Artificial Intelligence (AI), Youth, and Society Graduate Certificate

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Youth, and Society equip students with a critical understanding of how artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), robotics, and other emerging technologies are shaping the lives, learning ecosystems, and social experiences of children and young adult users. This interdisciplinary certificate program examines the dynamic interplay between these technologies and youth, emphasizing the transformative potential and ethical considerations of their use, as well as the importance of digital fluency in everyday life, education, and community settings. This certificate is designed to provide a supplementary perspective for students already enrolled in graduate programs and to enrich information professionals, educators, technology designers, and community partners who hold graduate degrees and wish to gain knowledge and/or expand their roles as leaders, advocates, and innovators shaping the future of children and young adults’ learning experiences and digital fluency in today’s society.

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus
Distance Education

Graduate Certificate Type

Stand-Alone
Add-On

Admissions Standards/Procedures

Interested applicants must be currently admitted to a degree program at UTK or can apply directly for the Artificial Intelligence (AI), Youth, and Society Graduate Certificate through the Graduate Admissions Office.

Credit Hours Required

12 graduate credit hours

Note: Students earning an additional graduate degree concurrently with the Artificial Intelligence (AI), Youth, and Society must complete at least 3 graduate credit hours in excess of the number of credit hours required for the graduate degree. For example, a student enrolled in both the MSIS degree (36 credit hours) and the Artificial Intelligence (AI), Youth, and Society (12 credit hours) would need to earn a total of 39 graduate credit hours to earn both credentials.

Required Courses

Students must take the following three core courses (9 graduate credit hours):
INSC 542 - Social Informatics
INSC 561 - Artificial Intelligence, Youth, and Society
INSC 566 - Critical Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence, Youth, and Society
Students must take one of the following Elective Courses (3 graduate credit hours):
INSC 586 - Usability Testing and Evaluation
INSC 588 - Human-Computer Interaction
INSC 590 - Problems in Information Sciences

Additional Course Requirements

School of Information Science masters students select 3 graduate credit hours from the list of recommended elective courses.

Non-Course Requirements

To receive the certificate, students must:

complete the Graduate Certificate Course Verification Form and
through MyUTK, apply to graduate from the certificate program.

Undergraduates

Graduate Students