Claremont McKenna College
CA · AI Readiness #221 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 3.6 /10
In a required course, CMC undergrads build and train their own generative AI model, then can extend that work through faculty-led lab research in machine learning and NLP.
The Robert Day Sciences Center's Innovation Studio gives Kravis Integrated Sciences students hardware and software space to prototype real projects, not just complete assignments. In Psychological Science, the STATS Lab explicitly researches machine learning, NLP, and large language models, backed by NSF funding and national supercomputing access through the QCL. This activity remains spread across individual departments without a formal governance body or dedicated undergraduate AI credential tying it together. CMC needs increased investment in AI infrastructure and curriculum development to catch up with other small liberal arts schools that have passed it by.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: F
- Curriculum: D+
- Partnerships: F
- Research: A+
A(I)ttitude™: cautious
Selected Highlights
- $215M Kravis gift explicitly includes AI/ML in scope via Brain track; $40M RDSC; $3M+$1M QCL; $25M Roberts CS Endowment — exceptional capital for a 1,390-student college.
- 'ChatCMC' student-built generative AI model embedded in mandatory KDIS curriculum; confirmed active and named with official CMC sources.
- 'Codes of Life' mandatory all-student course includes AI/ML; QCL workshops include AI/ML exposure — broad student reach confirmed.
- Data Science Capstone clinic with named industry partners (Samba TV, Huntington Medical Research Institute, MLB clubs, Ontario Airport, LA Public Works) constitutes ongoing multi-semester structured partnership with student-facing deliverables.
- Multiple named faculty with documented AI research (Mike Izbicki — ML/NLP; Dr. Steven Zhou — STATS Lab ML/AI; Ran Libeskind-Hadas — computational biology; Paul Nerenberg — HPC/computational science); NSF external funding confirmed.