UC Riverside has created a new Bachelor of Science degree in Robotics Engineering within the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, or BCOE. The new major complements a robotics master’s degree unveiled in 2021. 

“Robotics is one of the most frequently inquired-about majors from high school students considering applying to BCOE,” said Amit Roy-Chowdhury, chair of the robotics program. “The rise of K-12 extracurricular and curricular activities involving aspects of robotics, such as those based on Arduino, has sparked an interest among high school students considering engineering.”

Graduates with robotics skills are expected to fare well in the job market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Projections Managing Partnership project 9% job growth in robotics through 2026 in California, higher than the 4% projected over a similar period for the U.S. 

Robotics straddles several engineering academic disciplines. UCR’s program will be jointly administered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The robotics engineering major emphasizes topics in artificial intelligence, control and navigation, embedded and real-time systems, path planning, and robot design.

Students in the B.S. Robotics Engineering program will be encouraged to participate with ongoing efforts at UCR to provide mentorship and broaden participation in robotics-related activities for K-12 students, such as UCR’s K-12 Lego Robotics Competition. The program will work with BCOE student organizations to create new opportunities for undergraduate student leadership and participation in community outreach events.

^{Thumbnail photo: Stan Lim/UCR}