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AI is becoming a larger part of Penn’s curriculum. Here’s what the numbers show

Headline from The Daily Pennsylvanian · compiled from 1 source

Our analysis · checked against 4 sources

Penn courses using keyword 'AI' rose from 5 to 61, 2022–2027, DP analysis finds

A Daily Pennsylvanian keyword search of Penn course listings found courses mentioning "AI" rose from five in fall 2022 to 61 scheduled for spring 2027, led by Computer and Information Science (17). The count measures listings, not share of the curriculum; average seat fill rates stayed at 60–80% from fall 2024 to fall 2026.

The framing"AI is becoming a larger part of Penn's curriculum" does rest on a rise in courses using the keyword "AI" from 5 in fall 2022 to 61 in spring 2027. But the analysis gives no total Penn course count to show AI's share, and average seat fill rates stayed between 60% and 80% from fall 2024 to fall 2026.

What the headline leaves out

  • No total Penn course count is given, so AI's share of the curriculum is unknown; the 1,120% rise starts from a base of five.
  • Average seat fill rates stayed between 60% and 80% from fall 2024 to fall 2026, showing no clear rise in demand.
  • Only 38% of spring 2027 AI-related courses have no registration restrictions.
  • Penn leaves AI use to individual professors; a December 2025 Price Lab white paper argues for some AI-free coursework.

What happens next

The College of Arts and Sciences' new general education curriculum takes effect in fall 2027, when a DP editorial and a Price Lab white paper want Critical Writing Seminars made AI-free. Penn Engineering's joint M.S. in Data Science and AI also takes its first cohort in fall 2027. Annenberg lecturer Matthew O'Donnell supports professor-by-professor AI policy while noting it may create inconsistent experiences across courses.

Possible knock-on effects
  • The new M.S. in Data Science and AI could add new AI-related courses, which may raise keyword counts further; whether future growth would concentrate in engineering is not shown in the DP's reporting. (precedent: After the AI undergraduate major began in fall 2024, two new courses were added to the curriculum.. Watch for: Fall 2027 course listings showing new AI-keyword courses tied to the M.S. program, and which schools they sit in.)
  • As more courses touch AI under a professor-by-professor policy, students could face differing AI rules course to course; sources raise this as a possible source of pressure for set AI-free requirements, but the reporting does not predict that outcome. (named expert: Matthew O'Donnell, Annenberg lecturer, on inconsistent experiences; Price Lab white paper (Dec. 2025) urging required AI-free coursework.. Watch for: Whether the fall 2027 Critical Writing Seminar rules include an AI-free requirement.)

Sources: AI is becoming a larger part of Penn's curriculum. Here's what the numbers show (Daily Pennsylvanian), Penn writing seminar AI-free instruction editorial (Daily Pennsylvanian), Penn Engineering new AI coursework 2025 (Daily Pennsylvanian), Penn Engineering 2026 master's AI program (Daily Pennsylvanian)

Written in our own words from the sources above, and checked claim by claim before it was published. The report below says only what each outlet said.

The report: what outlets said

According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn courses containing the keyword "AI" rose from five in fall 2022 to 61 in spring 2027, "a 1,120% increase."[1]

The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that it analyzed over 1,000 courses that contain the keywords "AI," "artificial intelligence," or "machine learning" between fall 2022 and spring 2027.[1]The paper says that in spring 2027, classes containing AI-related keywords were listed across 56 subject areas.[1] According to the analysis, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science accounted for 44 and 42 courses, respectively.[1]The DP reports that Computer and Information Science led spring 2027 offerings with 17 AI-related courses, followed by Statistics and Data Sciences with 13.[1] It adds that CIS 5450: "Big Data Analytics" ranked among the two most highly enrolled AI-related courses each semester[1] from spring 2024 to spring 2026.The paper says Annenberg researcher and lecturer Matthew O'Donnell attributed this increase in part to the broader discourse surrounding AI.[1] O'Donnell told the DP that AI is "a communication technology, so communication is well placed as a discipline to talk about it."[1]According to the DP, Penn has generally left decisions about its classroom use to individual professors.[1] The paper reports that O'Donnell supports this approach and said, "It's not going to be appropriate for every situation, and that's the nature of learning."[1]The DP points to the writing seminar "What AI Means for Writers"[1] as an example of AI in humanities courses. Engineering first-year Stanley Yang told the paper the course let him "see the impact it had on humanities."[1]

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Sources

  1. [1]AI is becoming a larger part of Penn’s curriculum. Here’s what the numbers show - The Daily Pennsylvanian

Every sentence here reports what a named outlet said, with a link to it. Compiled by 93 from the reporting below.

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