Master's degree to work in robotics

raneck
Tue, 14 Jul 2015 00:10:52 +0000

@teriwitt
Some notes from a current grad student in Robotics at CMU:

You do not necessarily need a degree in robotics to do robotics work or research. There are relatively few true robotics programs, so companies also hire people with degrees in computer science, mechanical engineering, and electrical and computer engineering. A master’s degree (either in robotics or one of the above related fields) is quite beneficial.

Since robotics covers a very wide range of topics, it will be necessary to show, through research or targeted classwork, an area of concentration. The main decision he need to make now is whether he wants to pursue a PhD or a Master’s. If he wants to do academic research or industry work at PhD level, he should be aiming for PhD programs, which would require previous research experience, letters of rec from professors, etc. If he just wants the master’s, then grades, GRE, and possible work experience will be the main focus in getting into a terminal masters program. Of course, there is overlap between the requirements for PhD and Master’s, but previous academic research is definitely emphasized for the PhD.

In this particular engineering field, there are programmatic differences between degrees intended for academia or PhD level industry work and those intended for master’s level industry work, and he should be sure that programs he applies to fit his goal.