Computer Science Enrollment Just Dropped for the First Time in 20 Years. AI Majors Are Full.

For the first time since the dot-com crash, fewer students are studying computer science. Across the University of California system, 12,652 undergraduates are majoring in CS — down 6% from last year, down 9% over two years. A national survey by the Computing Research Association found 62% of programs reporting similar declines. Students aren't leaving technology. They're leaving the discipline that built it. Where They're Going UC San Diego is the only campus in the system where CS enrollment grew. The difference: UCSD offers California's first undergraduate AI major. One in five applications to the department's CS programs now targets that AI track. Professor Steven Swanson called it "a great start" and expects the fraction to grow. MIT's AI and Decision Making major, launched in 2022, is now the institute's second-largest program with nearly 330 students. SUNY Buffalo's AI master's program grew from 5 students to 103 between 2020 and 2024 — a 20x increase. Nationwide, there are now