As artificial intelligence reshapes the cybersecurity and data science industries, USFs Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing is infusing AI into its courses.
Starting this fall, new and existing courses focusing on developing artificial intelligence skills will be added to the colleges course roster or enhanced with added AI module components.
Artificial intelligence is not something we treat as a separate discipline anymore. The daily use of AI is becoming an integral part of how work gets done across industries, said Bellini College launch Dean Sudeep Sarkar. Our goal is to make sure students understand how to use these tools thoughtfully, responsibly and effectively in the careers theyre preparing to enter.
AI course expansion
During the past year, the college has significantly increased its AI course offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. And that expansion will continue into the coming year.
New undergraduate courses such as and specialized topics in reflect a growing emphasis on applied learning. These courses build on a lineup of existing courses that includes machine learning, natural language processing and computer vision.
Courses are expanding at the graduate level, too. Classes such as have been added, and more courses, including , tackle advanced AI topics.
These courses are designed to introduce students to AI concepts at the undergraduate level and nurture their continuing education at advanced levels, preparing them to work with these technologies in real-world settings.
Experiential learning is at the core of what we do, Sarkar said. We want our students to be ready for the real world when they graduate, and that means giving them the access to the tools used in todays industries and showing them how to use them.
AI in software engineering education
, which is a required course for all graduating computer science students, now incorporates artificial intelligence into its curriculum. In this course, students learn how generative AI can support every phase of the software development process.
We are upgrading the required software engineering course to make it industry-ready and up to date with generative AI, Assistant Professor Amit Seal Ami said.
Students will learn how to apply AI tools to improve efficiency and decision-making while continuing to build a strong foundation in core software engineering principles. The course will also provide access to premium AI models.
Students were already learning about the classic concepts of software engineering/software development life cycle in the course, such as requirements of engineering, designing the architecture, construction, testing and maintenance, Ami said. Now, they will learn how to leverage GenAI so that they can become more efficient, effective, and industry ready.
To ensure the curriculum reflects current industry practices, Ami is working with experienced professionals, including architects and engineers from companies such as Google and IBM, who are providing feedback on course design. Guest lecturers from industry also are expected to participate, giving students additional real-world perspective.
Cybersecurity course enhancements supplement with AI
Bill Gauvin, a professor of practice in cybersecurity in the Bellini College, is incorporating artificial intelligence directly into the courses he teaches to reflect how the field is evolving.
AI is changing the cybersecurity world, so our cybersecurity courses need to address this need, he said. In the short term, I have added a module to each of the courses I have been teaching.
The modules he developed introduce students to both the applications and limitations of AI across several core cybersecurity courses.
In, students learn how AI applies to cybersecurity, along with an introduction to adversarial machine learning, which is the study of how attackers manipulate AI models with carefully crafted inputs to produce incorrect or misleading results, and how to defend against such threats.
As part of the course, students complete assignments on prompt engineering and how to use AI to identify and mitigate cyber-attacks.
In his course, Gauvin incorporates lessons on AI-driven network defense. Students also have the opportunity to work with a machine learning model that helps detect whether live traffic is malicious or benign.
The most extensive AI module addition comes in Gauvins class. Here students learn and apply AI techniques to detect and analyze embedded threats hidden within Excel spreadsheets. They learn how to use extraction methods to isolate suspicious content and use a Random Forest machine learning engine to evaluate whether the content is malicious.
Gauvin plans to develop additional modules that explore emerging approaches such as agentic AI.
The module will show the use of agentic AI in the use of malware analysis and how to pivot from one known piece of information pertaining to the malware, to additional indicators of compromise, he said.
As the use of AI continues to evolve, USFs Bellini College is taking a measured approach to prepare students for a tech-focused workforce and provide them with access to emerging technologies. For students, it means learning not just about AI, but how to apply it in practical, real-world contexts.