What is an AI and Innovation Specialization?

Our AI and Innovation Specialization is an optional concentration you can choose for your Bachelor’s in Business Administration degree. It equips you with business-focused artificial intelligence, innovation, leadership, management, and product strategy skills that align with employer demand. . You'll explore how AI can be used to improve business processes, support data-driven decision-making, identify new opportunities, and drive innovation. You'll also develop skills in strategic thinking, problem-solving, change management, and product development, while learning to evaluate emerging technologies and apply AI responsibly to real-world business challenges.

Can I study artificial intelligence online?

Absolutely. Our artificial intelligence courses, including those in our AI and Innovation Specialization, can be taken 100% online, so you can study when and where it works for you. Take advantage of our online student resources , which support remote learning through 24/7 virtual tutoring options, our mobile app, a robust student portal, an e-library, and digital course materials.

Is an AI degree worth it?

Yes, an AI degree or specialization can be worth it, especially as AI integration continues to saturate different markets, industries, and roles — making it a core workforce skill rather than a niche tech skill. In fact, our 2025 workforce research report, Bridging the Gap , found that employers list skilled use of AI as the fourth most important capability for employees to have, followed by leadership and management skills.

What degree is best for learning AI and business innovation?

Our Bachelor’s in Business Administration with an AI and Innovation Specialization is a great degree for people who want to use innovative solutions to promote business growth since it blends soft skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and contextual reasoning with low-tech applied AI and product innovation skills. We also have more AI programs to explore that may fit your career goals.

How do I learn AI as a beginner?

Enrolling in an academic program like our AI and Innovation Specialization is a great way to establish beginner AI knowledge and skills because you don’t need a technical background in coding or programming to understand the curriculum. The courses focus on using fully developed OpenAI, machine learning, and automation tools and how they can be applied to optimize certain business operations and tasks.

Which AI course is best for beginners?

Our Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence in Business course, which is included in our AI and Innovation Specialization, is a great option for beginners because it provides foundational knowledge of AI ethics, privacy, and business applications.

How do you train for AI?

Training for AI consists of hands-on practice with AI tools, prompt engineering, assessing generative AI outputs, applying AI strategies to solve common problems, studying AI ethics, and understanding best practices for AI implementation. .

What skills can you learn in an AI and Innovation Specialization?

A few specific skills you can learn with this specialization include:. . Applying business-driven leadership and management strategies. Introducing a new product line or service. Using AI to analyze complex data for strategic insight or forecasting customer demand for supply chain planning. Utilizing AI chatbots as a customer service tool. .

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Bachelor’s in Business Administration with an AI and Innovation Specialization

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Overview

Drive business growth with our AI and Innovation Specialization

Gain the business-focused AI skills employers are looking for.

Today’s organizations understand that unlocking the full competitive advantage of AI requires uniquely human strengths, like contextual judgment, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, creativity, and ethical understanding, to guide it.

With our AI and Innovation Specialization, you’ll cultivate a versatile, job-ready AI skill set through an accessible curriculum designed for nontechnical business professionals. Learn how to leverage your human insight to effectively apply AI solutions to optimize customer engagement, operations, product development, and decision-making business functions by getting hands-on experience with AI-driven applications and building transferrable durable skills for any industry:

Data analytics to inform strategies and predict outcomes across marketing, supply chains, and other business areas.
AI literacy and machine learning to manage ethics of artificial intelligence, develop data-driven solutions, improve customer engagement, automate content generation, drive innovation, and improve efficiency.
Innovation and design thinking to create, implement, expand, and manage new AI-enhanced products and services.
Durable skills like communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership to build the foundation for success in the business world.

39 courses

120 credits

2 years and 8 months

on an accelerated schedule or 4 years on a normal schedule*

#2 Best Colleges for IT in America in 2026 by Niche

*Accelerated schedule does not include breaks and assumes 3 semesters of year-round, full-time enrollment in 12-19 credit hours a semester per 12-month period. Normal schedule assumes 2 semesters of enrollment in 12-19 credit hours per semester per 12-month period.

Specialization benefits

AI and innovation perks

When you earn your AI and Innovation Specialization here at DeVry, you’ll gain access to career-aligned resources designed to help you reach your academic and professional goals.

Business Edge Scholarship

See if you qualify for our Business Edge Scholarship,¹ available for eligible undergraduate students enrolling in a DeVry business or accounting program.

Learn more about our Business Edge Scholarship

Award-winning university

Our recent awards and recognitions include making Newsweek’s America's Top Online Colleges for 2026 list, Niche’s Best Online Colleges in America list, and the 2026 GSV 150 list.

Experiential learning

To help prepare you with job-ready applied skills, your AI and Innovation Specialization curriculum includes hands-on practice with industry software like Microsoft Office and AI tools like Lucid Charts, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and more. Your coursework culminates in an immersive capstone project demonstrating what you’ve learned.

Expert instructors

100% of our full-time faculty have worked in the industry they teach, and 70% of visiting professors currently work in their field,² helping you gain modern, career-aligned insights.

Resume-boosting digital badges

Earn the following digital badges as part of your core Bachelor’s in Business Administration curriculum:

AI and Analytics Badge: Introduction to AI and Business Analytics (BIAM112)
AI in Business Badge: Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence in Business (BUSN210)
AI and Leadership Badge: Leadership in the Age of AI (LEAD570G)
Technology Management Badge: Innovation Through Technology and AI (MIS541G)

Career outcomes

Prepare for your future with career-aligned AI skills

36,100 job openings

each year nationwide from 2025 to 2035 for administrative services and facilities managers are projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though actual local growth may vary.

$114,130

was the median wage for administrative services and facilities managers in 2025, according to BLS data.^†

^†Employment and earnings vary by experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area, and are not specific to DeVry graduates.

Job opportunities in business AI and innovation

With a business administration foundation blended with AI skills for data analytics, marketing, operations, and product innovation, you’ll have the opportunity to pursue careers such as:

AI application analyst
AI governance and ethics specialist
AI implementation associate
AI product manager
AI solutions specialist
AI strategy manager
Business intelligence manager

Explore career resources

Upskill for the future of business

Lightcast’s Beyond the Buzz report found that 51% of 2024 job postings for nontechnical roles required AI skills compared to 39% in 2019, demonstrating significant growth in demand for AI fluency outside of the tech sector.

Developing job-ready AI skills may lead to a significant return on investment

Lightcast’s report also found that job postings that mentioned at least 1 AI skill requirement listed median advertised salaries that were 28% higher than postings that did not.

As businesses increasingly rely on professionals with AI knowledge, upskilling in both AI and durable skills like leadership can be a critical differentiator to help you stand out in the field.

Skills

What you’ll learn in our AI and Innovation Specialization

Develop the knowledge and skills you need to shape how businesses develop, deliver, and scale value to consumers — harnessing the power of AI applications — without a background in tech or coding.

As you progress through your program, you'll be able to:

Apply AI to improve performance

Learn to apply generative AI, machine learning, and automation tools to strengthen cross-functional performance in ways that mirror real-world enterprise use cases.

Lead and manage innovation

Cultivate design thinking techniques to innovate new products as you explore the logistical elements of expanding, implementing, or introducing products and services.

Translate data into strategic decisions

Derive actionable insights from AI-enabled data collection, analysis, and visualization, so you can translate findings to stakeholders, inform business decisions, and achieve organizational goals.

Design AI-enabled customer journeys

Analyze the customer life cycle and successful customer relations programs to develop AI-driven chatbots, product recommendations, and targeted marketing campaigns that improve engagement and conversions.

Improve operational efficiency

Study process design, capacity planning, quality management, supply chain coordination, inventory control, scheduling, AI-assisted operations management, and other key aspects of supply chain operations to navigate challenges and streamline processes.

Learn AI management and ethics

Evaluate different artificially intelligent applications and learn responsible and ethical AI deployment practices to reduce biases and improve outputs.

AI and Innovation Specialization FAQs

Curriculum & courses

Get to know our Bachelor’s in Business Administration program

With an emphasis on planning and communication skills, our Bachelor’s in Business Administration is a great fit for those seeking a well-rounded business education. The curriculum combines an interdisciplinary foundation with essential business coursework, helping you develop the skills to collaborate effectively across departments, contribute to solving business challenges, and lead change within your organization.

Learn more about our Bachelor’s in Business Administration

Explore our AI and Innovation Specialization

Focus your studies on the AI solutions and creative skills that make an intelligent business impact. Gain practical experience applying OpenAI technologies effectively and ethically in a business environment to generate value across customer relations, data analytics, supply chain operations, and product development.

+ Expand all

AI and Innovation

20 credit hours required

This course explores core principles of artificial intelligence (AI) and their strategic applications in modern business environments. Students analyze how AI technologies support business functions such as marketing, operations, finance and customer engagement. They also examine real-world use cases to understand how AI enhances decision-making, drives efficiency, impacts privacy and creates competitive advantage.

This course examines components of solid customer relations programs and prepares students to recognize and participate in such programs. Emphasis is placed on how AI technologies can support business functions, customer engagement and the customer life cycle. Students examine real-world use cases to understand how application of AI can enhance customer relations, efficiency and competitive advantage. They also explore customer relations as an effective sales technique.

This course explores integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across key business functions, including marketing, operations, supply chain, finance and customer experience. Students evaluate case studies and industry applications to understand how AI methods such as machine learning, automation and predictive analytics can drive strategic outcomes. The course emphasizes evaluating AI solutions for business value, scalability and ethical considerations.

Students in this course evaluate how artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to support understanding of an organization’s structure, operations, processes and strategic goals. Methods and techniques for needs assessment, data collection, elicitation, analysis and synthesis are evaluated, with emphasis on how AI-driven tools enhance these processes. Through problems and case studies, students examine organizational functions across complex business environments to evaluate how AI can inform decision-making, optimize strategies and create competitive advantage.

This course examines concepts, tools and practices applied in designing, managing and improving business operations. Students explore how organizations transform inputs into goods and services efficiently while meeting customer expectations. Topics include process design, capacity planning, quality management, supply chain coordination, inventory control, scheduling and project management. Students analyze operational challenges and develop strategies to improve efficiency, productivity and competitiveness in diverse industries.

This course explores the processes of creativity and innovation as tools for marketers and small business managers. Students identify and evaluate opportunities for using these processes and apply them to implementing and expanding product lines in corporate and entrepreneurial ventures. A structure for introducing new products is presented.

From the beginning, DeVry staff and instructors provided me with academic theory and practical application for success. My program of study focused on competitive edge technology with a flexible learning platform, which provides valuable knowledge, practical skills, and confidence in my academic and professional abilities.

Latanya M.

Bachelor’s in Business Administration, current student

Accreditations & recognitions

Learn from an accredited university

Being accredited means we’ve met rigorous quality standards and are committed to delivering the education you deserve.

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC): Institutionally, DeVry University is accredited by HLC, www.hlcommission.org. Our Keller Graduate School of Management is included in this accreditation.
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP): Our Bachelor of Science in Business Administration is accredited by ACBSP, acbsp.org, demonstrating it has met standards of business education that promote teaching excellence.³ Learn more about program outcomes and student achievement.

Learn more about our programmatic accreditations and recognitions

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about our AI and Innovation Specialization