BY THE NUMBERS: UMW’s New Masters of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business

(From 'New Degree Program Proposal'—Submitted by UMW, Approved by State Council of Higher Education for Virginia)

By Steve Watkins

ADVANCE EDITOR

Markus Winkler/Pexels

$400,000: Amount requested from the General Assembly to cover first-year start-up costs for new Master’s of Science in AI in Business at UMW (“new faculty to be hired and new faculty and existing faculty to develop the curriculum”).

$140,000: Salary for a new assistant professor of Business/AI to be hired for the 2027-28 academic year.

$43,900: Benefits for a new assistant professor of Business/AI.

$183,900: Total starting compensation for a new assistant professor of Business/AI.

$61,564: Average salary for an assistant professor at UMW, according to AI.

18: Percentage below the national average for an assistant professor at UMW, according to AI.

$20,000: Amount budgeted for first-year marketing of new MS in AI in Business at UMW.

453: Number of surveys sent to senior undergraduate Bachelor of Science students in April 2025 to gauge their interest in a Masters of Science in AI at UMW.

25: Number who completed and returned the survey.

4, 2: Number who responded “Definitely” and “Very Likely.”

374: Number of surveys sent to alumni of UMW Bachelor of Science Business and Bachelor of Liberal Studies in Leadership programs.

12: Number completed and returned.

3, 3, 2: Number who responded “Definitely,” “Very Likely,” and “Likely.”

11: Projected number of 2026-2027 enrollees in MS in AI in Business at UMW.

22: Projected number of enrollees in MS in AI in Business at UMW each of the next four years.

110: Number of 2025 College of William & Mary MS in AI in Business graduates.

594: Number of 2025 University of Virginia MS in AI in Business graduates.

0: Expected number of full-time enrollees in MS in AI in Business at UMW

30: Number of credit hours required for MS in AI in Business at UMW

3, 2, 1: Number of Business Faculty, Computer Science Faculty, and Mathematics Faculty members at UMW who will teach ¼ time in the MS in AI in Business program

0: Number of MS in AI in Business at UMW classes that will involve in-person student-teacher contact.

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Steve Watkins is editor of The FXBG Advance. You can find Steve Watkins Books, his author Substack page, HERE. You can find Pie & Chai Magazine, which Steve also edits, HERE. And you can contact him HERE.