Academics
M.S. Program Requirements
All three departments, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer
Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, offer an M.S. degree in
human-robot interaction (HRI). Students in each department share
the same set of five required core
courses with the Ph.D. program, but electives and other requirements
vary. All core courses will be offered annually, so that one-year M.S.
students will be able to take them within one year.
Computer Science-Specific Requirements
Duration
The Department of Computer Science offers two
M.S. options to students in HRI: a course-based option
and a thesis-based option. The course-based option can
be completed within one year and requires students to
complete 30 credit hours (SHUs) of courses. The degree will
stipulate "non-thesis."
To earn the stipulation "with thesis," the student must
work with a mentor to perform research which will then
be written into a thesis and defended. This is usually
done during a second year, as the thesis can take one or
two semesters to complete.
Electives
All HRI students are required to take HRI
electives from a pool of approved courses. Below is the
list of approved electives for computer science HRI
students:
- COMP 131: Artificial Intelligence (3 SHUs)
- COMP 135: Introduction to Machine Learning (3 SHUs)
- COMP 136: Statistical Pattern Recognition (3 SHUs)
- COMP 150-AAA: Artificial Agents and Autonomy (3 SHUs)
- COMP 150-CMCS: Computational Models in Cognitive Science (3
SHUs)
- COMP 150-NLD: Situated Natural Language Dialogues with Robots (3
SHUs)
- COMP 150-NLP: Natural Language Processing (3 SHUs)
- COMP 150-RML: Research in Applied Machine Learning (3 SHUs)
- COMP 150-UIM: User Interfaces for Mobile Platforms (3 SHUs)
- COMP 160: Algorithms (4 SHUs)
- COMP 171: Human-Computer Interaction (3 SHUs)
- COMP 250-AFI: Affective Interfaces (3 SHUs)
- COMP 250-HCI: Human-Computer Interaction Seminar (3 SHUs)
- COMP 250-MLS: Machine Learning Seminar (3 SHUs)
- COMP 250-PBI: Physiological and Brain Interfaces (3 SHUs)
Thesis
Computer science HRI master’s students writing a thesis
are required to submit a thesis prospectus by the end of
their first semester. The prospectus, which should
provide a detailed description of research achievements
and future plans, should be pre-approved by the thesis
advisor. The prospectus will be vetted by the graduate
committee, which will respond in writing to the student
to provide the outcome.
The student's advisor will propose a committee to the
faculty for approval. The thesis committee, chaired by
the advisor, will include at least three faculty
members, including one member from outside the
Department of Computer Science (ideally,
a faculty member associated with
the HRI program). Upon completion of the research,
the student must prepare a thesis and publicly defend
it. The defense includes a 45-minute talk, open to the
public, where the student presents their research. The
public presentation must be advertised to the entire
department at least one week prior to the presentation.
Advising
Advising of HRI M.S. students without a thesis
requirement will be handled by a designated faculty or
staff member. Thesis students will already have an
assigned faculty advisor.
Foreign Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement in HRI.
Electrical and Computer Engineering-Specific Requirements
Duration
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers students in
human-robot interaction (HRI) a course-based, one-year M.S. program.
This requires students to complete 30 credit hours of courses, including
five core HRI courses and five additional courses. The degree will
stipulate “non-thesis.” The Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering does not offer a thesis option in HRI.
Elective courses
The 15 remaining credit hours must fulfill the following requirements:
- At least three of the five required electives must be taken from
the list of approved Electrical and Computer Engineering electives
- EE-0105: Feedback-Control Systems (3 SHUs
- EE-0106: Advanced Feedback-Control Systems (3 SHUs)
- EE-0109: Convex Optimization (3 SHUs)
- EE-0125: Digital Signal Processing (3 SHUs)
- EE-0133: Digital Image Processing (3 SHUs)
- EE-0140: Stochastic Processes, Detection and Estimation (3
SHUs)
- EE-0107: Communication Systems (4 SHUs)
- EE-0127: Information Theory (3 SHUs)
- EE-0130: Networked Estimation and Control (3 SHUs)
- Each remaining elective must be a 100-level or 200-level course
from one of the following departments: Bio, BME, CEE, Chem, ChemE,
CS, Math, MechE, and Physics. Only courses listed with 3 or more
credit hours can count as electives
Advising
Advising of Electrical and Computer Engineering HRI students will be
handled by a designated faculty or staff member formally affiliated with
the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Foreign Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement in HRI.
Mechanical Engineering-Specific Requirements
Duration
The Department of Mechanical Engineering offers students
in human-robot interaction (HRI) a course-based,
one-year M.S. program. This requires students to
complete 30 credit hours of courses, including five core
HRI courses and five additional courses from a list of
electives approved by the Department of Mechanical
Engineering. The degree will stipulate "non-thesis." The
Department of Mechanical Engineering does not offer a
thesis option in HRI.
Elective courses
At least three of the five required electives must be
taken from the list of
approved Mechanical Engineering and
Engineering Psychology electives.
Each remaining elective must either be (i) a 100-level
course with an attribute of SoE-Engineering or SoE-Mathematics or (ii) a
200-level course in COMP, EE, ME, or ENP. Only courses listed with 3 or
more credit hours can count as electives.
Advising
Advising of mechanical engineering HRI students will be
handled by a designated faculty or staff member formally
affiliated with the Department of Mechanical
Engineering.
Foreign Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement in HRI.
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