Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business (MSAIB)
Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business (MSAIB)
Where AI Policy, Business & Technology Converge
The Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business (MSAIB) is a new, STEM-designated program launching in Fall 2026. Designed for students who want to do more than work alongside AI—who want to build, deploy, and govern AI-enabled systems that create real organizational value—the MSAIB delivers an integrated skill set that bridges technical foundations, business strategy, and responsible AI governance.
The GW School of Business sits steps away from Capitol Hill, federal agencies, Fortune 500 companies and the institutions shaping AI policy for the world. That proximity isn't just an advantage. It's part of the education experience.
First Things First: What Is a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business?
A Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business, sometimes referred to elsewhere as an MS in Artificial Intelligence, an AI master's degree, or an artificial intelligence masters program, trains professionals to deploy and govern AI in organizational settings. Unlike a data science degree focused on model-building, a master's in artificial intelligence for business combines AI technical foundations with business strategy, ethics, and implementation across finance, marketing, supply chain, and operations.
- The Last Mile of AI
The MSAIB is designed to address what practitioners call the "last mile" of AI: the professionals who take AI from concept to working reality inside organizations. MSAIB graduates are prepared to address implementation challenges, consolidate the requirements of business lines and governance functions, and integrate AI wins across functions. Professionals who can navigate the last mile of AI, especially those who grasp the governance and ethics dimensions, are among the most sought-after in the field.
- Built for Delivery, Not Just Capability
At the center of this AI master's degree is a distinction that matters more and more: the difference between AI capability and AI delivery. Capability is understanding how AI works. Delivery is designing a system, deploying it within a real organization, governing it responsibly, and ensuring it produces value reliably and at scale. GW’s MSAIB is built for delivery.
The 30-credit curriculum moves from statistical foundations and programming to generative AI applications, ethics, governance and real-world implementation. Students complete a shared four-course core before choosing one of three specialization tracks, with the flexibility to make that choice after experiencing the full core in their first semester.
- Prepared to Make AI Work in the Real World
A Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business (MSAIB) prepares students to design, deploy, and govern AI systems in real organizations. The degree combines technical foundations with business strategy, ethics, and implementation.
Graduates are not just builders or analysts, but translators and integrators between technical teams and business leadership, and between what AI can do and what organizations can successfully implement. AI is being used across marketing, finance, supply chain, operations and governance in ways that are still unfolding. The MSAIB gives students fluency across that full landscape.
Program at a Glance
Total Credits: 30 (Core Courses: 12 credits, Track Component: 18 credits)
Location: In-Person
Start Term: Fall Semester Only
Commitment: Part-Time or Full-Time
Length of Program: 4 semesters (full-time) or 5 semesters (part-time)
STEM-Designated: Up to 36 months OPT after graduation
Core Curriculum
Every MSAIB student begins with the same four-course foundation (12 of the program’s 30 required credits), regardless of background or intended track. This shared experience builds a common technical and ethical language, equipping students to choose their specialization with confidence.
Programming and Coding Agents introduces Python programming alongside AI-assisted coding agents for business applications. No prior programming experience is required. Logical thinking is the real foundation.
Probabilistic and Statistical Foundations for AI builds the mathematical reasoning behind modern AI systems, covering probability models and statistical methods as they apply to machine learning and business decision-making.
Generative AI with Business Applications is one of two courses developed specifically for the MSAIB. It covers prompt engineering, model fine-tuning, evaluation, and governance of generative AI solutions, providing broad, current AI fluency that cuts across every business function.
Ethics of AI in Business is the second course developed specifically for this program: qualitative, reading and discussion-based, and grounded in leading AI governance scholarship. This is a course about judgment in genuinely hard cases.
- The Practicum
In the final semester, all tracks converge around a real-world AI practicum, placing students inside actual problem spaces in corporations, government agencies and organizations across the Washington, DC area. Students work on live problems alongside practitioners with deep networks in the corporate world and government.
Students leave with tangible, employer-ready deliverables: deployable AI prototypes, reproducible workflows, governance documentation and business-ready solutions, providing a portfolio of work that demonstrates real-world AI implementation capability.
Choose Your Track
Students choose their track at the end of the first semester, after gaining broad exposure to core courses and faculty.
AI Systems & Deployment Track
Covering the full lifecycle of AI in organizations, from database design and digital analytics to AI foundations and business applications, culminating in an applied capstone focused on real-world delivery.
AI-Driven Analytics Track
Anchored in Decision Sciences' expertise in machine learning, algorithms, statistics and probability, with greater elective flexibility than a standalone analytics degree. Culminates in an AI-prototyping practicum.
AI Across the Enterprise Track
Focused on a broad exposure to how AI operates across business functions, combined with depth in a specific domain of their choosing: finance, marketing, international business, supply chain and sports.
The goal isn't just conceptual familiarity with AI. It's deployment-ready delivery. We want our students to be the key person in their future organization when it comes to building and orchestrating AI.
Sunghun Chung, Assistant Professor, Information Systems & Technology Management
The MSAIB allows students to get a feel for what AI in marketing looks like, what AI in accounting looks like, what AI in analytics looks like, because it's going to be used in so many different ways across businesses.
Prof. Patrick Hall, Chief AI Officer, GW School of Business
Maximize Your ROI: Customize Your Degree Path
- The 4+1 Program: Earn Your Bachelor’s and Master’s in Five Years
Students pursuing a bachelor's degree in an eligible GW school have the opportunity to accelerate the path to earning a Master's in AI for Business.
- Dual Degree Opportunity: MBA + MSAIB
Double your impact with GW’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in AI for Business (MSAIB) dual degree. This forward-thinking program combines business strategy and project leadership through a dynamic mix of coursework and hands-on experiences, preparing you to lead with purpose in today’s complex, project-driven world.
By allowing select credits to count toward both degrees, students complete 18 fewer credit hours—saving time and cost compared to pursuing each degree separately.
- Related Graduate Certificates
Tailor your degree to your professional goals by adding a graduate certificate that builds specialized expertise alongside your core business education.
Choose from the following 12-credit graduate certificates or explore all certificate options:
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Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Prepares business leaders for utilizing advancements in AI. Students will acquire foundational knowledge and hands-on skills in machine learning, deep learning, and embedded systems, and apply them to AI’s business applications.
Business Analytics
Foundational courses train students to harness “Big Data." Learn descriptive, predictive and prescriptive methodologies and become fluent in the language of data-driven decision making.
Cloud Applications and Information Technology
Students learn to design and implement cloud architecture and policies while developing the technical and strategic skills to manage cloud-based solutions.
Management of Technology and Innovation
Focuses on developing and commercializing innovations through technology, equipping students with strategies to drive business growth and launch new ventures.
What Makes GW's
MSAIB Different?
Located in Washington, D.C., GW's STEM-designated MS in AI for Business leverages unparalleled access to federal agencies, global institutions, and industry leaders, while a school-wide curriculum integrates technical training, business strategy, and responsible AI practice. Together, these elements ensure graduates are prepared not just to understand AI, but to deliver meaningful impact from day one on the job.
The D.C. Advantage: Steps Away From Where AI's Future Is Being Decided
GW’s location in Washington, D.C.—where the future of AI is being shaped—provides students with unparalleled access to learning and career opportunities. Faculty engaged in the capital’s AI governance conversations bring real-time insights into the classroom, while the practicum places students inside organizations across federal, commercial, and international sectors.
Supported by GW’s longstanding ties to government and industry, students engage with policymakers, attend forums at the Atlantic Council, and connect with institutions like the World Bank, IMF, and IBM Center for Government—all within miles of campus. Beyond coursework, simply being in D.C., attending events, building connections, and engaging with a community deeply involved in AI creates opportunities few universities can match.
AI Delivery as the Core Principle
GW’s MS in Artificial Intelligence for Business is built around a single organizing principle: delivery. Students don’t just study or analyze AI; they learn to build, deploy, and govern systems that operate at scale in real organizations, generating measurable business value. The result is a portfolio of tangible, employer-ready outputs that prove not just what they know, but what they can deliver from day one.
School-wide by Design
AI has been embedded across every business function, shaping how organizations collect, process, and analyze data; make strategic decisions; and manage compliance and governance. A program that reflects that reality must be intentionally designed, with both the student and the market in mind.
GW’s MSAIB is a school-wide collaboration, co-designed across three departments: Information Systems and Technology Management, Decision Sciences, and Strategic Management and Public Policy. Rather than assembling existing AI-adjacent courses, faculty built this curriculum from the ground up—integrating flexibility, cross-functional breadth, and a distinctive focus on governance and ethics woven throughout. Because AI doesn't live in just one function inside organizations, this program is structured to reflect that reality.
Skills That Last Beyond the Next AI Release
The MSAIB is designed for what lasts, not what’s trending. Rather than focusing on any specific tool or platform, the program teaches frameworks for evaluating and deploying AI effectively, including how systems work, where they excel or fall short, and where pairing them with human judgment matters most. Referred to as “sleeper skills” by GW Business Dean Yeltekin, these industry- and time-agnostic capabilities remain relevant as technologies evolve long after graduation.
Responsible AI Built In, Not Bolted On
Responsible AI is not a module at the end of a technical course, it is a design principle woven throughout the entire curriculum. From the required Ethics of AI in Business course developed by Strategic Management and Public Policy to technical coursework in Information Systems and Technology Management (ISTM) and Decision Sciences, students learn to evaluate AI systems for fairness, reliability, and organizational fit.
In practice, AI adoption is often constrained less by technical limits than by risk, trust, and compliance concerns. GW’s MSAIB prepares graduates to navigate those barriers, ensuring AI is not only built, but approved, scaled, and sustained in real organizations. The ethics course takes a deliberately qualitative approach, grounded in readings, discussion and engagement with the leading thinkers and frameworks shaping AI governance today, including the hard judgment calls that land on managers' desks every day.
The ethics questions firms are wrestling with today aren't the obvious ones. They're the ones that don't seem like ethics questions at first, and that's exactly where we spend our time.
Vikram Bhargava, Assistant Professor, Strategic Management & Public Policy
We don’t just arm students with AI tools, we push them to ask deeper questions: How do I make strategic decisions with AI? What does responsible deployment look like? How do I lead through this shift? That’s the mindset this program builds.
Sevin Yeltekin, Dean, GW School of Business
Career Outcomes
AI fluency is quickly becoming a baseline expectation across business roles—not just technical ones. While job titles may not be changing dramatically, the skills required to succeed are. Graduates with an artificial intelligence master’s degree are among the most in demand in this shift, and the MSAIB is designed to position them ahead of the curve across industries and functions.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, career roles aligned with the MSAIB are among the fastest-growing in the economy. Operations research analysts are projected to grow 21% by 2034, data scientists 34%, and computer and information research scientists 20%—all significantly faster than the average for all occupations. Median annual wages across these roles range from $91,000 to $141,000.
What Can You Do with a Degree in AI for Business?
Strategy & Leadership
AI Product Manager
AI Program Manager
AI Strategy Consultant
AI Transformation Lead
Analytics and AI Innovation Lead
Technical & Engineering
Machine Learning Engineer (business-facing)
AI Solutions Architect
Prompt Engineer
Model Training Lead
Analytics & Business Insight
Business Analyst (AI-fluent)
Digital Transformation Analyst
Supply Chain Analyst (AI-enabled)
AI Policy Analyst
Responsible AI & Governance
Responsible AI & Governance Specialist
Where GW Alumni Are Leading
GW Business graduates go on to work across a wide range of sectors—from federal agencies and government contractors to consulting firms, major tech companies, global financial institutions, healthcare and life sciences organizations, nonprofits, and the defense and intelligence community.
Computing & Software
Amazon Web Services
Cisco Systems
IBM
Microsoft
Oracle
Defense & Aerospace
Boeing
CIA
Lockheed Martin
U.S. Military Services
Financial & International
Federal Reserve
International Monetary Fund
The World Bank
U.S. Dept of State
Media & Comms
AT&T
Gannett Company Inc.
Sirius XM
Verizon
Career Support
Personalized Career Coaching
Experienced career coaches with a proven track record in student placement and career advancement help you build an effective job search strategy while providing resume reviews and mock interviews.
Dedicated Career Center
The GW Business F. David Fowler Career Center provides exclusive access to employer connections, recruiting opportunities and career resources, including professional development workshops on technical skills, presentations and salary negotiation.
Mentorship Opportunities
Participate in the Careers360 program to connect with industry mentors in consulting, finance or marketing.
Global Alumni Network
With more than 60,000 alumni spanning 260+ organizations, Fortune 500 companies, startups, and nonprofits around the world, you’ll gain access to mentorship, connections, and career opportunities that open doors and accelerate your impact.
Admissions
The MSAIB welcomes applicants from business, policy, engineering, the social sciences, and beyond. No prior technical degree is required. Clear thinking and genuine curiosity about AI matter most.
Admission to GW's MS in AI for Business program is competitive, with limited enrollment to support a collaborative, cohort-based learning experience.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submission is encouraged. Candidates seeking financial assistance and international students requiring visas are especially encouraged to apply early.
Our admissions team is here to guide you through the process and answer any questions along the way. Learn more about application requirements and next steps on our How to Apply page.
All applicants should have experience in:
- Statistics: Introductory-level knowledge of probability and statistics is expected in the program. Students who lack that level of knowledge are strongly recommended to complete a course before joining the program.
- Recommended courses: Introduction to Statistics, Statistical Methods, Probability and Statistics, or Business Statistics.
- Mathematics: Previous coursework in Calculus and Linear Algebra is expected of students in the program. It is strongly recommended that the students complete courses in these areas before joining the program.
- Recommended Courses: Calculus I or AB Calculus, Calculus II or BC Calculus, Linear/Matrix/Finite Algebra
- Acceptable Substitutes: Differential Equations, Mathematical Physics, Econometrics
- Programming: Basic programming knowledge in Python or a comparable language is preferred but not required. Students are expected to complete an online course on R as a prerequisite.
Please business
gwu [dot] edu (subject: MS%20in%20Business%20Analytics%20Prerequisites) (contact your admissions team) with any questions or concerns.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submission is encouraged. The admissions committee takes a holistic approach, considering academic performance, professional experience and achievements, and letters of recommendation.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
- Transcripts from all previously attended colleges or universities
- Current résumé
- Statement of Purpose: In no more than 500 words, describe how this program fits into your professional life and your career objectives.
- One letter of recommendation from a professional and/or academic reference
- Application fee (non-refundable)
- Completed online application form
No GRE or GMAT is required. However, applicants who feel their test scores strengthen their candidacy are welcome to submit them.
Applicants who require a visa to study in the United States must also fulfill additional requirements in order to be considered for admission to a graduate program at the School of Business.
Application Deadlines
Candidates seeking financial assistance and international students requiring visas are encouraged to apply early. Only completed applications, with all required materials, will be considered for admission.
- Spring 2026 - Closed
- Summer 2026 - Closed
- Fall 2026 - June 1, 2026
Please note:
- Admissions for the following programs is offered only for the fall semester: Global MBA, Accelerated MBA, Master of Accountancy in Accounting Analytics, M.S. in AI for Business, M.S. in Applied Finance, M.S. in Business Analytics
- Summer admissions deadlines apply only to our online MBA and Specialized Master's degree programs.
- Admission to all other programs is offered for the fall and spring semesters only.
- Doctoral and executive education programs may have different admissions deadlines.
Tuition, Fees & Funding
Tuition: Tuition is determined on a per-credit basis, which may very each semester depending on the number of courses you take. The base tuition for this 30-credit master's degree is ~$62,000. Students should also plan for university fees, books, and living expenses. Since rates are reviewed and updated annually, prospective students are encouraged to check the official GW tuition and fees page for the most current cost information.
Financial Aid: Many GW Business students receive merit-based awards to offset tuition costs and expenses. Additional options include graduate assistantships, employer sponsorship, and federal financial aid.
CONTACT US
Meet Your GW School of Business Team
Behind every step of your MSAIB journey is a team ready to help. Connect with faculty, admissions and advising to get the answers and guidance you need.
Admissions Team
businessgwu [dot] edu (subject: MS%20in%20Business%20Analytics%20admissions) (Email Admissions Team)
Faculty Director
Academic Advisor
- Program Faculty
Vikram R. BhargavaAssistant Professor of Strategic Management & Public Policy
Subhasish DasguptaChair, Department of Information Systems & Technology Management; Program Director, MS in Information Systems Technology; Associate Professor of Information Systems and Technology Management
Yi-Chun (Chad) HoAssociate Professor of Information Systems & Technology Management
Refik SoyerInterim Chair, Department of Decision Sciences; Program Director, MS in Business Analytics; Professor of Decision Sciences & Statistics
