FAQ on the newly established MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing
This set of FAQs offers information about the founding of the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, announced today, and its implications for the MIT community and beyond.
The College will reorient MIT to bring the power of computing and AI to all fields of study — and, in turn, to allow the future direction of computing and AI to be shaped by insights from all of these other disciplines, including the humanities. By design, the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing will be the connective tissue for the entire Institute, integrating AI studies and research with disciplines throughout MIT.
— MIT News Office
Q: What is MIT announcing today that’s new?
A: Today MIT is announcing a $1 billion commitment to address the global opportunities and challenges presented by the ubiquity of computing — across industries and academic disciplines — and by the rise of artificial intelligence. At the heart of this endeavor will be the new MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, made possible by a foundational $350 million gift from Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Blackstone, a leading global asset manager. An additional $300 million has been secured for the College through other fundraising.
Q: Why is MIT creating this College?
A: The Institute is creating the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing in response to clear trends both inside and outside MIT. Inside MIT, students are choosing in record numbers to study computer science, and departments across the Institute are creating joint majors with computer science and hiring faculty with expertise in computing. And externally, the digital fraction of the global economy has been growing much faster than the economy as a whole — and computing and AI are increasingly woven into every part of the global economy.
Q: What will implementation look like?
A: MIT will launch a task force prior to the College’s opening in September 2019. The task force will make recommendations to the MIT administration on details regarding the structure of the College; its academic appointments and faculty recruiting; and — in particular — how best to structure the College such that there are seamless interactions in research and teaching between the College and other MIT departments.
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Provost's letter to the faculty about the College of Computing