Ethical Artificial Intelligence
Graduate Certificate
About this program
The Certificate in Ethical Artificial Intelligence helps you understand the social impacts of AI across fields like healthcare, law, media, and business. You’ll study AI technology, privacy, and decision-making, and learn how to apply ethics in real-world settings. Through three courses and a research project, this program prepares you to evaluate and guide responsible AI use in today’s fast-changing world.
Program Curriculum and Requirements
Program Scope
A multidisciplinary program integrating courses from the Computer Science and Philosophy Departments and the Lam Family College of Business.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral technology in many areas (medicine, health, autonomous driving cars, business, loan approvals, law enforcement, distribution of government and health services, news filtering, etc.) and is often considered the driving force of a 4th technological revolution.
The impact of AI is expanding rapidly, but due to its complexity it offers challenges to ensuring proper, ethical, unbiased and transparent operations. This is evidenced by increasing reporting on the use and misuse of AI in government and media, and calls for greater scrutiny and oversight. Skills related to ethical use of AI will be more and more important for both developers and users of AI technology.
To address these needs, the Computer Science Department, the Lam Family College of Business and the Philosophy Department established a multi-college Graduate Certificate in Ethical AI (10 units).
Our approach to this certificate is unique in its multidisciplinary and multi-college nature, which involves three critical areas necessary to understanding this subject:
AI Technologies and Applications
Courses in this core area focus on algorithmic and technical principles of AI and can be selected to fit the background of graduate students from Computer Science, Business or Philosophy.
Ethics and Compliance in Business
A focus on integrity, understanding and applying managerial ethical decision-making; understanding regulatory compliance as it relates to organizational functions; developing ethics training, and evaluating stakeholder impacts.
Ethics Principles
Courses on the ethical, political, and social ramifications of current and emerging uses of AI.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students will understand the basic principles and technologies of AI and related issues of privacy, security, and transparency.
- Students will understand how to balance ethics with business needs and apply ethical automated decision-making in various business areas.
- Students will understand the ways to enforce ethical standards and compliance with laws and rules related to the ethical use of AI.
- Students will understand the significance of ethical AI for society.
- Students will be able to analyze and apply knowledge of ethical AI in the form of a case study.
Admissions Information
Selection for admission to the program will be based on applicants’ academic background, work experience, and personal recommendations. We have two distinctive admissions procedures: one for matriculated graduate students at SF State and another for area professionals and non-SF State students who have completed a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college with a 3.0 GPA or better.
We welcome applications from current matriculated San Francisco State University graduate students and non-matriculated post-baccalaureate domestic students interested in the multidisciplinary study of Artificial Intelligence and Ethics.
Current MBA, MSA or MSBA students are not required to apply for admissions into a graduate business certificate program – the requirements can be met while seeking the graduate business degree.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with deadlines in May and October.
Ready to apply? Visit the Graduate Students page to get started.
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Questions about the program or how to apply? Don’t hesitate to reach out.