Howard University Gets Into AI Game With New Course Dedicated To Engineering Careers

The class will equip students with the necessary tools to land AI career opportunities.

Howard University is expanding its academic offerings with a new AI course for engineering students.

The Washington, D.C. HBCU will launch its Intro to Artificial Intelligence this spring semester. According to Afrotech, the institution will partner with tech nonprofit CodePath. Together, they developed the course to focus on data structures, AI literacy, and agentic workflows.

In the program, Howard students will learn AI-assisted software development, using the lessons to support their post-graduate careers. Enrolled students will also gain access to Claude Code. The AI tool will help them complete a project to add to their portfolios and become more competitive candidates.

With the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s financial involvement, this course will give Howard scholars a leg up in the evolving workforce. Familiarizing them with prevalent AI practices will broaden their professional opportunities in today’s job market.

“Our work is rooted in the idea that HBCUs are not only equipping students for coursework but also building skills vital to succeeding and leading in the workplace,” said Dr. Harry L. Williams, TMCF president and CEO, in the press release. “Through programs like this and professional development such as what our Innovation & Partnership arm provides, our HBCUs are elevating excellence and creating pathways to opportunity in the fields that are defining the economy of the future.”

The course will aid students within the College of Engineering and Architecture at Howard. As fears loom over the already disproportionate amount of Black tech workers in the age of AI, as reported by Amsterdam News, the HBCU course will ensure diverse workers remain represented in the STEM fields.

“Howard has a long history of preparing students to not just succeed in today’s jobs, but to become leaders in the economy of tomorrow,” said Dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture Kimberly L. Jones, Ph.D., according to the news release.

Jones added, “Building on many years of introducing students to traditional AI concepts, this course has been reimagined to reflect AI’s ongoing evolution and respond to what our students are asking for, and what employers now expect.”

Class is now in session as these Howard students embark on a technologically advanced landscape.