Online Schools for Robotics: How to Choose

Robotics is a discipline used commercially for automating manufacturing processes and in research and development for testing new products and developing comprehensive solutions to complex problems. Students will not often find robotics degrees in fully-online form, and online programs that do have robotics components are often centered in other disciplines.

How to Find an Online School for Robotics

Robotics Program Availability

Robotics programs are not normally available in fully-online form. While online programs from several different disciplines may touch on robotics, degrees specifically in robotics are rare, and fully-online options may not exist at all. Students should also be aware that in most cases, fully-online degrees with robotics components are only available at the master's degree level.
Because robotics is not so much its own discipline as a melding of several other disciplines, those who wish to study robotics may have to approach their chosen subject area by first studying one of the parent disciplines, such as engineering, electronics or computer science. Online programs with robotics components normally center in one of these parent disciplines.

Degree Flexibility and Scheduling

Some online degree programs or classes are designed for working adults and allow students a great deal of flexibility in scheduling. Often, degrees at the graduate level, which is where most online robotics degrees fall, fit this profile. In this sort of course or program, students may have no set assignment or test dates and rarely have to attend class at any given time. Some classes, however, may require students to attend at a particular time of day on certain days of the week in order to view live video lectures or participate in class conferences via voice or sometimes video.

Online Program Options for Robotics

Master of Science in Robotics

Which classes are offered by a given degree program in robotics will differ from discipline to discipline. Courses in process automation, simulation, modeling, control systems and computer architecture are common in these programs, and more specialized courses in areas such as computer science or electronics may be found depending on the focus area of the course. Often, the online portions of robotics degree programs are centered in areas that can easily be studied without hands-on contact with robotic devices, such as physics, computer science and mathematics.