“A.I. is now becoming an essential tool in fields way outside the scope of a handful of tech companies,” said Adam Klivans, a computer science professor at Texas who is the director of the online A.I. master’s program. Noting that A.I. experts are in high demand in industries like biotechnology and finance, Professor Klivans said the new online degree was “something working professionals can participate in to learn the expertise their companies need without leaving their jobs.”

The funding to develop the new master’s program came in part from the National Science Foundation. In 2020, the foundation awarded the University of Texas a five-year, $20 million grant to establish an A.I. institute in machine learning. That is a field in which computer algorithms learn to make predictions by analyzing large data sets — such as predicting which drug formulations could be best used to treat new viruses.