Is artificial intelligence prompting Arizona college students to change majors?

PHOENIX – Arizona college students might be changing their majors based on the increase of artificial intelligence in the workforce and classroom.

According to the Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2026 State of Higher Education Study, 16% of enrolled U.S. college students said they switched their majors or fields of study because of the potential impact of AI technology on their chosen industry or future career.

Jean Mandernach, executive director at Grand Canyon University’s Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching, said this trend is part of an ongoing shift due to AI.

“College is all about figuring out, ‘What do I like; what’s going on?'” she said. “And this is the first generation of students that’s been fully immersed in the AI era, so it really makes sense that they’re coming in and [considering], ‘How will AI impact what I hope to do in my field?” she said.

Artificial intelligence is already a significant factor for students before they reach college. Research by the College Board found that 84% of high school students nationwide use some form of AI technology.

Which students are changing majors due to AI technology most?

About half of the students who changed their majors because of AI technology were in vocational or technology fields, according to the Lumina Foundation-Gallup study.

The business, engineering, social sciences, humanities, health care and natural sciences fields were also represented in the findings.

“I really don’t see there being areas that go away, but I see almost every area shifting and starting to say, ‘How does AI interact, how does it change what we need to focus on and need to be able to do?’” she said.

Other Arizona universities are also integrating AI into coursework, with musician will.i.am teaching a course at Arizona State University this semester called “The Agentic Self,” which focuses on artificial intelligence and building AI agents.

On an elementary school level, the Balsz School District in Phoenix is partnering with GenTech, a technology support company, to teach kids about AI, coding, robotics and more.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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