Master of Robotics program at Wayne State University

Robotics is becoming more integrated into daily life as technology-driven environments evolve, particularly in the areas of mobility, manufacturing, agriculture, health care and supply chain management. It has been estimated that the industrial robotics market will expand nearly 12% annually to over $33 billion in the next decade, and skilled operators are needed to compensate for that growth. The M.S. program in robotics delivers critical industry-driven, hands-on learning content to students looking to join an emergent workforce of technologists and automation specialists.

• About
• Degree requirements
• Admission requirements
• Program requirements and curriculum

About

The new M.S. program in robotics will deliver critical industry-driven, hands-on learning content to students looking to join an emergent workforce of technologists and automation specialists. It is part of the College of Engineering's ongoing strategy to present a broader set of degrees and certificates focused on autonomous driving, connectivity, smart infrastructure and electrification.

The interdisciplinary structure of the program will allow faculty to leverage numerous assets from across the college, including the Robotics and Automation Lab, the CARES Lab and the CAR Lab.

Degree requirements

The master's degree in artificial intelligence is offered under the following options:

• Plan A (thesis option): 24 course credit hours plus a 6-credit hour master's thesis
• Plan C (course work option): A minimum of 30 credits of course work required

Plan A is intended for students planning to go on to pursue a Doctoral degree.

All courses must be graduate-level courses offered in the College of Engineering. 

• MS thesis timeline

Admission requirements

Applicants must meet requirements for admission to the Graduate School. Students must have a bachelor's degree or the equivalent in engineering from an accredited college or university. Students from all science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines will be considered for admission.

All applicants must be admitted to the Graduate School, the College of Engineering, and a department within the college, meeting all applicable admission requirements, including a minimum grade point average of 2.75 for regular admission and 2.5 to 2.74 for qualified admission. Professional experience will be considered in admission.

Each application track is administered by a department in the College of Engineering. Students applying for an MS Robotics must meet the application requirements for the department administering the track to which they are applying.

Admission to the program is also contingent upon satisfying the following requirements:

• No other supplemental admission documents are required. However, letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and professional resume/CV may be submitted to aid the admission evaluation process.
• All applicants who have earned degrees from a country where English is not the native language must demonstrate English proficiency via a qualified examination. Applicants must earn a minimum score of 79 from the internet-based TOEFL (iBT) or 550 from a paper-based TOEFL (pBT), an IELTS score of 6.5, or an overall Duolingo score of 125.
• International applicants are required to submit an official course-by-course transcript evaluation. Accepted evaluation services include WES, ECE or SpanTran. Note that the official transcript evaluation must be transmitted directly from the evaluating agency to the WSU Office of Graduate Admissions. The transcript evaluation will serve as your official transcript.
• All applicants must pay the $50 Application Fee. 

Program requirements and curriculum

The program requires students to complete a minimum of 30 credits using master's degree Plan A (24 course credits plus a 6 credit master's thesis) or Plan C (30 credits of coursework). Plan A is intended for students planning to go on to pursue a Doctoral degree.  All courses must be graduate-level courses offered within the College of Engineering.  The program requires applicants to declare one of three majors:

• Industrial Automation, hosted by the Engineering Technology (ET)
• Intelligent Control, hosted by the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
• Smart Mobility, hosted by the Computer Science (CSC)

Students must take 1 of the 2 courses in each of the three foundational areas.  In addition, each track has its own additional requirements. The rest of the elective credits is offered by each department.

Industrial Automation

Intelligent Control

Smart Mobility

* CSC 7991 should be taken with the topic area, Embedded Wireless Networking for Cyber-Physical Systems. Students should consult an advisor before choosing this course as an elective.