12 New Artificial Intelligence Courses Added to CRICOS in 2026: Fees, Duration and University Comparison

Australia’s August 2026 CRICOS course export includes 12 artificial intelligence and machine learning programs that were not present in the July export. The new registrations span bachelor degrees, an honours degree, a professional bachelor program, a specialised MBA and a technical master’s degree.

Monash University accounts for eight of the 12 additions. Its new portfolio combines artificial intelligence with biomedical science, design, health sciences, arts, science, media communication and commerce. Swinburne University of Technology added a three-year Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and a four-year professional version. Flinders University added an MBA specialising in artificial intelligence, while Melbourne Institute of Technology added a Master of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Published tuition fees range from $52,800 to $260,290, but those figures cover programs of different lengths. The lowest indicative cost per 52 weeks is approximately $26,400, while the highest is approximately $65,073. These annualised figures are calculations made by CRICOS.net for comparison; they are not official annual fee quotes.

This article compares every newly listed course whose title explicitly contains Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning. It uses exact CRICOS course and provider codes, published duration, tuition and work-component fields from the August 2026 export.

New AI courses in Australia: quick facts

“New” has a precise meaning in this analysis: the provider-code/course-code combination appears in the August snapshot but not in the July snapshot. It does not necessarily mean that teaching began in August, that applications are currently open or that the course was first announced during the month.

Complete list of 12 new CRICOS AI courses

The table reproduces the course levels, durations and tuition values in the analysed CRICOS export. Fees should always be confirmed with the provider because CRICOS data can be updated and a student’s actual liability may depend on intake, study load, credit, fee reviews and other conditions.

AI course comparison by provider

The four providers are not offering interchangeable products. Course titles and CRICOS classifications indicate four distinct study models:

• interdisciplinary AI double degrees;
• an AI-focused honours pathway;
• standard and professional AI bachelor programs;
• postgraduate AI applied to either technology or business management.

Students should compare curriculum, entry requirements, delivery locations and professional recognition on provider websites rather than choosing from the title alone.

Monash added eight interdisciplinary AI degrees

Monash University is responsible for two-thirds of the new AI and machine learning registrations in this comparison. Seven combine AI with another named discipline, while one is an advanced honours program.

AI and Biomedical Science — CRICOS 121111J

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Biomedical Science combines AI with a life-science discipline. The CRICOS record publishes a duration of 208 weeks and tuition of $260,290. Unlike several other Monash combinations, the August export does not mark this course as having a work component.

AI and Design — CRICOS 121112H

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Design combines computing with creative design. Its primary field is Computer Science, while its second field is Graphic Arts and Design Studies. The published duration is 208 weeks and tuition is $260,290.

AI and Health Sciences — CRICOS 121113G

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Health Sciences has a secondary Public Health classification. The record lists a work component of 44 weeks and 912 total hours. It carries the same 208-week duration and $260,290 tuition figure as the other new Monash AI combinations.

AI and Arts — CRICOS 121114F

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Arts offers the broadest humanities-facing title in the Monash group. The August record does not publish a work component. Duration is 208 weeks and tuition is $260,290.

AI and Science — CRICOS 121115E

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Science combines AI with a second Natural and Physical Sciences classification. CRICOS lists a 20-week, 720-hour work component. Published duration is 208 weeks and tuition is $260,290.

AI and Media Communication — CRICOS 121144M

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Media Communication links AI to Communication and Media Studies. Its published work component is 42 weeks and 900 hours. Duration is 208 weeks and tuition is $260,290.

AI and Commerce — CRICOS 121159D

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor of Commerce connects AI with Management and Commerce. The record lists a 20-week, 720-hour work component, 208 weeks of duration and tuition of $260,290.

Artificial Intelligence Advanced (Honours) — CRICOS 121160M

The Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence Advanced (Honours) is the only new AI course classified as a Bachelor Honours Degree. CRICOS publishes a 20-week, 720-hour work component, total duration of 208 weeks and tuition of $260,290.

The pattern is significant: Monash is not presenting AI only as a standalone computing subject. Its new registrations position it alongside science, health, design, communications, commerce and the humanities. That indicates diversification in registered course offerings, although it does not prove enrolment demand or graduate outcomes.

Swinburne: standard and professional AI bachelor degrees

Swinburne University of Technology added two distinct AI bachelor registrations.

Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence — CRICOS 121174E

The standard Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence has a published duration of 156 weeks, equivalent to three 52-week periods. Tuition is $132,900. The August export does not list a work component.

Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence (Professional) — CRICOS 121175D

The professional version extends the published duration to 208 weeks and tuition to $177,200. It includes a work component of 52 weeks and 1,976 hours.

The fee relationship is unusually straightforward. Both courses imply approximately $44,300 per 52 weeks when total tuition is divided by published duration. The professional course costs $44,300 more in total and is 52 weeks longer, while also carrying the substantial work-component field.

This calculation is useful for comparison, but it should not be described as Swinburne’s official annual fee schedule. CRICOS publishes total course fields, and actual billing arrangements must be verified directly.

Two very different postgraduate AI options

The two newly listed master’s programs serve different apparent study goals.

Flinders MBA (Artificial Intelligence) — CRICOS 121143A

Flinders University’s Master of Business Administration (Artificial Intelligence) is classified primarily under Business and Management. Its title suggests an AI specialisation within a management degree rather than a purely technical computer-science program.

The course has a published duration of 104 weeks and tuition of $96,048. That equates to approximately $48,024 per 52 weeks. No work component is published in the August export.

MIT Master of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning — CRICOS 120737E

Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Master of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is classified in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence as the detailed field. It has a published duration of 104 weeks and tuition of $52,800, or approximately $26,400 per 52 weeks.

Among the 12 new registrations, it has both the lowest total tuition and the lowest annualised tuition calculation. That does not make it universally “best” or cheapest in every practical sense: students must also consider non-tuition charges, living expenses, location, entry requirements, subjects and the period for which the published fee applies.

Comparing AI course costs fairly

Total tuition alone produces a misleading ranking when one course lasts two years and another lasts four. Dividing total tuition by duration and multiplying by 52 creates a common comparison unit.

The annualised amount is calculated as:

Published Tuition Fee ÷ Published Duration in Weeks × 52

It is an analytical normalisation, not a provider quote. The calculation assumes tuition is distributed evenly across the registered duration, which may not reflect subject loads, annual fee adjustments, credit or payment schedules.

Estimated Total Course Cost should also be distinguished from Tuition Fee. In these 12 August records, published non-tuition fees are $0 and Estimated Total Course Cost equals Tuition Fee. That does not mean a student will face no other expenses. Accommodation, health cover, visa costs, travel, equipment and personal living expenses sit outside this comparison.

Which new AI courses include a work component?

Six of the 12 records are marked “Yes” in the CRICOS Work Component field.

A CRICOS work-component entry should not automatically be described as a guaranteed paid internship, professional placement or post-study employment pathway. The field indicates a registered course component. Students need to confirm its nature, timing, assessment, location and any placement conditions with the provider.

Bachelor or master’s: which AI pathway fits which student?

The appropriate level depends mainly on a student’s existing education and intended direction.

A bachelor degree may fit students who:

• are entering higher education after school or an equivalent qualification;
• want a broad undergraduate foundation;
• prefer a three- or four-year registered duration;
• want to combine AI with science, commerce, health, media, design or arts;
• value a program with a published work component.

A master’s degree may fit students who:

• already hold an appropriate undergraduate qualification;
• want a shorter 104-week registered program;
• are choosing between technical AI/ML study and AI-oriented management;
• want a lower total published fee than the four-year options in this comparison.

These are general distinctions, not admission advice. The CRICOS export does not provide academic prerequisites, English-language requirements, subject lists or credit policies.

AI, data science and data analytics are not identical

The August snapshot also contains two newly listed technology programs that are closely associated with AI but do not explicitly mention AI or machine learning in their titles:

CRICOS.net reports these separately instead of calling the update “14 new AI courses”. Data science, data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence overlap, but they are not synonyms. A defensible count needs a published rule; ours requires “Artificial Intelligence” or “Machine Learning” in the course title for inclusion in the core list.

What the August update suggests

The new registrations reveal three notable patterns.

First, AI is becoming more interdisciplinary in registered course titles. Seven Monash combinations connect it to another named discipline, from biomedical science to commerce.

Second, professional experience is becoming a differentiator. Half of the 12 records publish a work component, with the Swinburne professional degree listing the largest: 52 weeks and 1,976 hours.

Third, postgraduate AI is dividing into technical and managerial pathways. A Master of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and an MBA (Artificial Intelligence) may both contain “AI”, but the titles and primary fields point toward substantially different educational purposes.

These findings describe the supply of registered courses. CRICOS data contains no enrolment, application, completion, employment or student-satisfaction figures, so it cannot establish which program is most popular or produces the best outcomes.

Methodology

This analysis compares two CRICOS Courses.csv snapshots downloaded in July and August 2026.

1. Courses were matched by CRICOS Provider Code + CRICOS Course Code.
2. A record was classified as new when that composite key appeared in August but not July.
3. Two fully blank trailing rows were removed from each CSV.
4. No duplicate non-blank composite keys were found.
5. AI inclusion required the course title to contain “Artificial Intelligence” or “Machine Learning”, case-insensitively.
6. Data Science and Data Analytics titles were disclosed separately.
7. Currency symbols and thousands separators were removed for calculation.
8. Approximate tuition per 52 weeks was calculated from total published tuition and duration.
9. Work-component values were reproduced from the August export without interpreting them as paid employment.

The full August comparison found 250 newly listed course keys across all fields, 116 removals and 823 continuing records with at least one changed field.

Important limitations

• The files are monthly snapshots, not the continuously updated live register.
• “New in August” means absent from the analysed July export and present in August; it does not prove the course was created or announced during August.
• Registration does not guarantee a particular intake is open.
• Published tuition is not a personalised offer or guaranteed future fee.
• Annualised tuition is a CRICOS.net calculation, not an official provider field.
• Work-component entries do not establish that work is paid or externally placed.
• CRICOS registration does not indicate university ranking, teaching quality, graduate outcomes or visa eligibility.
• Delivery locations were not compared in this article.

Official sources and verification

CRICOS is the Australian Government register of education providers and courses available to people studying in Australia on student visas. The live CRICOS website should be used to verify the latest course status.

The Australian Government CRICOS dataset page provides downloadable exports and describes them as snapshots, directing users to the live register for current information.

The Department of Education’s CRICOS registration guidance explains that institutions can enrol and deliver education services in Australia to student-visa holders only when appropriately registered. The register’s legislative basis is set out in the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and the Education Services for Overseas Students Regulations 2019.

Before applying or paying, verify the CRICOS code, provider, delivery location, duration, current fee, intake and course requirements with the live register and the provider.

Frequently asked questions

Analysis date: 4 August 2026. CRICOS records and provider fees can change. Always verify current information before making an application or financial decision.