Master's degree to work in robotics

BrownParent
Mon, 13 Jul 2015 09:28:50 +0000

Don’t forget the grad school forum here, although it isn’t super busy there is often good advice if the right people come in at the right time. there is also thegradcafe Grad school search isn’t usually as similar to undergrad search. Yes he should know his gpa, but often grad schools are going to look at the gpa of the major or the last 60 units. I realize I am not sure how that works when you apply fall sr year. they will get your transcripts up through fall only.

I think Robotics is specialized enough that he might want to identify what area in particular he is interested in. Also some of the programs may not offer MS only, if that is what he is interested in. Does he know programming? My dd was involved with the robotics club at school and mainly what they did was programming. Also computer vision so more of a CS area, maybe or hybrid? But some clubs probably build their own.

Yes he should prep and take the GRE this summer if possible since he has a lot of time. The fall will be busy with applications so if he gets the GRE out of the way that will help. He can also work on his personal statement. I would start by putting together a CV that he will need to submit anyway. Relevant coursework, research experiences, posters or conferences, publications, if any, internships, TA or tutor experience. He will need up to 3 letters of recomendation and hopefully 2 he did research or projects with.

Why isn’t he doing research this summer or interning? Both with strengthen an application. He shouldn’t overlook job hunting either in a related area and that will help him know what he would want out of grad school or how necessary it is. Encourage him to talk to as many professors as possible to get ideas for where to apply. He can use his CV if they don’t know him as well. Another thing to do is to look at companies that work in robotics or people who have the types of jobs he would like and see where they went to school or what type of degrees they hire. A lot of time when you are going for a PhD you would be looking a papers written in the sub-field you are interested and researching where the authors teach.

Some uni’s that don’t have a robotics specific degree may very likely have robotics research groups. I don’t know how to find them but this list may help
http://robotics.nasa.gov/students/robo_u.

And he should read over these pages for ideas and educational info