F&M Stories
An AI Certificate to Prepare World-Ready Leaders
Franklin & Marshall College announced today a distinctive interdisciplinary certificate to empower students to successfully lead and thrive in a rapidly evolving world. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Liberal Arts Certificate will equip students with ethical judgment, critical thinking, wisdom, and technical proficiency in a moment when powerful technological, economic, and societal changes are reshaping how we live and work.
AI has been taught and researched at F&M for over a decade, reflecting the College’s notable expertise in this powerful technology, as well as its expanding uses and implications. The Artificial Intelligence and the Liberal Arts Certificate is a reflection of the College's signature approach to examining AI through a blended lens of humanistic inquiry and technical proficiency. This foundation culminates in real-world experiences, such as internships or research projects, that help students further explore how and when to use AI in service to a more human future.
“Our AI and the Liberal Arts certificate empowers students to ask the hard, timely questions about AI,” said Jason "Willie" Wilson, assistant professor of computer science. “Asking these questions requires combining a practical, hands-on understanding of the technology with the skills to critically analyze the implications for people, the way we learn, and the way our society functions.”
Assistant Professor of Computer Science Jason "Willie" Wilson (pictured) and El Muchuwa '26 co-designed a multidisciplinary course that challenges students to navigate the complex intersection of AI and ethics. This innovative approach to AI education was recently published and presented at the SIGCSE Technical Symposium, highlighting F&M’s leadership in preparing the next generation of responsible AI developers.
El Muchuwa '26 (pictured) provided input and extensive planning into the Machine Ethics syllabus. “What we will work on moving forward is making this information accessible outside of F&M, so that other colleges can have access to creating components of machine ethics. Because in an age where machines and AI and technology affect everybody, we need it,” Muchuwa said.
As part of the course, student teams collaborated with faculty across various fields—from public health to creative writing—to develop original AI ethics materials.
During the fall semester, Associate Professor of Sociology Caroline Faulkner and Senior Instructional Designer Kelly Miller offered a four-part workshop for faculty to help them guide students navigating AI for a wide variety of academic purposes.
The series, “Beyond Abstinence Only: What Our Students Need to Learn About AI,” focused on topics such as AI hype, AI literacy frameworks and cognitive concerns, the ethical components of AI literacy, and a look at future opportunities and challenges of AI.
Under the guidance of Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy Patrick Fleming, Nancy Nguyen ’26 (pictured) and Vu Nguyen ’26 are bridging environment and economic students with the support of AI. The students used AI as a preliminary expert to gauge the influence of six different water-quality indicators on children's health, fish health and flood risk (defined as ecological goods and services).
The certificate is just one facet of a campus-wide commitment to fostering human-centered AI innovation. Grounding this modern frontier in a timeless liberal arts foundation, F&M integrates AI as a tool for inquiry with an established, hallmark curriculum; rotating courses, programs, and learning circles that dive into special interest topics; innovative faculty research, including projects funded by the National Science Foundation; and a suite of curated resource guides and toolkits.
As students investigate these systems’ potential, they become technically proficient while sharpening the high-level skills—critical thinking, ethical judgment, and creative problem-solving—that are more important than ever in workforces being transformed by new technologies and at top graduate schools. This is the F&M advantage: students learn with purpose, mastering the tools of the future while cultivating enduring humanist perspectives. In the process, they form the skillset and mindset to become responsible, visionary leaders for the next generation.
“AI is reshaping how we learn, work, and lead,” said Andrew Rich, F&M president. “At F&M, our students learn not only how to use powerful technologies, but how to question them, guide them, and apply them responsibly to prepare for leadership in an ever-changing world.”
F&M students are invited to enroll in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Liberal Arts Certificate now, ahead of the program's formal launch in August 2026.
Imagine 1,600 computer processors combining power toward one task. This is the engine
driving innovation at F&M. Called a High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster, this
elite shared resource accelerates discovery, empowers large-scale research, and fuels
the collaborative spirit that defines the F&M experience.Powering Innovation: Inside F&M’s Campus Supercomputer
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