Description
The Robotics program at Oregon State University is a multi-disciplinary research group in the College of Engineering, with faculty members spanning all areas of robotics from mechanical engineering and controls to machine learning and artificial intelligence. Faculty and students from the schools of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science collaborate on research in a variety of areas of robotics, including legged locomotion, power systems, cyber security, environmental monitoring, human-robot interaction, multi-robot systems, agriculture, and software architectures for robotics. Robotics is part of the Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CoRIS) Institute, which spans the university and includes faculty from a variety of disciplines, including civil engineering, oceanographic studies, agriculture, education, psychology, and forestry.
We offer M.S. and Ph.D. degrees as well as a minor at the graduate level, and offer concentration areas at the undergraduate level.
Currently, there are over 80 graduate students in Robotics mentored by our 17 core faculty members, with an additional 20+ affiliate and external faculty across the university. Research funding comes from a wide range of sources, including the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, US Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, NASA, and industry partners.
Our focus is on the full impact of robotic systems deployed in the real world. This includes socio-economic impact, ethics, law and policy, and how to integrate robotics into society with minimum disruption and maximum benefit.
Undergraduate Information
Undergraduate students majoring in the following disciplines can select a concentration area focused on robotics:
Contact Us
For prospective undergraduate students in Computer Science or Electrical and Computer Engineering, please email questions to EECSUndergrad.info@oregonstate.edu. For those in Mechanical Engineering, please email MIME.Advising@oregonstate.edu.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates: Robots in the Real World
The 10-week "Robots in the Real World" summer REU Site offers research experiences in all areas of robotics for students with backgrounds in computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, physics, social science, or any closely related fields.
For more research opportunities, check out the Undergraduate Research Opportunities page.
Graduate Information
The robotics graduate program at Oregon State spans departments in the College of Engineering, with core faculty from mechanical engineering, computer science, and electrical and computer engineering. Affiliations and collaborations across the university include oceanography, biomechanics, art, forestry, agriculture, education, civil, and psychology.
Students may earn Ph.D. or M.S. degrees in robotics with an option to add an appropriate double major, such as mechanics, artificial intelligence, or computer science. Our courses cover core areas of robotics (actuation, locomotion, manipulation, dynamics, control, sensing, artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction, mobile robotics) as well as ethics and societal impacts. We have a vibrant seminar series the brings in industry and academic roboticists from around the world. Our list of required courses is deliberately small, allowing our students to design a program of study that matches their research needs, and can include courses from disparate fields such as materials and psychology.
The robotics research groups are housed in Graf Hall, a two-story 18,000 square foot highbay space for use as a shared laboratory, with associated small laboratories and offices for student use immediately adjacent. This space provides a strong environment for collaboration and interaction among robotics graduate students and faculty. All robotics faculty are housed in offices in the building. Recent renovations have added a conference room, lounge, fabrication lab, human-studies lab, and other common areas. This space is consistently active with rolling, flying, and walking robots.
Additional information on how to write a successful application, general information on the application process, and Frequently Asked Questions about applications and funding (FAQ).
- Ph.D. requirements
- M.S. requirements
- Admission requirements
Graduate Student Handbooks
Graduate student handbooks for both MIME and Robotics can be found here. The handbooks for EECS can be found here.
Contact Us
For prospective graduate students, please email MIME.GradInfo@oregonstate.edu for questions about the graduate application process. For current graduate students with questions about program paperwork, please email MIME.Gradservices@oregonstate.edu. For general questions about the academic content, please email Cindy Grimm (grimmc@oregonstate.edu).
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