AI Career Courses
Led by UChicago faculty and industry partners, these multi-session courses help students build in-demand skills that are directly applicable to AI careers across industries.
Our AI Careers Courses are generously supported by Keith Wetzel P'30. This gift enables UChicago students to to hone industry-ready AI skills and develop technical projects that can be showcased in their professional portfolios.
AI Fundamentals
Learn fundamental AI skills and apply your knowledge to develop an automated workflow - no technical experience required! This four-part workshop series builds the mental models and vocabulary that are foundational to working with AI technologies. Students will complete an project that can be included on their resume and in their technical portfolio.
Pre-Requisites: Open to students in their first year at the College (1st Years and Transfer Students). No technical experience or background required.
Register here by December 15.
AI Integration
This four-part workshop series teaches students the foundational skills of AI integration. Students learn to identify where AI creates leverage, design agent architectures on paper, and evaluate AI outputs critically. The project focus is personal: each student works on a workflow from their own life or academic work.
Pre-Requisites: Open to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years. No technical experience or background required.
Pre-Registration for Winter Quarter AI courses is open now!
AI Development
In collaboration with instructors from the Data Science Institute, students will complete four workshops focused on skills required for technical AI roles at leading tech firms. They will gain hands on experience leveraging common foundational models and learn approaches to handling issues around hallucinations, operational guardrails, and AI-human interactions.
Pre-Requisites: Open to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years; previous technical experience and coursework required. Please see application for details.
Pre-Registration for Winter Quarter AI courses is open now!
AI Agent Management
The AI Agent Management career course applies the mental models from the AI Integration course by building and shipping a working AI agent in an employer-centric context. Teams of 2-4 select a project from a curated brief library of real business workflows (or pitch their own, subject to approval), build through a structured sprint cycle with formal gate checks, and present at Demo Day. The project focus shifts from personal to employer: students solve problems that look like what they would encounter in a first job or internship.
Pre-Requisites: Open to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Years. Must complete the AI Integration course, AI Development course, or pass a skills assessment.
Pre-Registration for Winter Quarter AI courses is open now!
Creative Coding & Custom AI Tools
This four-part series teaches you to use AI to create generative and interactive art. We’ll use netnet.studio, a custom open-source platform dedicated to reclaiming the web as a hand-crafted space for expression. While no prior coding experience is required, curiosity is essential and some familiarity is helpful. This workshop isn't about letting AI write for you, but about leveraging it to accelerate your learning and expand your creative possibilities. We'll incorporate AI as part of an experimental practice, ensuring this tech serves your vision rather than subconsciously dictating it. By the end, you will have built and published an interactive artwork that integrates AI both in its creation and as an integrated component of the work itself.
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
Registration for Fall Quarter has closed.
AI in Policy: Foreign Policy
Part 1: AI Literacy Fundamentals | October 6, 2026
Build fluency in how AI tools work (e.g., prompt engineering), where they add value, and how to use them responsibly. This workshop will be led our partners at DemystifyAI Chicago!
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
Registration has closed.
Part 2: AI for Policy Brief Writing | October 13, 2026
Apply the concepts from the first session to a real-world policy and public service context through a policy brief writing simulation
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
Registration has closed.
Part 3: Foreign Policy & International Relations Policy Competition | October 15, 2026
Students will apply the AI skills they've gained through the first two sessions in a policy proposal challenge related to U.S. foreign policy and international affairs.
In teams of four, students will conduct research and develop a short presentation using AI proposing a solution to the designated topic. Groups will present their proposals during the competition to an employer partner, who will provide feedback on the proposals and select the winning team.
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
AI in Policy: International Trade
Part 1: AI Literacy Fundamentals | January 7, 2027
Build fluency in how AI tools work (e.g., prompt engineering), where they add value, and how to use them responsibly.
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
Part 2: AI for Policy Brief Writing | January 14, 2027
Apply the concepts from the first session to a real-world policy and public service context through a policy brief writing simulation.
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
Part 3: Geopolitics & International Trade Policy Competition | January 21, 2027
Students will apply the AI skills they've gained through the first two sessions in a policy proposal challenge focused on how U.S. policymakers can promote international trade and strengthen geopolitical stability.
In teams of four, students will conduct research and develop a short presentation using AI proposing a solution to the designated topic. Groups will present their proposals during the competition to an employer partner, who will provide feedback on the proposals and select the winning team.
Pre-Requisites: Open to undergraduate students of all class years.
AI in Finance
The AI in Finance Program is 6-part series teaches students how public-markets investment firms evaluate companies and develop investment views, with a specific focus on using AI-enabled tools to identify themes, screen companies, compare businesses, and generate research questions as part of sourcing and researching stock pitch ideas. It also covers how AI can support research synthesis, competitor analysis, and gap identification. Sessions include:
Python for Finance Analysts
Finance Industry & Financial Modeling Seminar
Deal Analysis Practicum
Applied AI for Research, Modeling, & Pitching
Sell-Side Market Making
Buy-Side RV & Quant ETF Arbitrage Challenge
Registration for Fall 2026 has closed.