Pathways initiatives for graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in robotics

The Maryland Robotics Center offers the Pathway to the PhD program to support research experiences for ENPM- and MSSE-Robotics students interested in pursuing a PhD in robotics or a related field. The Pathway to the PhD program is one semester in duration. The Pathways program is supported in part by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) under the ArtIAMAS cooperative agreement.

Eligibility:

Students enrolled in the ENPM- or MSSE-Robotics programs having completed at least one semester with a minimum 3.5 GPA. Summer internships are permitted and do not count toward the semester quota.

Requirements:

  • A letter of interest from the applicant affirming the student’s eligibility, UID, graduation date, mentor’s name and affiliation, desired start date, and a short description of the research topic to be pursued;
  • A letter of endorsement from an MRC faculty member who will advise the participant’s research activities for a minimum of one semester. The letter should affirm that the mentor will provide research guidance to the Pathway student and that the student’s research will take place on the UMD College Park campus;
  • Student resume;
  • Student UMD transcript.

Benefits:

Selected participants will be supported on an hourly basis at the graduate-student rate up to 10 hours per week (maximum 20 hours per pay period), subject to availability of funds. The faculty mentor will approve the biweekly payroll. 

Restrictions:

A Pathway student cannot concurrently enroll in an ENPM 808 Independent Study with the same faculty advisor as the Pathway mentor. Furthermore, a Pathway student cannot concurrently serve as a MAGE Teaching Assistant in the same semester.

Application Deadline:  The 2nd Monday of the Fall, Spring, or Summer I Terms

To apply, please send a PDF of your application to robotics@umd.edu.

A list of eligible MRC faculty members is available here: https://robotics.umd.edu/faculty
For questions or clarifications, please contact robotics@umd.edu.
The Maryland Robotics Center now offers the Pathway to the Profession program to support paid and unpaid internship experiences for ENPM-Robotics and RAS-minor students interested in pursuing a career in the robotics industry. Special consideration will be given to unpaid internships at not-for-profit organizations that develop robotics technologies for the benefit of society and planet. The Pathway to the Profession program provides one semester of support from the Maryland Robotics Center.

Eligibility:

Students enrolled in the ENPM-Robotics program having completed at least one semester of the program with a minimum 3.0 GPA. 

Requirements:

  • A letter of interest from the applicant affirming the student’s eligibility, UID, graduation date, internship host name and location, and a short description of the internship duties, dates, and expected time commitment;
  • A copy of the internship offer letter;
  • A copy of the learning contract, signed by employer and student about internship goals (if applicable);
  • A copy of the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) from International Student & Scholar Services (if applicable);
  • Student resume; and
  • Student UMD transcript.

Benefits:

Selected participants will receive a one-time grant to support cost of living expenses, subject to availability of funds.

Restrictions:

Pathways students must fully comply with their individual visa restrictions, as applicable. In particular, F1 international students must complete the internship approval with ISSS before they apply to the Pathways program.

For best consideration, please submit by May 31st.

To apply, please send a PDF of your application to robotics@umd.edu.

For questions or clarifications, please contact robotics@umd.edu.
 

The Maryland Robotics Center offers the Pathway to Entrepreneurship program to support commercialization experiences for ENPM-Robotics and RAS-minor students interested in creating a startup in the robotics industry. Special consideration will be given to startup ideas that develop robotics technologies for the benefit of the society and planet. The Pathway to the Entrepreneurship program provides a one-time payment up to $500 to eligible students who have completed the requirements below.

Eligibility:

Students enrolled in the ENPM-Robotics program or Robotics and Autonomous Systems Minor having completed at least one semester of the program with a minimum 3.0 GPA. 

Requirements:

  • Certificate of completion of a UMD I-Corps Customer Discovery Workshop (see https://www.icorps.umd.edu/ for a list of upcoming workshop dates and deadlines);
  • I-Corps Final Presentation Slides;
  • List of I-Corps Customer Discovery Interviews including name, position, and date of interview;
  • Resumes and transcripts of student participants;
  • Letter of interest explaining the startup vision and student qualifications; the letter should state the student name and UID to receive funds.

Benefits:

Selected participants will receive a one-time payment to their student account to support the cost of prototype development, subject to availability of funds. One payment will be made to each student team.

Restrictions:

Pathways students must fully comply with their individual visa restrictions, as applicable.

Applications accepted on a rolling basis. To apply, please send a single PDF of your application to robotics@umd.edu. A complete application includes the items listed under Requirements above.

For questions or clarifications, please contact robotics@umd.edu.

The Maryland Robotics Center now offers undergraduate and high school students the opportunity to participate in the MRC Pathways program to support robotics research internships with MRC faculty. The Pathways program is supported in part by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) under the ArtIAMAS cooperative agreement.

Eligibility:

Undergraduates from the University System of Maryland and high school students are eligible for participation in the Pathways internship program. Summer internships are permitted.

Requirements:

  • A letter of interest from the student affirming eligibility (see above), UID, expected graduation date, research mentor’s name and affiliation, desired start date, and a short description of the research topic to be pursued;
  • A letter of endorsement from an MRC faculty member who will advise the participant’s research activities for a minimum of one semester;
  • Student resume; 
  • Student transcript.

Benefits:

Pathways students participating in MRC research will be supported on an hourly basis at the undergraduate-student rate up to 10 hours per week (maximum 20 hours per pay period), subject to availability of funds. The faculty mentor will approve the biweekly payroll.

Application Deadline:  The 2nd Monday of the Fall, Spring, or Summer I Terms

To apply, please send a PDF of your application to robotics@umd.edu.

A list of eligible MRC faculty members is available here: https://robotics.umd.edu/faculty
For questions or clarifications, please contact robotics@umd.edu.

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