Editor's note: This story was featured in the spring 2026 issue of ASU Thrive.
Workforce demand is accelerating in fields that combine technical knowledge with real-world application. Health care and legal professions will continue to face shortages; business roles require more specialization. Meanwhile, organizations across industries increasingly rely on data, cybersecurity and analytics to operate, compete and grow.
Success in this ever-changing environment requires transformational education that prepares students for the unknown and where the job marketplace is headed. Here are some degrees at ASU that do just that and signal to employers that you’re not keeping up with change — you’re leading it.
Jobs forecast
1.98 million
jobs to be added to health care and social assistance from 2024 to 2034
60%
of employers expect broadening digital access, including AI, to transform their businesses by 2030
30%
of working hours in the U.S. expected to be exposed to automation by AI by 2030
14,000
nursing jobs unfilled in Arizona in 2025
124,200
openings for accountants and auditors are projected each year from 2024 to 2034
Data scientists
among the fastest-growing occupations from 2024 to 2034
13% growth
in forensic professions between 2024 and 2034, vs. average of 3.1%
2 lawyers
per 1,000 residents served Arizona in 2024
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ASU, McKinsey Global Institute and The American Bar Association
Some of the programs that will get you there
- Accelerated BSN clinical nursing program in 12 months
- BS or MS in forensic science
- MS in organizational leadership
- AI degrees across the university, an MS in artificial intelligence in business
- ASU Law JD, part time and online; highest-ranked U.S. law school offering a JD part time and online
- 4+1 accelerated programs that allow students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years
- MS in business analytics
- MS in information systems management
- MS in computer science (cybersecurity)
- MS in program evolution and data analytics
- MS in public health technology
Learn more at degrees.asu.edu.
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