At Amberton University, a counseling class and a finance class now share a common thread. Both teach students how to work with artificial intelligence.
That is by design. The Garland, Texas, institution has added an AI component to every course it offers. Its leaders call the result an “AI-literate campus.”
“Every single class, 100% of our classes, has an AI component or competency now,” said Dr. Carol A. Palmer, Amberton University’s President.
Some universities confine AI to a single program. Amberton took a wider approach. Business, counseling, and interdisciplinary students all incorporate AI into their regular coursework. Amberton students are taught to work with AI responsibly and ethically.
A Campus-Wide Standard
Dr. J. Alexander Sinclair teaches in Amberton’s Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence program. He recently became the university’s IT director. He credits Dr. Palmer’s strategic vision for the shift.
“Dr. Palmer’s already made us an AI-literate campus and has AI incorporated into all the courses,” Sinclair said.
The change shows up in each course description. Every class lists its competencies, including its AI element. Students can review these details before they register.
Amberton also lists acquired skills with every course. These are practical abilities students can carry straight into their jobs. Dr. Palmer said, “Every course university-wide has acquired skills, so you know exactly what skills you have learned when you complete the course.”
What AI Looks Like in Different Fields
The AI content shifts by discipline. Management students assess how managers use AI to sharpen their communication. Economics students study AI’s role in predicting markets and modeling consumer behavior. They also weigh its ethical limits.
Counseling students examine AI-assisted assessment tools for adult and geriatric clients. That coursework stresses clinical boundaries and professional judgment. Finance students use AI to evaluate global financial dynamics. Another course covers the responsible use of AI in persuasive messaging.
Sinclair said this breadth mirrors real workplace demand. He pointed to fields such as counseling, research, and project management. “We’re seeing it being used across all of these,” he said. “By being an AI-literate campus, we’re enabling our students and empowering our students and faculty and staff to ride all of these waves.”
A Tool, Not a Threat
Amberton is not a research institution. It treats AI in practical terms.
Dr. Sinclair said the university has kept its view of AI simple. “We’ve never really looked at AI as anything more than a tool that can help our students be more successful in the workforce.”
Dr. Sinclair believes this stance has helped the university absorb rapid change. “I think by taking that approach early on, it’s helping us stay on top of all the various changes that are happening,” he said.
Keeping Courses Current
AI tools are changing quickly. That raises a fair question for any student. Will today’s lessons still matter at graduation?
Amberton points to its faculty model. Its professors hold academic credentials and also work in their fields. “Not only are our faculty here academics, but we’re also practitioners,” Dr. Sinclair said.
Dr. Palmer made the same point. “Because our professors are practitioners, they’re seeing what’s happening in the marketplace every single day, and they are bringing this knowledge and expertise into the classroom,” she said.
Dr. Sinclair said updates are built into how all Amberton courses run. “It’s something that we continue to update as we improve our courses, and we offer continuous improvement in the courses,” he said. “We started that as a design from the beginning, and it’s allowed us to pivot as industry changes.”
Proof Students Can Show Employers
The university’s dedicated AI programs go a step further. Amberton offers a Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence. It also offers AI certificates at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Dr. Palmer said the degree fills a clear gap in the market. Its focus is practical. “What do you do with AI, not how do you build AI?” she said.
Students in the applied AI classes build a portfolio of their work. Dr. Sinclair sees this as a key advantage of the program. “Students can demonstrate and show what they’ve produced. And students can take that portfolio with you upon graduation,” he said.
He described how this could play out in a job interview. A hiring manager might ask about a candidate’s AI experience. A graduate could answer with a working example, such as an AI agent that builds Excel macros.
Sinclair expects employers to rethink how they test for AI skills. “It’s not just, are you experienced with this particular platform?” he said. Better questions, he said, will ask how a candidate would team up with AI on a real project.
“How well are we able to communicate using AI as part of our team?” Sinclair asked. “I think that’s going to be the next big evolution in the workplace.”
Built for Local Employers
Dr. Sinclair recently spoke at the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce. He said companies “are hungry, not just for AI, but more for people who know how to use AI.”
Amberton serves working adults from campuses in Garland and Frisco. Dr. Sinclair sees the curriculum as a way to support area businesses and the regional economy.
He also wants to ease public fear of AI. “The best thing that people can do is educate themselves as much as possible with it,” he said.
His goal extends past the classroom. He hopes Amberton University can become a flagship school for applied AI and workforce technology in the region. That role would include community outreach, showing people that “this is a tool that we can use to better our economy and our businesses.”
For Amberton students, the result is consistent. Whatever degree they pursue, every course includes AI.
About Amberton University
Founded in 1971, Amberton University specializes in affordable, flexible degree programs for working adults. Programs are offered online and on campus, taught by practitioner faculty, and anchored in career relevance and service excellence.