The program launch comes amid growing national attention on the need for AI-ready workforce development. During a March 2026 hearing before the House Committee on Education and Workforce’s Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, witnesses from industry and education organizations emphasized that AI literacy, employer-led training models, and experiential learning opportunities will be essential to preparing the future workforce for an AI-driven economy. The hearing also highlighted the rapidly changing nature of workplace skills and the need for colleges and universities to adapt quickly to evolving employer needs.
Additionally, a 2025 MIT report found that 95% of enterprise AI pilots fail to deliver measurable business impact. The root cause is not the technology itself, but a shortage of people who can take AI from planning to working deployment. Separate findings from Boston Consulting Group (2024) showed that only 26% of companies have the internal capability to move AI projects beyond proof of concept, and Gartner projected that, by year's end, 30% of generative AI projects would be abandoned after the proof-of-concept stage.
“Organizations in every sector need trained professionals who can identify and analyze AI’s implementation and output. That’s a specific skill set, and right now there is no undergraduate program in New England training for it,” said Endicott College President Bryan Cain, Ph.D. “This program fills that gap, and it does so in a way that is consistent with what Endicott has always done: prepare graduates who are ready to contribute from their first day on the job and above an entry-level position.”
A capstone sequence in the senior year connects student teams with regional business partners to complete full AI implementations under faculty supervision. Businesses receive faculty-guided student consulting at a discounted rate; students graduate with a portfolio of real-world work.
“By graduation, students in this program will have four years of progressive, hands-on experience through Endicott's internship model, plus a capstone showing an AI implementation they built for an actual company,” said Associate Professor Allan Glass of the Curtis L. Gerrish School of Business. “Employers in this region have been asking for candidates like that. Connecting rigorous academic preparation to real career outcomes is what the Gerrish School is built to do.”
The program is built around Endicott’s Experiential Edge academic program and four-year internship model. The 17-credit Experiential Edge sequence develops the career-readiness skills students need to secure internships, while the internship model itself provides progressive field experiences, from data-driven business exposure in the freshman year to a semester-long senior field experience in an AI or analytics implementation role. Graduates are expected to pursue positions including AI implementation consultant, business analyst, AI project manager, and operations analyst. Students who wish to continue their education may do so through Endicott’s Master of Science in Business Analytics as a fifth-year option.
Undergraduate applications open on August 1, 2026. Click here for more information.