School of Engineering
Human-Robot Interaction Program
Human-Robot Interaction Program

MS in Human-Robot Interaction

All three departments, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, offer an MS degree in human-robot interaction (HRI). Students in each department share the same set of five required core courses with the PhD program, but electives and other requirements vary. All core courses will be offered annually, so that one-year MS 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 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:

  • CS 131: Artificial Intelligence (3 SHUs)
  • CS 132: Computer Vision (3 SHUs)
  • CS 134: Computational Models in Cognitive Science (3 SHUs)
  • CS 135: Introduction to Machine Learning and Data Mining (3 SHUs)
  • CS 136: Statistical Pattern Recognition (3 SHUs)
  • CS 137: Deep Neural Networks (3 SHUs)
  • CS 138: Reinforcement Learning (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: HCI for Disability
  • CS 150: Special topics: Assistive Algorithms (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: Special Topics: Computer Vision (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: Special topics: Developmental Robotics (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: Special topics: Epistemic Planning (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: Special topics: Logic for AI (or CS + AI) (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: Special topics: Natural Language Processing (3 SHUs)
  • CS 150: Special topics: Trust in Human-Robot Interaction (3 SHUs)
  • CS 152: Cognitive Architectures in the Age of Foundation Models (3 SHUs) 
  • CS 160: Algorithms (4 SHUs)
  • CS 171: Human-Computer Interaction (3 SHUs)
  • CS 250-AFI: Affective Interfaces (3 SHUs)
  • CS 250-HCI: Human-Computer Interaction Seminar (3 SHUs)
  • CS 250-MLS: Machine Learning Seminar (3 SHUs)
  • CS 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 MS 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 MS program. This requires students to complete 30 SHUs 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 SHUs 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 SHUs 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

This requires students to complete 30 SHUs of courses, including five core HRI courses and five additional electives described below.

Elective courses

At least three of the five required electives must be ME or ENP graduate level courses. Each remaining elective must either be (i) a 100-level course with an attribute of SoE-Engineering, SoE-Computing, or SoE-Mathematics or (ii) a 200-level course in CS, EE, ME, or ENP. Courses with fewer than 3 SHUs (including internships) cannot count as electives.

Seminar

During each semester of full-time study, mechanical engineering HRI students should enroll in and complete the HRI-focused section of the department seminar (ME291).

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.