After years of increasing AI-focused courses across degree programs, Washington University’s Olin Business School has now launched a new Master of Science in AI for Business (MSAIB). Accepting students now for Fall 2026, the MSAIB is a full-time, two-semester program designed in response to the growing demand for AI professionals.
The MSAIB degree addresses how difficult it was becoming for students who wanted to become experts in AI research and applications to fit those courses into the existing curriculum for business analytics. Olin’s current AI course offering makes up the core of the new program, augmented by new courses in large language models and generative AI. New AI courses that will serve as electives across programs, including AI-driven finance, are also in development, ensuring the program is versatile and relevant for all students from recent undergraduates to mid-career professionals who want to upskill.
“AI is a newer type of technology that businesses are getting excited about and want to know how to use and apply,” Todd Gormley, Vice Dean of Education and Professor of Finance is quoted in the school’s magazine. “If you want to be a successful business school, you need to stay at the cutting edge of the tools that businesses want to use.”
Olin Business School is in a unique position to launch an advanced AI degree program considering its growing offering of AI courses, research, and business support. Olin’s business analytics research hub, the Center for Analytics and Business Insights (CABI), is keeping businesses in the loop on the latest developments in AI, holding research roundtables and lunch and learn events. Award-winning research projects on the practical business applications of AI at Olin include using the technology to detect suspicious pharmaceutical shipments, and a study that demonstrated how advanced generative AI tools negatively impact freelance creative writers.
To that end, ongoing new research projects are looking into how AI can augment rather than replace human expertise, such as aiding retail investors to improve returns, helping online platforms optimize targeted advertising, and using AI to improve both the speed and accuracy of research.
Applications are open now, but note Fall 2026 enrollment for the MSAIB is currently limited to U.S. students. The school is in the process of securing government approvals to allow enrollment of international students.
