CIHS News & Highlights
CIHS’s AGI Master’s Program Begins Classes and Expands Enrollment Options
Following its September 2026 launch, the world’s first accredited master’s program dedicated to Artificial General Intelligence is opening quarterly entry and both full-time and part-time pathways. Winter 2027 applications are now being accepted.
California Institute for Human Science (CIHS) has officially launched its M.S. in Artificial General Intelligence, with the inaugural quarter of classes beginning in September 2026. As its first students begin their graduate studies, the Institute is expanding enrollment options to welcome new students four times a year and accommodate both full-time and part-time study.
Beginning with Winter 2027, students can enter the online program in Fall, Winter, Spring, or Summer. Applications are now open for the Winter quarter, with classes beginning January 4, 2027.
The expansion reflects what CIHS has learned through its early admissions conversations: prospective students bring varied academic backgrounds, substantial professional experience, and a desire to engage seriously with AGI, while many also need to balance graduate education with careers, family, and other responsibilities.
The First Quarter Is Underway
The program’s inaugural students are currently taking three courses that establish its distinctive approach to the field:
- AGI 501 — Foundations of AGI I: Essentials & Theoretical Frameworks — taught by Ben Goertzel, Ph.D.
- AGI 502 — Algorithms & Data Structures for AGI — taught by Matthew Iklé, Ph.D.
- AGI 503 — Consciousness Studies for AGI Researchers — taught by Gabriel Axel Montes, Ph.D., the program’s founding Program Director.
Together, these opening courses place the foundations of general intelligence, computational methods, and consciousness studies within the same graduate learning experience.
The launch brings CIHS’s AGI Department into active teaching, establishing an academic home for inquiry into how intelligence works, how artificial systems might develop broader capabilities, and what those developments could mean for human life and society.
More Ways to Begin—and a Choice of Study Pace
The program was initially designed around full-time study with Fall and Spring entry. The new structure adds Winter and Summer starts and creates a part-time pathway for students who want to pursue the degree while continuing their professional work.
For working professionals, the change offers two practical choices: when to begin and how much coursework to take at a time. Students seeking a more concentrated graduate experience can pursue full-time study; those balancing education with other commitments can progress part-time.
Both pathways lead to the same 58-quarter-unit M.S. and include the program’s core coursework, electives, and original final project.
Studying AGI as a Technical and Human Question
CIHS’s M.S. brings advanced AI systems into conversation with cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and consciousness studies. Students investigate how systems reason, learn, adapt, and act, alongside questions about agency, motivation, consciousness, and the nature of intelligence.
The curriculum also addresses safety, alignment, ethics, governance, and societal impact. These areas connect with the pursuit of Beneficial General Intelligence (BGI): understanding what it will take for increasingly capable AI to remain safe, aligned, and beneficial for humanity.
Bringing Professional Expertise into AGI Study
The expanded enrollment options support a program designed to welcome perspectives from computing, engineering, the sciences, psychology, philosophy, consciousness studies, policy, law, medicine, education, and organizational leadership.
A computer science degree is not required. Prospective students can discuss their academic background, professional experience, and preparation with the Program Director to understand how they might enter the program.
An original final project gives students an opportunity to connect the curriculum with a consequential question relevant to their work or intellectual interests. That might involve developing and evaluating an advanced AI system, investigating cognition or consciousness, examining safety and alignment, or studying governance and societal impact.
For established professionals, the degree offers a way to bring existing expertise into a field whose implications extend across research, technology, institutions, and public life.
Applications Open for Winter 2027
CIHS is now accepting applications for Winter 2027, beginning January 4, 2027. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Prospective students are invited to explore the curriculum and connect with Admissions to discuss their interests, preparation, and preferred study pace.