The University of Surrey has begun integrating discipline-specific Artificial Intelligence teaching across every degree programme, an approach now highlighted by Universities UK as a model for preparing students for an AI-enabled workplace.
The University of Surrey has begun embedding Artificial Intelligence into every degree programme as the UK’s university sector considers how AI skills should become part of mainstream higher education.
From September 2026, students at Surrey from foundation level through to postgraduate study will encounter AI teaching tailored specifically to their subject rather than learning it solely as a general digital skill.
The university’s approach has now been highlighted in Universities UK’s new Future Jobs Roadmap, which calls for universities to ensure AI tools are accessible to every undergraduate and for every course to have an ‘AI trailblazer’.
Professor Annika Bautz, Project Lead and Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences, said: “AI can now produce fluent answers, draft arguments, generate code and simulate professional outputs. That means we need to move beyond generic AI literacy in our curriculum to develop the disciplinary expertise students need for the world of work. We teach AI through disciplinary standards – what counts as evidence, proof, risk, responsibility and failure in a particular field.”
Surrey’s model recognises that appropriate AI use differs between disciplines. Civil engineering students, for example, need to consider areas including safety, regulation and physical constraints, while politics students must assess evidence, interpretation and democratic legitimacy.
The university is also redesigning assessment to protect students’ independent thinking and core subject knowledge as Generative AI becomes increasingly capable of producing academic and professional work.
Surrey provides students with secure access to approved Generative AI technologies through its My AI Surrey platform, while its new AI in Education Framework covers areas including accuracy, bias, ethical use, environmental impact and the limitations of AI systems.
Professor Stephen Jarvis, President and Vice-Chancellor, said: “Now, alongside those enduringly popular placements, we’re offering all our students, on every course, discipline-specific AI experience built in. Our commitment to producing graduates who can lead in their chosen careers never rests.”
The wider UUK roadmap was developed following discussions with around 200 employers, business groups and universities. It also sets an ambition for all undergraduates to have access to meaningful work-based learning by 2035.
