major, which blends machine learning fundamentals with ethics, bias, and accountability coursework. Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection is available campus-wide, and the Meta-funded AI+X Teaching Fellows program is training faculty to bring AI and immersive technology into undergraduate classrooms. On the research side, the Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Lab, led by Mohammed Abouheaf, holds active state-funded AI grants tied to Ohio's glass manufacturing industry, and BGSU was the only Ohio university recognized on the inaugural OhioX AI25 list in 2026.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: D+
- Curriculum: C+
- Partnerships: C+
- Research: D+
A(I)ttitude™: cautious
Selected Highlights
- BS in AI+X confirmed as first-in-the-nation customizable undergraduate AI degree; Board of Trustees approved May 2025; second cohort AY 2026-27; state-approved by Ohio Department of Higher Education.
- BGSU Forward Strategic Plan explicitly names AI in Initiatives 11 and 13; distributed AI policy framework scores 92% coverage across 12 policy categories; ITS AI Resources page publicly maintained.
- $1.7M Ohio Department of Development grant (AI process control, direct BGSU award); $652K NOIC grant (AI glass manufacturing, named PI Abouheaf); $39M Engineering and Innovation Center opened Spring 2026 with dedicated AI lab among seven new labs.
- Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection confirmed available to all current students, faculty, and staff via BGSU account; StudyStash AI platform pilot (Spring 2026, Canvas-integrated, Physics/CS/Biology) also confirmed as non-Microsoft qualifying tool.
- AI formally integrated in History, Journalism, and Public Relations as named tracks within the BS AI+X degree; Dean of College of Arts and Sciences (Dr. Ellen Schendel) named champion; undergraduate-accessible confirmed.