University of Idaho
ID · AI Readiness #97 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 7.4 /10
Idaho launched a B.S. in Artificial Intelligence in fall 2026 with six emphasis tracks, from robotics to secure AI, and every student gets free access to Gemini and NotebookLM through Google's AI for Education Accelerator.
U of I undergrads in other majors can add the new AI minor, approved in 2026, or the 12-credit AI and machine learning undergraduate certificate, designed for students in fields from business to math. Undergraduates join team research on AI and automation projects at the Center for Intelligent Industrial Robotics in Moscow and Coeur d'Alene. The Politics and Philosophy department also runs undergraduate research labs on AI, ethics and law.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: B+
- Curriculum: B-
- Partnerships: C+
- Research: B
A(I)ttitude™: progressive
Selected Highlights
- Ben Hunter holds the title Chief Data and AI Officer, a university-wide senior administrative role with AI explicitly in the title, confirmed via uidaho.edu/newsroom/ai-leadership.
- AI Execution Team is a named, ongoing, cross-divisional governance body with members from the President's office, Provost, VP of IT, IIDS, and Libraries; produced public outputs including the ai.uidaho.edu portal and strategic plan integration.
- ai.uidaho.edu serves as a central institutional AI portal; the 2026-30 strategic plan embeds AI across all five pillars; policy coverage confirmed across 12 categories including academic integrity, research, and teaching.
- IIDS (director: Barrie Robison) and CIIR (director: John Shovic) are two named cross-disciplinary AI hubs with active funded projects, fellowship programs, and multi-department membership confirmed within the past two years.
- B.S. in Artificial Intelligence launched Fall 2026, approved by Faculty Senate February 3, 2026; standalone degree in College of Engineering with six emphasis tracks and 120 credits.