Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how knowledge is created, applied and trusted – yet much of higher education still teaches and assesses students as if that transformation has not changed what it means to develop expertise. From September 2026, the University of Surrey will take a different approach.
Rather than introducing AI as an additional skill, Surrey is undertaking a systematic redesign of every degree programme. This transformation will ensure that, as AI becomes embedded across society and the economy, Surrey students retain deep disciplinary expertise, develop critical judgement, and understand the implications of deploying AI within their field. In a course on voting behaviour, for instance, students are given a simple brief: pick an election, ask ChatGPT to explain the result, then interrogate whether AI got it right – testing its response against established theories of political behaviour, datasets from the British Election Study and published academic research. Students are enabled to identify and explain where the AI is vague or inaccurate, so that AI is not a shortcut but a prompt for deeper analysis.
Every student – from foundation year through to postgraduate – will develop applied, discipline-specific AI capability as a core part of their studies. Surrey graduates will be equipped to shape how AI is used, challenged and governed in real-world contexts – ensuring that they remain trusted, capable and competitive in a labour market reshaped by AI.
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