A new degree in Artificial Intelligence gives an advantage even to juniors
Entering the high-tech industry has become more complex as AI requires deeper expertise from candidates. Bar-Ilan University is launching an innovative Bachelor's degree in Computational AI to train the next generation of specialists.
It has never been easy to be a junior wanting to enter the high-tech industry, but in recent years it has become even more complex. AI tools may make our lives easier in some ways, but they also make it harder for students and graduates to find their first job. When these models know how to write code at a high level, the industry expects candidates to have deep understanding and more advanced capabilities, even if they do not yet have experience.
The junior crisis, born out of this complex reality, has made the question of "what should I study" especially critical. If you are also a bit confused, the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Bar-Ilan University has a new answer for you: a Bachelor's degree in Computational Artificial Intelligence for outstanding students. This is not just another Computer Science degree where "you also learn AI," but an innovative curriculum focused entirely on developing and building complex AI systems — a field where demand is only growing.
Registration for the Bachelor's degree in AI is open, and you are invited to start studying this coming October.
Not a specialization, not a track — a dedicated degree in AI
Academia is sometimes perceived as a huge ship that struggles to change direction, even when reality requires a recalculation of the route. But the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Bar-Ilan responded quickly to the AI revolution, thereby joining leading universities in the world that offer a similar degree, including Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California San Diego.
At the core of the unique curriculum lies the understanding that AI is no longer an addition to Computer Science, but a field in its own right — and more precisely, a central and even critical field in the current reality. Students will dive into the worlds of AI as early as their first year of study: the curriculum combines strong theoretical foundations with practical development capabilities and includes advanced technologies that are not taught in a "regular" Computer Science degree.
What do you study in a Bachelor's degree in Computational AI?
Professor Gal Kaminka, who heads the program and is considered one of the leading researchers in the field of AI, explains: "The goal of the program is not only to get to know AI tools, but to understand how they work in depth — and to learn to develop the systems themselves."
Accordingly, the curriculum first creates a mathematical, theoretical, and computational infrastructure focused on AI. On this foundation, broad training in programming is added — from the basics to the development of complex systems, algorithms relevant to artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), building systems such as large language models, robotics, and more. In total, the program consists of 18 new courses in all areas of AI.
In addition, students will participate in advanced laboratories on topics such as cryptography and NLP (a field in which Bar-Ilan has been ranked first in the country from 1986-2026, according to CSRankings), and in practical workshops on cybersecurity and advanced technologies. Another component of the training is meetings with experts from the industry, with the goal of connecting studies to what is happening in the field and also presenting interesting career opportunities.
Alongside the technological training, the curriculum also includes consideration of social aspects and ethics in the AI era.
Developing the next generation of AI
Academia must adapt itself to the fast pace of the industry in order to remain relevant, and at Bar-Ilan they promise contemporary and practical training — also through the faculty itself: 15 award-winning and esteemed researchers in the fields of robotics, AI, and related fields, including two fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (there are only 6 such fellows in Israel).
In a world where in a short time almost everyone will know how to operate AI tools, the question is who also knows how to design new systems, upgrade existing ones, and create the future of AI. The new Bachelor's degree of the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Bar-Ilan seeks to impart exactly these capabilities. This is a significant advantage in the job market after the AI revolution, and especially for those aiming for sought-after roles such as ML engineers, AI researchers, and AI developers.
