The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the reorganization of the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences to create a new, standalone College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence during its December meeting on Thursday.
The School of CDIS, which was formed in 2019, will detach from the College of Letters and Science, under which it was initially created, beginning summer 2026, according to UW News.
Since CDIS’ introduction in 2019, its data science major has been one of the fastest growing majors at UW.
The computer science major, which has been available at UW since 2015, has more than doubled the number of enrollments from over 1,000 in 2015 to 3,000 in 2025, according to UW News.
The new division will be comprised of three different units — computer sciences, the Information School and statistics with a human-centered, interdisciplinary approach, according to UW News.
The new college will act as a hub for cross-campus and cross-disciplinary education around AI use and societal integration, according to UW, positioning AI as an innovative tool to learn that requires thoughtful and ethical use.
CAI will be the first new college UW has announced in over 50 years, with the last division occurring in 1983, when the School of Veterinary Medicine was opened, according to UW News.
