Frequently Asked Questions

Review the people associated with the program.

You can earn an MS in HRI through the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, or the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Currently, three departments are associated with the joint HRI PhD program: Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. If you are enrolled in a PhD program in a department that is currently not associated with the HRI program, it may still be possible for you to enroll in the program if the department becomes associated with the HRI program (please contact the program director for details).

A joint PhD in HRI and your home field will improve your competitiveness on the job market, given that it includes both a traditional disciplinary component and a formally recognized interdisciplinary component. For example, a student who graduates with a joint PhD in computer science and HRI will be qualified both for positions in computer science and for interdisciplinary positions outside of typical computer science settings, such as a positions in engineering schools or engineering departments. Moreover, joint PhD students will have additional documented qualifications on the human experimental side that are usually not included in CS, ECE, or ME curricula and that are increasingly required in the growing robotics industry as well as in research settings.