DePaul University
IL · AI Readiness #136 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 6.5 /10
Real AI research and ethics leadership at DePaul, but no university-wide AI executive or undergraduate degree yet.
DePaul backs its AI ambitions with real infrastructure: the DePaul AI Institute, federal NSF grants for healthcare and migrant services, and the RAISE Lab, a named research group led by a permanent director focused on responsible AI. The undergraduate CS degree offers a named AI concentration, and ethics coursework reaches students directly. What's missing is a university-wide AI executive to unify these efforts, along with a standalone undergraduate AI major or minor and an AI-specific capital commitment. DePaul has strong pieces; they haven't yet been assembled into a single strategy.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: B-
- Curriculum: C+
- Partnerships: C-
- Research: B
A(I)ttitude™: neutral
Selected Highlights
- Provost's Advisory Committee on AI has named chair (Prof. John Shanahan), cross-campus membership from 8+ units, and produced public guidance documents within past 2 years.
- Multiple published AI policy documents including 'DePaul's Approach to Artificial Intelligence' (Aug 2023) and IS Generative AI Framework covering transparency, fairness, privacy, and safety.
- DePaul AI Institute has named director (Prof. Bamshad Mobasher), documented multi-college membership across 9 colleges, and active programming in healthcare, migrant services, arts, and ethics within past 2 years.
- Named AI concentration within BS Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence Concentration) confirmed in academic catalog.
- AI integration documented in Business (AI@Driehaus initiative, redesigned MBA), Writing/Humanities (WRD 242 Writing With AI), Communication (AI-Human Communication Research Project), and Law (AI symposium) -- 4 non-STEM departments.