Minor in Robotics Applications Open Now!

Robotics Stream Freshman Research Initiative

CNS students apply to and are admitted to the FRI prior to their Freshman year at the university. Through this program, students attend a research seminar and complete a guided research project. 

If you are interested in the Freshman Research Initiative, learn more here.

We have a unique opportunity to allow first year engineering students majoring in ASE, COE, ECE, and ME to apply for the FRI starting in Spring 2024. This will be a lottery system for students to be guaranteed a spot in the FRI Robotics stream for Spring 2024 and Fall 2024. Please fill out this Qualtrics survey before October 5, 2023 to enter the lottery. Students will be informed by October 6, 2023.

Texas Robotics Undergraduate Research Program

Through the Texas Robotics Undergraduate Research Program, current undergraduate students in the University of Texas are able to apply to research assistant positions offered by current Texas Robotics graduate students. 

Learn more about open positions and apply. 

Minor in Robotics

Admissions Overview
The Minor in Robotics is intended for undergraduate students who wish to develop proficiencies in the interdisciplinary field of robotics while pursuing a major in a related field. This application for Fall 2023 will be to join the Spring 2024 Minor in Robotics cohort. Please note this is a small admissions cycle (and the only fall admissions cycle we will hold) and there will be a larger admissions cycle annually in the Spring for both the Fall 2024 & Spring 2025 cohort. 

• The minor must be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree in one of the following supported majors: Aerospace Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computational Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science.
• Students must have completed 24 hours or more in residence by the end of the current semester at the University of Texas at Austin to apply. (The minor is intended for students to begin in their second or third year.)
• Students must be able to attend RBT 350 Gateway to Robotics in Spring 2024, which meets TTH 3:30pm to 5:00pm. 
• Applications are due by October 1 and will be reviewed by an admissions committee that includes Robotics faculty and staff. Decisions will be made by the end of October 2023. Please note that the pilot cohorts will be small. 
• Information sessions will be held on September 7 at 12 noon in EER 3.640/3.642 and September 12 at 5pm in GDC 4.304. If you miss them, they will be available on our IG @TexasRobotics.

Overview of Application Components
This application cannot be saved and completed later. All required components must be submitted in one sitting. Submit all application components here.

• Required: Resume
• Required: A potential 4-year degree plan (See an example here)
  • This should include future major courses and robotics minor courses you hope to take. Please include courses you have already taken from past semesters in bold. (This is a tentative plan and can be changed in the future.)
• Required: Video Essay (a maximum of 2 minutes)
  • Prompt: Tell us about yourself. Why are you interested in robotics? How will this minor help you achieve your personal and/or career goals? What impact do you hope to make in the field of robotics?

Minor Requirements
The Minor in Robotics requires a completion of 15 credit hours (5 courses) which must include the following:

• One 3-credit hour Gateway to Robotics Course: RBT 350 
  • Note that you must be accepted into the minor to enroll in this course. This course will prepare students to take robotics minor courses in areas outside of their declared major.
• The remaining 4 courses must be from different content areas and 2 out of the 4 courses must be from outside of the student’s major
• There are 5 content areas: hardware; programming; modeling & control; sensing, perception & planning; and machine learning. See course options here. 
  • Note that a single course can only fulfill a single content area. Ex. CS 378: Autonomous Driving could fulfill either a programming course, a modeling & control course, or a sensing, perception & planning course

RBT 350: Gateway to Robotics FAQs
RBT 350 is the gateway course for the minor in robotics, and must be taken the first year of enrollment in the minor. This course will prepare students to take robotics minor courses in areas outside of their declared major.

• At this time, students must be accepted into the minor to enroll in this course. 
• There are currently no prerequisites for RBT 350.
• RBT 350 will be offered in the Spring and the Fall, and it can be taken either semester.
• RBT 350 will meet on TTH 3:30-5:00pm in Spring 2024
• RBT 350 must be completed prior to beginning courses for the minor that are outside of the student’s major. 
• For the purposes of creating the 4 year course plan for the application, students can assume that RBT 350 will serve as an alternative prerequisite for approved Robotics Minor Courses. 
  • It is still undetermined for which courses RBT 350 will serve as a prerequisite.
  • Students may still require the consent of the instructor for courses that RBT 350 serves as an alternative prerequisite.

Questions? 

Please talk to your advisor or email robotics@utexas.edu if you have any questions.