Robotics is a field that is at the forefront of cutting-edge development and evolution today. It is an interdisciplinary subject that combines elements of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), allowing you to innovate and express your creativity through machine-building. 

If you’re an ambitious, STEM-focused high school student intrigued by the research and application of robotics, then an undergraduate degree focusing on robotics can give you the tools to innovate and build the machines of the future.

To help you get started, we have compiled a list of 10 highly rated robotics undergraduate programs you should consider applying to!

1. Carnegie Mellon University’s Bachelor of Science in Robotics

Private or Public: Private

Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $70,443

Student to faculty ratio: 10:1

Average class size: 25-35

Acceptance Rate: 11% 

Notable Alumni: Andrew Ng, Vinod Khosla, Yishan Wong, John Forbes Nash Jr

Carnegie Mellon’s world-renowned Robotics Institute launched the Bachelor of Science in Robotics in 2023, a multidisciplinary program encouraging students to master robotics concepts and solve real-world problems. During the program, you will study the core concepts of robotics, mathematics, and computer science. You will also take compulsory courses in writing, probability, economics and politics, culture, and the ethics of robots and AI. You can also opt for a humanities and arts or science and engineering elective. 

As an undergraduate robotics student at Carnegie Mellon, you will have access to the university’s 40+ world-class robotics labs and complete a capstone project, which encourages you to build a robot system, write a detailed report on it, demonstrate the robot’s functions, and make a public presentation. 

2. Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Bachelor of Science in Robotics Engineering

Private or Public: Private

Location: Worcester, MA

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $58,490

Student-to-faculty ratio: 13:1

Average class size: < 20

Acceptance Rate: 57%

Notable alumni: Naveen Selvadurai, Robert H. Goddard, Richard T. Whitcomb

WPI is among the few U.S. universities offering a dedicated robotics degree. Here, you will take focused courses in robotics navigation, sensing, actuation (what makes a machine work), manipulation, and industrial robotics, apart from core courses.

WPI also integrates CS into its robotics degree and you will study how to program robots. Additionally, you will be able to access WPI’s state-of-the-art robotic labs dedicated to AI, bionics, and more. By the end of your degree, you will have completed a team-based capstone project to demonstrate your skills.

3. University of Pennsylvania’s Robotics Concentration

Private or Public: Private

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $66,104

Student-to-faculty ratio: 13:1

Average class size: 30

Acceptance Rate: 10%

Notable alumni: Zach Kirkhorn, Leonard Bosack, Ashutosh Kotwal

Penn Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics offers undergraduate engineering students an optional concentration in Dynamics, Controls, and Robotics. Here, you will learn how to design robots, how they move, and how to control their movement. 

As an undergraduate at UPenn, you will have the opportunity to involve yourself in research conducted at the university’s GRASP (General Robotics, Automation, Sensing & Perception) Lab, whose focus areas include humanoid robots, computer vision, flying robots, and aquatic bots. 

4. Colorado School of Mines’ Robotics Specializations

Private or Public: Public

Location: Golden, CO

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $21,186

Student-to-faculty ratio: 17:1

Average class size: 30-35

Acceptance Rate: 58%

Notable alumni: Kat Steele, Gerald Grandey, John P. Allen

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) offers undergraduate students robotics specializations in different focus areas across departments. Here, you can choose between three programs that focus on robotics:

• Computer Science + Robotics and Intelligent Systems

Here, you major in CS and opt for robotics and mathematics courses offered by the mechanical and electrical engineering departments to understand how to create autonomous robot systems. The CS major covers AI, machine learning, computer vision, and robot manipulation.

• Mechanical Engineering — Robotics, Automation, and Design

As a mechanical engineering undergraduate, you can choose robotics courses that give you a strong foundation in robotic kinematics, design, control, and modeling. CSM recommends that prospective students also opt for the CS + Robotics and Intelligent Systems minor if they intend to pursue robotics further.

• B.S. in Engineering — Robotics and Information Focus Area

CSM’s engineering degree gives students a strong foundation in integrative design, giving them the tools to approach problem-solving from an interdisciplinary perspective that incorporates elements of engineering, creative design, and the social sciences. Students then apply their design skills to robotics and have to complete their senior design project in robotics and automation.

5. University of Michigan’s Robotics Major

Private or Public: Public

Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $9,043 for Michigan residents and $29,040 for non-residents

Student-to-faculty ratio: 4:1

Average class size: 20-30

Acceptance Rate: 20%

Notable alumni: Larry Page, Tony Fadell, Meera Sampath, Thomas Knoll

Michigan launched its undergraduate Robotics major in 2022. The dedicated major embraces robotics’ interdisciplinary nature and  courses include mechanical and electrical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, and core robotics. 

Additionally, Michigan offers the “Robotics Pathways and Careers Speaker Series (RPCSS),” where a professional working in robotics comes to talk to students about the impact of robotics on their lives and discuss their career options. Past speakers include NASA engineers, video game producers, and researchers.

To qualify for the robotics major, you must already be enrolled in U-Michigan’s College of Engineering, completing a full term with a minimum GPA of 2.0, and opting for courses in linear algebra, engineering design, calculus, and physics.

6. Georgia Institute of Technology’s Robotics specialization and minor

Private or Public: Public

Location: Atlanta, GA

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $10,770 for Georgia residents and $32,940 for non-residents

Student-to-faculty ratio: 22:1

Average class size: 20-30

Acceptance Rate: 17%

Notable alumni: Dean Kamen, Jan Davis, Rosalind Picard

Georgia Tech offers a B.S. in mechanical engineering with a specialization in automation and robotic systems. The degree covers core physics, mathematics, computer science, and chemistry courses. Furthermore, as part of your specialization, you will learn about machine design, controlling dynamic systems, AI, machine learning, mechatronics, and core robotics. The university also offers a minor in robotics that, besides an introduction to robotics, focuses on medical robotics and biomedical applications, pattern recognition, and AI and machine learning.  

You will also be able to access Georgia Tech’s robotics labs, which conduct cutting-edge research in automated manufacturing, precision engineering, motion control, adaptive learning, and much more.  

7. Johns Hopkins University’s Robotics Minor

Private or Public: Private

Location: Baltimore, MA

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $62,840

Student to faculty ratio: 6:1

Average class size: < 20

Acceptance Rate: 7%

Notable Alumni: Rachel Carlson, Michael R. Bloomberg, Victor A. McKusick

You can minor in robotics if you’re pursuing an undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University, offered by the university’s Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics in collaboration with the Whiting School of Engineering. 

The minor covers robot kinematics and dynamics, systems theory, signal processing, control, and computation and sensing. You will also learn about AI, machine learning, human-robot interaction, and spacecraft robotics. 

8. New York University’s Robotics Minor

Private or Public: Private

Location: New York City, NY

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $67,804

Student-to-faculty ratio: 5:1

Average class size: 15-30

Acceptance Rate: 35%

Notable alumni: Benjamin Adler, Ursula Burns, Charles Camarda

If you’re pursuing STEM at NYU, then consider getting a minor in robotics. NYU’s robotics minor covers the fundamentals of the subject, namely kinematics, dynamics, manipulation, locomotion, planning, vision, and human-robot interaction. To successfully obtain a minor, you have to take the following four courses: robotic manipulation and locomotion, robot vision, robot motion and planning, and haptics and tele-robotics in medicine. 

To be eligible for the minor, you must have previously opted for calculus, mechanics, programming, linear algebra, and differential courses. NYU estimates you need four semesters (two years) to get your minor. You will also have the opportunity to join the NYU Robotics Design Team, a student-run organization that designs and builds its own robots and competes in competitions like the NASA Robotic Mining Competition.

9. Cornell University’s Robotics Minor

Private or Public: Private

Location: Ithaca, NY

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $65,204

Student-to-faculty ratio: 9:1

Average class size: 30+

Acceptance Rate: 5.1%

Notable alumni: Edward Bausch, Lowell McAdams, Alonzo G. Decker Jr

Cornell’s Sibley School of Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science programs offer undergraduate students the opportunity to minor in Robotics. During the minor, you will cover the fundamentals of designing, building, and programming a robot. 

If you minor in robotics at Cornell, you must choose three fundamental courses and three electives. Cornell offers the following fundamental courses: intelligent physical systems, mechatronics, artificial intelligence, foundations of robotics, human-robot interaction, autonomous mobile robots, robot perception, and fast robots. For your specialization, you can choose from a variety of courses that fall within the following categories: a) intelligence, b) modeling, dynamics, and control, c) perception, and d) design. You can see the full list of courses here.

10. University of California - Los Angeles’ Degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Private or Public: Public

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Annual Tuition Cost of Attendance: $14,478 for California residents and $32,574 for non-residents

Student-to-faculty ratio: 5.6:1

Average class size: 20+

Acceptance Rate: 6%

Notable alumni: Katherine M. McArthur, Henry Nicholas

While UCLA does not have a dedicated major or minor in robotics, it offers a tailored “robots to rockets” curriculum for its mechanical and aerospace engineering students that focuses on the application of robotics in different fields like air and space travel, automobiles, bionics, processing, and processing. 

The degree has dedicated courses that cover robotic systems and control, design and manufacturing, human-robot interaction, AI, and machine learning. UCLA’s research labs are world-renowned and, as an undergraduate student, you can take part in research opportunities that include robot surgery, space robotics, exoskeletons, and more. 

 

If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI! 

Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!

Image Source - CMU Logo