Best Online Master's in Artificial Intelligence (2026)

Choose this Boston University degree if you want to build AI systems rather than manage them. It's 30 credits for $25,000, taught in a 16-month cohort with live and asynchronous work, and it begins with a two-week computer science bootcamp before the first semester. The cohort schedule is fixed, so there's less room to slow down than the business version offers.

Among the four $25,000 online AI master's degrees at Boston University, this one fits developers who care about how AI code gets built, tested and shipped, not only how models work. The 30 credits end in a two-term capstone, and the GRE isn't required. Expect a bootcamp before classes start, and expect part-time study to be the norm. Pick a sibling if modeling is your focus.

Oregon State teaches AI for business decisions rather than model building. The College of Business runs it, with four start terms a year. The cost is clear at $965 per credit, with no extra charge for nonresidents. At 45 credits it's longer than most, and up to 22 credits from the Business Analytics certificate can transfer in.

At 30 credits and $665 each, this Master of Research comes to $19,950 in tuition, among the lowest totals on this list. You present and defend a dissertation instead of taking a course sequence. Capitol says it's designed for experienced professionals who already hold an AI-related bachelor's, so it won't suit a career changer. The $55 per-credit technology fee is extra.

Silicon Valley engineers who want a fixed weekly routine should look here. You take one 11-week course at a time, one evening a week, and every course seat is guaranteed, so you never wait for a slot. At $1,022 per unit for 33 credits, it comes to $33,726. The catch is admissions: you need a 3.0 GPA, a technical bachelor's and prior calculus, linear algebra and statistics.

Northeastern is a professional master's, built around using AI at work. It runs 12 to 20 months with fall and spring entry, and the published estimate is $30,500 for 2026-2027 before fees. You can add a focus in conversational AI, cybersecurity or 3D imaging. Applicants need an engineering or computer technology degree or statistics coursework, or they're sent to the Connect version.

This is for career changers who lack an engineering, computer technology or statistics background and still want a Northeastern degree. You add nine semester credit hours of bridge courses before the regular Master of Professional Studies. That bridge is why the estimate hits $71,079, well above the $30,500 for the standard version. Budget for it, and take the standard track if you qualify.

Texas A&M suits students who want a computer science department's AI degree from a large public university and can pace themselves. It's 30 credit hours, never taught on campus, and finishing takes 1.5 to 2.5 years depending on how many courses you carry. The catch is price. No fixed total is printed, so you'll run the university's tuition calculator with Remote instruction selected.

Engineers who want a practical degree without a thesis will find a fit in this Master of Engineering from a public research university. It runs nine courses, 36 credit hours at $896 each, so $32,256 before fees. The fastest finish is 12 months, which beats most online AI programs. The trade-off is that it's an engineering degree with an AI concentration, not a dedicated AI major.

Uncommon among these programs, the Washington degree is assembled in two steps. You earn two graduate certificates, then finish with a two-quarter applied capstone. The estimated total runs $40,375 to $43,088. Only one start a year, and international students needing an I-20 can't enroll.

Choose George Washington if you learn better with a live room than with recorded lectures. Classes meet weekly on Zoom in the evening, with recordings if you miss one, and five start terms a year keep the wait short. Tuition is $37,500 for 30 credits, eBooks included, and the GRE is optional. You'll need an engineering, math, computer science or similar bachelor's degree.

Working adults who want to skip entrance exams can start this master's without a GRE or GMAT, with three starts a year. Two classes per term and no campus visits keep it manageable, and 33 credits at $875 totals $28,875. Two professional certificates are built into the coursework, so you earn something along the way. Budget extra for the $775 technology fee each semester.

If you don't have a bachelor's degree, or you want to prove yourself before paying, this is your way in. You pass a three-course pathway with a B or better in each, and no traditional application is needed. Courses are asynchronous, eight weeks long, with six starts a year. Total tuition is $15,750, the lowest price in this group, though it's delivered through Coursera.

Managers who will direct AI projects rather than code models belong here. The degree takes a bachelor's in any field, with no minimum GPA, though a 3.0 is recommended. Courses are asynchronous, there are three starts a year, and you can finish in as little as one year. Georgetown charges $1,752 per credit, so 30 credits cost $52,560, which is the price of speed and brand.

Clinicians and other healthcare workers get an AI master's that speaks their language here. Courses include Reinforcement Learning for Clinical Decision Making and Natural Language Processing in Medicine, and the program says no computer science background is needed. You finish with a capstone or a graduate internship across 30 credits. The trade-off: it's narrow, so a general AI employer may read it as a medical specialty.

Illinois Tech lets you earn a Master of Artificial Intelligence (M.A.S.) from a Chicago computing school, on campus or fully online, in a minimum of 30 credits. It earns a place for the name and the flexibility. The trade-off is that the school's pages we read give no online tuition figure, so ask admissions for the exact rate before you commit.

Choose this if per-credit price and transfer flexibility matter most to you. At $610 per credit for 46 credits, tuition is $28,060 before fees, and up to 12 credits, one third of the program, can transfer in. Because it needs 46 credits rather than the usual 30 to 33, the lower rate doesn't make it the cheapest total. Ask the school for the course list before applying.

If you already hold a computer science or related degree, this is a lower-cost route at $805 per credit hour, or $24,150 for 30 credits before fees. Courses run 8 weeks with fall, spring and summer starts, and you choose between Machine Learning and Intelligent Systems concentrations. Expect a 3.0 GPA requirement, with other majors considered only if you have a year of AI or ML experience.

Career changers with no engineering or computer science degree can enroll here, and the first semester works as an onramp. You can choose a nine-course project or an eight-course thesis, then aim the degree with Deep Learning and Computer Vision, Robotics and Automation, or two other concentrations. At $1,100 per credit, 30 credits cost $33,000, plus a $510 program fee and textbook charges.

Drexel is for a software engineer or computer science graduate who wants a deeper degree and can pay for it. The program is 45 quarter credits at $1,400, or $63,000 before fees, with four starts a year in 10-week quarters. You can finish in as little as two years. Without a strong computer science background, Drexel points you to its Graduate Certificate in Computer Science first.

Duke is the premium option here, for working engineers who want a capstone with a corporate partner. At $2,555 per credit, 30 credits come to $76,650 over 24 months part time, and internship courses carry no tuition. The catch is two required residencies on the Duke campus, so it isn't fully online, and travel is extra. Check your employer's flexibility first.

NJIT suits a STEM graduate who is missing a prerequisite or two. Take the Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence first, and a certificate GPA of 3.0 or higher guarantees admission to the master's. The degree is 30 credits at $1,284 each, $38,520 total, with the same rate for in-state and out-of-state students. You can finish with a project or a thesis, and there are three starts a year.

Budget-minded students in Texas get the strongest case here, because UNT estimates $18.7K in tuition and fees for a resident over the full 33 credits. The degree is STEM-designated and offers Machine Learning, Biomedical Engineering and Autonomous Systems tracks. You can test it first with a 12-hour graduate certificate whose credits count toward the master's. Expect the estimate to rise if you're out of state.

Managers who want to decide how AI gets used, not code it, should look here. If you manage people or budgets, this fits. Thirty asynchronous credits cost $34,350 for Ohio residents and $34,800 for everyone else, and the GRE isn't required.

Two starts a year is the limit, so a missed January date means waiting until August. Eight concentrations, from finance to health care administration, let you aim it at your own job.

City University of Seattle works for career changers and military students who don't have a programming background yet. Preparatory courses are available, and active-duty servicemembers get discounts and can use the GI Bill. The price is $775 per quarter credit, and the page lists 39 to 59 credits depending on prep needs, so get a degree plan before you budget. Courses run 10 weeks, which moves fast.

UAB's degree is open to current and future medical professionals alike, so you don't need to be a clinician already to apply. It also covers the legal and ethical side of AI in medicine, which most technical programs skip. UAB says you can take it completely online, though campus is the main format. Ask the school for the credit count and tuition before applying.

Iowa State earns a spot as a big public research university that lists its AI master's as a separate fully online program, so you never have to move to Ames. Treat it as a candidate to confirm. Ask the computer science department for the credit count and per-credit price before you compare it with the priced options above.

WGU fits a self-directed learner who wants a flat price instead of a per-credit bill. Tuition is $4,385 per six-month term, and the typical length is 19 months. The program is asynchronous and independent study. The diploma reads Computer Science with an AI and machine learning specialization, not Artificial Intelligence. Confirm the credits and courses before applying.

Arizona makes sense if you want the fastest route here and a business angle. It's a 12-month, fully online program in the Eller College of Management, and any bachelor's field qualifies. Thirty credits at a flat $1,250 come to $37,500. You'll need a 3.0 GPA, an entry test covering statistics, Python and SQL, and six credit hours of business coursework before you start.

If you want AI aimed squarely at healthcare, Yale's School of Medicine teaches everything from neural networks to large language models, plus FDA regulation and clinical risk management. Tuition is $51,100 for the whole program, over two years part time. Each semester opens with a one-week stay in New Haven, and you'll need a technical or medical degree plus relevant work experience.

Choose this over Cincinnati's business master's if you're an engineer who wants to build models for science and engineering problems. It's 30 credits, non-thesis, and can be done in as little as a year, with spring, summer and fall starts. The GRE is only required if your GPA is under 3.0 or your degree is in another field. Ask admissions for the price.

Pick DePaul if you want a master's in AI without a computer science degree behind you. Bridge courses in programming, data structures and statistics are available, and the school designates the program as STEM. Starts come four times a year, so you rarely wait. The trade-off is size: 48 quarter credits at $1,003 each is $48,144, before the comprehensive fee and any bridge courses.

Michigan-Dearborn is a good match for a STEM graduate who works days and wants evening classes without a GRE. The 30-credit degree can be taken online, on campus or both, with four concentrations including Computer Vision and Machine Learning. Letters of recommendation aren't required. The trade-off is price: the figures we have are general graduate rates, so ask for the online rate.

This option suits you if you'd rather build and deploy AI systems than analyze with them. At 30 credits and $1,089 each, tuition is $32,670, which is well under DePaul's total. You can also collect up to three graduate certificates on the way, so you have something to show if work interrupts. Check the 2027-28 rate, which rises.

Choose this version of Penn State's master's when your goal is putting generative AI tools to work in a job, not engineering the models underneath. It shares the 30-credit length, the $1,089 per-credit rate and the capstone paper on an applied project with the engineering option. Taking 12 credits a semester costs $13,062 each term. Compare both option pages before you apply, since the course lists differ.

Christian Brothers is worth a look if you want a short, fully online program from a small Memphis school. It asks for 34 credits, a 3.0 undergraduate GPA, and a 3-credit master's project at the end. The program runs in partnership with Lewis University. The trade-off is that no tuition figure is published, so get the per-credit rate and fees in writing first.

Montclair fits a working professional who wants AI applied to business decisions. You can finish online in as few as 21 months, and the capstone is a practicum solving problems for real organizations. Two things to plan for: a required 3-5 day domestic trip, which makes this less than fully online, and a 25-30 hour statistics module before you start.