A significant shift is underway in higher education as artificial intelligence reshapes career prospects, with a new survey revealing that 16% of university students have already changed their major in response to AI's impact on the job market. The findings, from a Gallup and Lumina Foundation report published Thursday, are based on responses from approximately 3,800 students across the United States.
Nearly half (47%) of all college students report giving at least "a fair amount of thought" to switching their field of study for the same reason. Dr. Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation, described the trend as "one of the clearest signals we've seen that students are rethinking what their futures are in response to AI."
Technical and Vocational Students Most Likely to Reconsider
The survey indicates that students in technology and vocational programmes are leading this reassessment. About 70% in each of these groups have given serious consideration to changing majors. In contrast, those studying healthcare and the natural sciences are the least likely to say AI has prompted them to reconsider, with students in humanities also showing lower levels of concern.
Among the 16% who have already switched majors, the most popular new fields are social sciences (26%), business (17%), and technology (13%). Dr. Brown noted a bifurcation in tech fields: "Students are moving in both directions. Some are switching into tech because they see opportunity in AI, while others are moving away because they’re worried about disruption."
Shift from Programming to AI Development
Supporting this trend, a separate March report from Niche, which analyses interest among high school seniors, found students are moving away from majors more easily automated by AI. Interest is shifting toward AI development roles, such as software engineering and AI-focused specialties, rather than traditional programming.
Programming now constitutes just 10% of computer science interest for the class of 2026, down from a peak of 14% in 2020. Conversely, interest in AI has grown from 1.7% of computer science students in 2023 to 4.7% in 2026. Software engineering interest also rose, increasing 1.2 percentage points from 2025 to 2026 and now accounting for 22% of computer science interest.
Skills-Based Hiring Gains Traction
The student reassessment comes amid broader changes in the labour market. A March HireVue report on global hiring for the class of 2026 found that while 79% of entry-level roles still require a bachelor’s degree, nearly 70% of employers say they are adopting skills-based hiring. In the US, more than a quarter of organisations have discussed loosening degree requirements to expand skills-based talent pipelines.
Allison Shrivastava, an economist at Niche and author of its report, views the student adaptation positively. "That’s efficient sorting," Shrivastava said. "That’s a good response in terms of what we will need from the workforce in the future."
Humanities See a Rebound and Adaptation
The Gallup survey also found that students in social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities were the least likely to use AI in their studies. This aligns with a reported rebound in English majors and efforts by some universities to integrate AI into liberal arts curricula, recognising the enduring relevance of core humanities skills.
"I don’t think students are seeing that AI is going to replace those," Dr. Brown concluded, referring to fields perceived as less vulnerable to automation.