Message from the Director of Robotics Education and Collaborating Industry

Robotics is no longer a specialized niche — it is rapidly becoming the backbone of how the world works. From autonomous systems navigating complex environments to intelligent machines transforming healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing, the demand for engineers who can design, build, and lead in this space has never been greater.

The University of Washington's M.S. and graduate certificate in Robotics programs were created to meet that moment. We built this program with a goal of preparing engineers to enter the field and lead robotics in interdisciplinary fields. Drawing on UW’s deep expertise in the College of Engineering, we offer a curriculum that is rigorous, cross-disciplinary, and firmly grounded in real-world application.

At the heart of our programs is a belief that great roboticists are made at the intersection of theory and practice. Students leave here with a strong command of robotic system design, modeling, AI and machine learning, and systems integration — and with the hands-on experience to apply that knowledge from day one. Our culminating experience challenges students to translate engineering requirements into working systems, evaluated by industry partners who are also shaping the future of the field.

We've designed the programs to be flexible enough to serve both full-time students and working professionals. Whether you are pursuing the Master of Science in Robotics or upskilling through the Graduate Certificate in Applied Robotics, you will learn alongside peers from across engineering disciplines, advised by faculty at the forefront of robotics research, and connected to the companies and institutions redefining what robots can do.

Seattle is the ideal place to do this work. The region is a global hub for aerospace, technology, and advanced manufacturing — home to companies like Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft, Blue Origin, and a growing ecosystem of robotics innovators. Our students don't just study the future of robotics here; they help build it.

I invite you to explore what this graduate robotics program can do for your career, your curiosity, and your ambitions. The robots of tomorrow need the engineers of today — and we're here to help you become one of them.

Xu Chen, Director of Robotics Education, University of Washington College of Engineering
Bryan T. McMinn Endowed Research Professor, Mechanical Engineering