Introduction

In recent years, the adjustment of academic programs in Chinese universities has been accelerating.

On April 25, the establishment ceremony of the College of Artificial Intelligence at Henan Agricultural University and the Agricultural AI Forum were held at the Longzi Lake campus. Yue Jieyong, the Party Secretary of Henan Agricultural University, stated that the establishment of the College of Artificial Intelligence reflects a high starting point for gathering strategic resources, integrating various forces from science, education, and industry, and innovating a collaborative model characterized by high standards, integration, and innovation. The college will focus on smart agriculture, overcome critical challenges, and strive to create a high ground for talent cultivation, an innovation base, and a platform for integrated development, contributing wisdom and strength to the construction of a strong agricultural nation.

Additionally, several other universities have recently established AI colleges, including Zhengzhou Normal University, Anqing Normal University, and Wuyi University. According to statistics from First Financial, more than 90 universities nationwide have established AI colleges.

Transformation in Higher Education

The analysis from the Mai Kesi Research Institute indicates that when universities establish AI colleges, they may either create new colleges from scratch or integrate existing departments such as computer science, big data, and automation into new forms of colleges, essentially reorganizing the information discipline system.

Currently, universities are undergoing a deep transformation of their professional systems centered around “AI+”.

On April 10, the Ministry of Education, along with five other departments, issued the “AI+Education Action Plan,” clearly stating the goal of promoting the deep integration of artificial intelligence and education, providing direction for talent cultivation in universities.

Artificial intelligence continues to empower educational innovation, integrating with various professional fields. For example, Fudan University will launch the construction of an AI curriculum system and educational model reform campaign (“AI Big Class” version 1.0) in 2024, and in 2025, it will initiate AI-driven teaching and learning reforms (“AI Big Class” version 2.0). They aim to create an advanced AI-BEST curriculum system and establish “X+AI” talent cultivation projects to achieve three 100% penetration goals: AI courses covering all undergraduate and graduate students, AI+ education covering all first-level disciplines, and AI literacy requirements covering all majors.

Starting from the 2025 cohort, Ningbo University will add a course on “Fundamentals and Applications of Artificial Intelligence” to its general education curriculum platform, while requiring each major to develop at least one interdisciplinary course that integrates “AI+” to promote deep intersections between AI and academic disciplines.

On April 28, the Ministry of Education released the “Directory of Undergraduate Programs for Ordinary Higher Education Institutions (2026),” showing that 38 new undergraduate programs, including low-altitude economy and management, have been added this year. The addition of an “interdisciplinary” category was also noted.

According to reports from CCTV, Rao Yanting, a researcher at the Institute of Higher Education Research of the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, believes that the 38 new programs in this year’s undergraduate program directory highlight a significant trend towards interdisciplinary integration and future orientation. Many programs now include tags such as intelligent and digital, like embodied intelligence, commercial artificial intelligence, agricultural robotics, digital finance, and digital trade, reflecting a future-oriented approach and the integration of disciplines. For instance, artificial intelligence is no longer just a single discipline; it is increasingly permeating various fields, including not only science and engineering but also the humanities and social sciences, marking a significant change.

AI+ and Interdisciplinary Integration

“AI+” is driving a trend of interdisciplinary integration. For example, the newly established commercial artificial intelligence program at the University of Science and Technology of China was officially approved by the Ministry of Education on April 28. The university has become the first and currently the only institution in the country to offer a bachelor’s degree in “Commercial Artificial Intelligence (AI for Business),” with plans to enroll its first undergraduate students in the fall of 2026.

The article indicates that with the deep development of the digital economy, the integration of AI into business scenarios is becoming increasingly widespread. Talents who understand both technical principles and business management have become an important strategic resource for supporting national high-quality development and industrial intelligence upgrades. The “Commercial Artificial Intelligence” program is positioned as non-purely technical, focusing on the integration of AI in business applications. Its knowledge system integrates foundational theories from AI and economic management, covering cutting-edge topics such as AI-based business model innovation, AI hardware architecture and industrial ecosystem, AI technical principles and applications, business intelligence, AI-driven scientific and technological investment, and AI governance, constructing a cross-disciplinary knowledge structure that supports intelligent business decision-making.

Ding Changfa, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Xiamen University, analyzed for First Financial that AI is changing the ecology of many industries and permeating various academic fields. For instance, AI can be applied in statistics, investment, trade, finance, and business, and the combination of AI with economics and management disciplines is cultivating more interdisciplinary talents. Currently, artificial intelligence is accelerating its integration with various disciplines, giving rise to more interdisciplinary and new programs, and in the future, AI+ programs will continue to increase.

Reports from the China Education News analyze that in an era where artificial intelligence profoundly reshapes various industries, traditional disciplinary boundaries are being broken, and new knowledge systems are flourishing in the intersections. The new programs include not only embodied intelligence but also brain-machine science and technology, psychology, brain and cognitive science, biological manufacturing, energy science and engineering, intelligent computing, deep earth science and engineering, marine intelligence and unmanned technology, and commercial artificial intelligence, collectively forming a matrix of programs oriented towards future industries. The top-level design of future industries is being transmitted to the talent cultivation end of universities at an unprecedented speed.