Washington University in St Louis
MO · AI Readiness #66 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 8.0 /10
Washington University in St. Louis made AI literacy a requirement for all incoming undergraduates in 2026, pairing that mandate with Ask WashU, a university-built platform letting students choose from multiple AI models in a secure campus environment.
WashU students across all eight schools can add the new Minor in Computational Artificial Intelligence, complete the AI Literacy for the WashU Scholar module to unlock ChatGPT Edu access, and apply for paid summer research through the Digital Transformation Research Corps. Nathan Jacobs, a computer science professor at McKelvey Engineering, now serves as WashU's inaugural vice provost for AI, working alongside an AI Governance Committee co-chaired by Betsy Sinclair and Philip Payne to guide the university's approach to teaching, research, and operations.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: B+
- Curriculum: B
- Partnerships: B-
- Research: B+
A(I)ttitude™: Progressive
Selected Highlights
- Nathan Jacobs, Vice Provost for AI (Jan 2026).
- Board of Trustees approved AI strategy Dec 2025.
- AI for Health Institute, CHAI, HALO Center, AI Humanities Lab.
- Ask WashU (university-built) + ChatGPT Edu/Gemini/Claude/NotebookLM.
- 3 named components (AI Literacy module, AI Literacy Program, AI Curriculum Corps).