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Undergraduate Advising & Scheduling
Scheduling advice
While we launch the Robotics Major for Fall 2022, we recognize that many students are seeking advice on how to structure their schedules for the upcoming semesters. Below is advice for students at different points in their degree. You may also find the Robotics Undergraduate Program Guide helpful.
ROB 101 for First Year engineering students
We have reserved 75 seats in ROB 101 for incoming First Year Engineering students. First Year students should register in the following lab sections (you are automatically enrolled in the appropriate lecture section when you register for the lab):
In Person:
ROB 101 – 012
Remote:
ROB 101 – 883
These sections are exactly the same—same instructor, meeting times, locations, etc—as sections 011 (in person) and 882 (remote) except that all seats are reserved for First Year Engineering students. If you are NOT a First Year Engineering student, please join the waitlist for one of the other sections of ROB 101. Once first year students have a chance to register, we will admit as many other students as we can to fill the class! ROB 101 will also be offered again in WN 23.
For more information on ROB 101 please see the course webpage.
Advice for Fall 22 Year 1 students thinking about a Major in Robotics
- Meet with an Undergraduate Advisor through the Engineering Advising Center
- Consider ROB 101 in F-22. We also plan to offer ROB 101 in WN-23.
- Consider ROB 102 as a means to meet your ENGR 101 requirement
- Be aware that there is a section of ENGR 100 called Robotics Mechanisms
- While in startup mode (F22 and WN 23 only), the prerequisites for ROB 204 are: ENGR 100 and one of (ROB 102, ENGR 101, EECS 183, or ENGR 151)
- Be aware that when not in startup mode, ROB 204 has as pre-requisites of one of (ROB 102, ENGR 101, EECS 183, or ENGR 151) and ENGR 100, and a co-requisite of one of (ROB 101, MATH 214, MATH 217, MATH 417, or MATH 419)
- These will be enforced starting in F-23
Advice for Fall 22 Year 2 Students thinking about a Major in Robotics
Let’s assume you have completed ENGR 101 or ROB 102, ENGR 100, Calc I and Calc II, and Phys 140.
Our suggestions are:
- Plan on ROB 204 for W-23
- While in startup mode (F22 and WN 23 only), the prerequisites for ROB 204 are: ENGR 100 and one of (ROB 102, ENGR 101, EECS 183, or ENGR 151).
- Over F-22 and W-23 semesters,
- Complete one of (IOE 265, BME 241, EECS 301)
- Complete one of (ME 240, ME 360) . Note that Math 216 (or equivalent) is required for ME 240.
- Complete one of (EECS 215, BME 211, EECS 270). Note that Math 216 (or equivalent) is required for EECS 215 and BME 211.
- Complete EECS 280
- Complete one of (ROB 101, MATH 214, MATH, 217, MATH 417, MATH 419)
- This will set you up for all of our 300-level classes. Of course, you are not required to take all of them, only three in fact. Hence, by studying the prerequisites more closely, you can be prepared for a subset of the 300-level courses, but not all of them.
Advice for Fall 22 Year 3 Students who are wondering if they can complete a Robotics Major
Schedule an advising appointment with Robotics to discuss your degree plan. If you can’t find an available appointment that fits in your schedule, please email robotics-sso@umich.edu to inquire about additional times.
For many students, it will be difficult to complete the undergraduate program in a total of 4 years with a switch in majors at this time point, but the Robotics degree could be completed with additional term(s) depending on previous course credits. It may be more appropriate to be targeting an MS degree in Robotics.
Before attending office hours, please review the program requirements and flow chart below. It would be helpful to bring along a list of the requirements and prerequisites that you’ve already met with your previous coursework. Please also note that while in startup mode, the Undergraduate Committee will consider individual students’ petitions to waive certain prerequisites.
College of Engineering Core Program Requirements
- Introductory Engineering
- Introduction to Engineering: Engineering 100 or introductory engineering equivalent
- Computational Thinking: Robotics 102 (Introduction to AI and Programming) or Engineering 101 or Engineering 151 or approved introductory programming equivalent
- Linear Algebra: Robotics 101 or Math 214 or Math 217 or Math 417 or Math 419 or approved linear algebra equivalent
- Calculus requirements
- Introductory Calculus: Math 115 or Math 120 (AP); and Math 116 or Math 121 (AP)
- Intermediate Calculus: Math 216
- Physics 140/141 and Physics 240/241
- Chemistry 130 and 125/126
- Intellectual Breadth (16 credits as specified by the College of Engineering Core Requirements Bulletin)
- General Electives (15 credits)
- 15 credits are “required”; College degrees require 128 total credits, and more or fewer GE credits may be needed to achieve this total depending on individual factors in a student’s record.
Robotics in Engineering Program Requirements
- Teamwork in Robotics: Robotics 204 (Human-Robot Systems)
- Robotics Core: at least three of the following courses:
- Robotics 310 (Robot Sensors and Signals)
- Robotics 311 (Build Robots and Make Them Move)
- Robotics 320 (Robot Operating Systems)
- Robotics 330 (Localization, Mapping, and Navigation)
- Robotics 340 (Human-Robot Interaction)
- Discipline Breadth: at least one approved course from all of the following areas:
- Data Structures and Programming: EECS 280
- Probability, Statistics, and Visualization: IOE 265 or EECS 301 or BME 241
- Electronics and Circuits: EECS 215 or EECS 270 or BME 211
- Kinematics and Dynamics: ME 240 or ME 360
- Discipline Depth: at least one of the following courses: AERO 201, EECS 216, EECS 281, EECS 351, EECS 370, EECS 373, IOE 333, IOE 434, MSE 220, NAVARCH 270
- Technical Electives: a minimum of 18 credit hours of approved technical electives, with a minimum 8 credit hours from either the approved set of Upper Level Robotics Courses (described “Robotics Technical Electives” section below)
- Major Design: all of the following courses
- TCHNCLCM 350 (Technical Communication for Robotics)
- Robotics 450 (Robotics Capstone) or EECS 467 (Autonomous Robotics Laboratory)
Who is ready for 300-level courses in Fall 2022?
The following 300-Level courses will be offered in Fall 2022. Please note that the prerequisites listed below are modified for startup mode. The regular prerequisites are listed in the College of Engineering Bulletin.
If you meet the startup mode prerequisite requirements for Fall 2022, but not the regular prerequisite requirements, you will need to fill out this form to request an override in order to register.
Course | Name | Description | Pre-reqs for Fall 2022 | Faculty Teaching |
ROB 311 | How to Build Robots and Make Them Move | ROB 311 introduces the fundamentals of mechanical design, control, fabrication, actuation, instrumentation, and computer interfaces required to realize robotic systems. Students will learn to analyze/simulate rigid body kinematics, kinetics, and dynamics, as well as assess the impedance properties of their designs. ‘Hands-on’ skills will be emphasized in addition to theoretical concepts. | Advised Prerequisites: ROB 204 and (ME 240 and/or 360) | Rouse |
ROB 330 | Localization, Mapping, and Navigation | Development of full-stack autonomous navigation and semantic mapping for mobile robots. Topics include dead reckoning from odometry, sensor modeling of LIDAR and IMUs, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), semantic scene understanding, and an introduction to deep learning methods for convolutional feature learning and object detection. | Prerequisite: EECS 280. Minimum grade of “C-” for enforced prerequisite. Advised Prerequisite: ROB 204 and (IOE 265 or EECS 301) and (ME 240 or ME 360) and (Math 215 or Math 216) | Skinner |
What 300-level courses will be offered in Winter 2023?
Below are the planned course offerings for Winter 2023. Please note that the prerequisites listed below are modified for startup mode. The regular prerequisites are listed in the College of Engineering Bulletin.
If you meet the startup mode prerequisite requirements for Winter 2023, but not the regular prerequisite requirements, you will need to email robotics-sso@umich.edu to request an override in order to register.
Course | Name | Description | Pre-reqs for Winter 2023 | Faculty Teaching |
ROB 310 | Robot Sensors and Signals | Covers practical analog and digital electronics for robotics. Students will: prototype, test, and debug various analog and digital circuits; interface a microcontroller to external circuits; learn to design and prototype circuit boards; interpret data recorded from physical circuits. An exploration of circuits and embedded systems that supports integrated robotic design. | Prerequisite: EECS 215 or BME 211. Minimum grade of “C-” for enforced prerequisite. Advised Prerequisite: ROB 101 and ROB 204. | Gaskell |
ROB 320 | Robot Operating Systems | General computational paradigm for robot operating systems that model, simulate, and control mobile manipulation robots. Composition of full-stack software systems for forward and inverse kinematics, planar path planning, high-dimensional motion planning, maximal coordinate robot simulation, and front-end visualization that work through interprocess communication. | Prerequisite: EECS 280. Minimum grade of “C-” for enforced prerequisite. (Credit for only one: ROB 320, EECS 367, and ROB 511). Advised Prerequisite: ROB 204. | Jenkins |
What do overrides and 300-level prerequisites look like in startup mode?
In startup mode (Fall 22 and Winter 23), several 300-level prerequisites that are usually enforced have been waived. For instance, in startup mode ROB 204 is not an enforced prerequisite for ROB 310, 311, 320, or 330. Below is a comprehensive list of which prerequisites are enforced and waived in startup mode. If you are eligible to take one of these classes under the relaxed prerequisites, you will need to fill out this form to receive an override to register for Winter 23. If you have any questions, please email robotics-sso@umich.edu.
Advising
You can schedule an advising appointment with Robotics here to discuss things such as major exploration, course planning, degree requirements and progress, career opportunities, and declaring a major.
Drop-In Advising
Undergraduate students only, Fall and Winter terms only
Robotics Undergraduate Academic and Faculty Advisors offer virtual drop-in advising appointments for ROB students who have quick questions. The goal for each drop-in appointment is 10-15 mins per appointment. Students may opt into using these appointments to discuss short-term course planning, graduation requirements, general advising, etc with one of ROB’s Academic Advising.
Drop-In Advising Winter 2024 Schedule:
Select Tuesdays (1/30, 2/13, 3/12, 4/9, 4/23) from 10:00am-12:00pm
Please note: Drop-In advising will not be available during the week of Spring Break (February 26th-March 1st). Winter Drop-in Advising will conclude on Friday, April 23rd, for the semester.
Join the Drop-in Advising queue Link
For students looking to receive career planning advising, ROB Faculty members will be available on select days.
Overrides
As we begin the undergraduate program, certain prerequisites for 300-level courses are waived (see “What do overrides and 300-level prerequisites look like in startup mode?” above). If you are eligible to take one of these classes under the relaxed prerequisites, you will need to fill out this form to receive an override to register for Winter 2023.
Petitions
A student may request special permission for an exception to the Robotics degree requirements or guidelines for a specific reason or circumstances through our Robotics Undergraduate Program – Petition for Exception Request Form. It is recommended that the student consult with an academic advisor, the undergraduate coordinator, and/or the Robotics Undergraduate Q&A Forum before submitting the petition.
Petitions for late adds/withdrawals, reinstatement, retroactive term withdrawal, and exceptions to college rules can be found on the Engineering Center for Academic Success website.
Sample & Editable Schedules
These sample schedules provide four different pathways in mind for a Robotics Major to help students envision how requirements may fit together over their time at Michigan. Each plan is only a sample of what is possible.
In addition to the sample schedules below, an editable Robotics schedule is provided by the Engineering Advising Center for you to fill in as you plan your studies.
Computing-focused pathway
Hardware-focused pathway
Empiricism-focused pathway
Breadth-focused pathway
Ask questions and stay updated
Undergrad Robotics email list
Add yourself to ROBOTICS-UNDERGRAD-INFO through M-Community to receive updates, event information, and more
U-M email required.
Undergrad Q&A Forum on Piazza
Post any Robotics-related questions as well as contribute to the discussion threads.
U-M email required.
Robotics Events
See what’s happening in Robotics, especially the next Robotics Pathways and Careers Speaker Series.