University of Iowa
IA · AI Readiness #63 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 8.1 /10
A university-wide undergraduate AI certificate launches at Iowa this fall, joining the HawkAI training program, a research hub with 78 funded pilot projects, and campus-wide ChatGPT Edu access.
The Iowa Initiative for Artificial Intelligence, directed by Milan Sonka since 2018, has funded 78 pilot projects across engineering, medicine, business, and the humanities. HawkAI, a tiered training program, has engaged over 1,600 participants and issued 854 certificates across three levels. UI Health Care has deployed Nabla and Evidently system-wide as documented industry AI partnerships. Students can take HawkAI-107, a required ethics course, alongside electives in philosophy, political science, and linguistics. Big Ten research universities at this stage commonly add a dedicated AI executive role and a flagship-scale federal research grant.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: B-
- Curriculum: A+
- Partnerships: C-
- Research: A+
A(I)ttitude™: progressive
Selected Highlights
- AI Steering Committee produced the AI Action Plan and Guiding Principles; Academic AI Committee (July 2023) has named cross-college members spanning engineering, education, public health, humanities, and CIO office.
- Three named institutional AI documents confirmed: 'Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Guiding Principles,' 'AI Action Plan,' and 'Guidelines for the Secure and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence.'
- IIAI (est. 2018) is a named cross-disciplinary AI institute with named director Milan Sonka, 78 funded pilot projects, and multi-college funding from Engineering, Medicine, Business, CLAS, and Education.
- Undergraduate AI minor (ECE) confirmed in 2026-27 General Catalog; new campus-wide undergraduate Certificate in AI launching Fall 2026 with 61 students enrolled in the core course in Spring 2026.
- Microsoft Copilot Chat confirmed available to all students, faculty, and staff at no additional cost; ChatGPT Edu added December 2025; AI Gateway pilot launched February 2026; central portal at ai.uiowa.edu.