Fullerton College Invites Local Businesses to Help Shape a New Bachelor's Degree in Applied Human-AI Collaboration and Leadership

Employers are invited to complete a short workforce survey, send a letter of support, and sign up now to host student capstone projects on real business problems.

FULLERTON, Calif. (November 11, 2026) — Fullerton College is asking North Orange County businesses to help build a new four-year degree: the Bachelor of Science in Applied Human-AI Collaboration and Leadership. Developed by the college's Business Management Department in the Business & CIS Division, the program prepares students to lead the adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace, with human judgment, ethics, and accountability at the center.

The proposed degree is now in review with the Fullerton College Academic Senate and the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. Employer input matters in that review: before a community college bachelor's degree is approved, the college must show real regional workforce demand. Local business voices make that case.

A degree that teaches students to lead AI, not just use it

Most AI bachelor's degrees in California teach students to build AI or to analyze it. This program teaches students to lead it: to manage AI projects, redesign workflows, guide teams through change, and make sound decisions about when and how AI should be used. It is aimed at roles such as operations managers, project managers, management analysts, AI adoption leads, and entrepreneurs. In Orange County alone, nearly 59,000 people work as general and operations managers, project management specialists, and management analysts.

The degree builds on Fullerton College's AI in Business associate degree, so students can move from an AS to a BS on one continuous pathway. Students would complete the third and fourth years for about $6,280 in total, close to home and close to the employers who will hire them.

Three ways your business can help

1. Complete the employer workforce survey. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes and asks about AI-related skills, hiring needs, and workforce gaps in your organization. Take the survey.
2. Send a letter of support. A short letter on company letterhead carries real weight with state reviewers. A ready-to-edit template is available; email the signed letter to ggraves@fullcoll.edu.
3. Sign up as a capstone partner. In the final two semesters of the program, every student completes a capstone project that solves a real business problem. Capstone partners open their business to a student team that studies how the work gets done, analyzes where time and money go, and designs and tests practical AI and automation solutions. Students work under faculty supervision, the business decides what information to share, and the owner decides what gets implemented. Partners receive a fresh, no-cost analysis and an automation plan they can put to work; students gain real-world experience. To reserve a spot, email ggraves@fullcoll.edu with "Capstone Partner" in the subject line.

"Every business in our region is trying to figure out what AI means for them, and most don't have the time or staff to work it out," said Gary Graves, Professor of Entrepreneurship and AI at Fullerton College and lead faculty for the proposed degree. "This degree is built to produce the people who can lead that work. Our students need real problems to solve, and our local businesses have them. Signing up now means we can design the capstone around the companies right here in North Orange County from day one."

Full details, including the survey, the letter template, and advisory board opportunities, are on the program's partner page: ggraves.faculty.fullcoll.edu/bdp/partners.html.

About Fullerton College

Founded in 1913, Fullerton College is the oldest continuously operating community college in California and a Hispanic-Serving Institution serving students across North Orange County. The college already offers a bachelor's degree in Drone and Autonomous Systems.

Contact: Gary Graves, Professor of Entrepreneurship and AI, Fullerton College · ggraves@fullcoll.edu · 714-264-8778