Given my background in Arts and History, which country's AI master's programs would be more suitable for me, the USA or Italy?

Before choosing a country, decide what you mean by an AI master's: a technical machine learning degree, or a program that applies AI methods to historical and cultural material, since that single choice points you toward two very different sets of universities.

Italy: AI Plus Humanities

• University of Bologna, MSc Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge: covers knowledge representation, NLP and a Machine Learning for the Humanities course applying ML to archives, museums and historical sources.
• University of Bologna, Digital Minds: combines philosophy, psychology, computer science, law and AI ethics, taught entirely in English.

USA: Technical AI or ML Track

A conventional US MSc in Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning generally expects substantial prior coursework in programming, mathematics and statistics, which most Arts and History graduates have not built up. The US ecosystem is larger overall, but entry from a non-technical background is harder without deliberately adding these prerequisites first. The broader US ecosystem also means more industry access and research funding overall, but that advantage only matters once your application can clear the technical prerequisites most AI programmes still expect.

This Information Is Also Available On

University of Bologna's Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge programme page (checked September 2026).

My Advice

If you cannot yet code in Python, start there before applying to either country, since even Bologna's humanities-focused track includes a hands-on machine learning course. If your longer-term goal is a mainstream AI or data science career rather than digital humanities specifically, treat Italy as a stepping stone rather than the final destination.