The Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) on Friday approved a new graduate program on artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
The proposed degree, a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, will be implemented by January 2027. The program will be the first in the state to specialize in the use of AI for clinical purposes and is aimed at meeting healthcare needs. Industry in Birmingham and throughout Alabama.
“This program really seems to be at the forefront of what's happening around the country, and so it's very exciting,” said Robin McGill, deputy director of academic affairs at ACHE.
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The program aims to train students for clinical roles focused on AI. The healthcare industry is increasingly using AI as the global AI healthcare market is expected to reach $12.2 billion by 2030. Suggestion. The program will train healthcare professionals in AI applications in medicine, including expertise in deep learning, computer vision, and large language modeling for healthcare data.
By 2025, when the program is expected to begin, the university system will have “one of the most comprehensive medical and health care training programs globally,” UAB Heersink School of Medicine Chief Innovation Officer Ruben Play told the commission. There will be AI.”
“UAB will not only be the only institution in Alabama to offer this comprehensive suite of AI training. They will be the only one nationally and globally,” Play said.
Stephanie C. Dolan, associate director of planning and policy, gave an informative presentation on AI to the commission prior to UAB's degree presentation. In it, he said that training people on AI will be fundamental to the workplace of the future, especially with an estimated 12 million people needing to change jobs due to AI.
“It means [employees] “There's still going to be skill and re-skilling,” Dolan said.
The proposal estimates the program would require $4.5 million in new funds over the first seven years. During this period, the program is projected to generate $6,246,000 in tuition revenue and is expected to be self-sustaining in the first year.
Interested applicants should have a four-year US degree in computer science, data science, statistics, AI, biomedical, electrical or related engineering fields, as well as a 3.0 minimum GPA and a strong background in calculus, statistics, and linear algebra. A bachelor's degree is required.