MRC Graduate Research Assistantship Program

FY26 MRC Graduate Research Assistantship Announcement

The Maryland Robotics Center (MRC) in the Institute for Systems Research at the University of Maryland (UMD) invites full-time UMD PhD students to submit an application to the MRC Graduate Assistantship Program in the following eight research areas:

• Multi-Robot Systems: robotic swarms, robotic cooperation under limited communication, distributed robotics, crowd and multi-agent simulation, long-distance collaborative autonomy;
• Medical Robotics: surgical robotics, haptics-enabled robotics, exoskeletons for rehabilitation, and magnetic micromanipulation for drug delivery;
• Miniature Robotics: mesoscale robots, cell manipulation, and micro and nano manipulation;
• Robotics for Extreme Environments: space robotics and autonomous underwater vehicles;
• Autonomous Unmanned Systems: aerial robotics, unmanned sea surface vehicles, planetary surface rovers, robot motion planning, digital twin development, robot navigation of complex terrain, and simulation-based verification for autonomous systems;
• Bioinspired Robotics: Robots inspired by biological forms, bio-inspired design and manufacturing, artificial muscles, adaptive control of bio-inspired robots, biosensors, soft robots, co-robotics, multifunctional materials and structures, biomaterials, and biolocomotion;
• Cognitive Robotics:  explainable artificial intelligence, perception-based interaction, and metareasoning to improve team performance;
• Human-Robot Interaction: Human-robot collaboration, human behavior modeling, human-robot communication, learning and cognition, planning and re-planning, management of trust and its effects on collaboration, and forensics for human-machine teaming.

Eligibility 

• The MRC Graduate Research Assistantship Program is open to outstanding mid-career UMD PhD students whose advisors are current members of the Maryland Robotics Center.
• Applicant’s research must fall into one or more of the above eight research areas.
• Applicants must be full-time students and be involved in ongoing robotics research.
• Previous recipients of the MRC GRA are eligible to apply, however, priority consideration will be given to students who have not previously received an MRC GRA.

We recognize that strength comes through diversity and actively seek and welcome students with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities. We especially encourage women and minority candidates to apply.

Funding

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) appointments at the Maryland Robotics Center are typically offered as 9-month positions, beginning at the start of the academic fall term (PP04). However, there is potential for these appointments to be extended to 12 months, depending on the needs of the project and availability of funding. Recipients will receive a stipend, tuition support, and benefits commensurate with their current appointment. Please note that MRC GRA positions are contingent upon the availability of funding and are subject to hiring approval by the Institute for Systems Research. 

How to apply

The MRC Graduate Research Assistantship application should include the following materials:

1. 1-2 page research statement stating the primary research area(s) above and highlighting the originality of the student’s dissertation research and its potential impact on the research field; 
2. CV including publication list;
3. Letter of endorsement from the student’s PhD advisor (MRC faculty member) that describes student’s research potential and highlights the relevance of the student’s research to MRC’s mission and critical activities and states the expected graduation date; and
4. A sample publication (optional).

Applicants should submit all application materials as a single pdf file named Applicant’s LastName_MRCFY26GRA to robotics@umd.edu, with the subject line of the email: MRC FY26 GRA APPLICATION. The letter of endorsement from the student’s advisor (MRC faculty member) should be included in the pdf file application. The best consideration date is February 1 annually.

Questions should be directed to robotics@umd.edu.

Current and Former MRC Graduate Research Assistantship Program Recipients