Robotics Minor

robot dog
With Gonzaga's Robotics minor, a student from any major can study Robotics, giving you an interdisciplinary edge in this wide-ranging and fast-growing field.

Let your major guide you in your choice of specializations, opening doors to new careers.

The minor is as versitile as the robotics field! Multiple industries use robotics, including aerospace, agriculture, healthcare and defense.

Robtics is also a Concentration for Electrical Engineers or Computer Engineers. These are the only majors that cannot take Robotics as a Minor.

What can you do with Robotics?

Someday, the question will be 'What *can't* you do with Robotics?' These systems mesh with knowledge and expertise from almost every field. For example:

  • Health Care and Human Physiology needs healthcare AI developers, analysts for medical imaging and bioinformatics, and clinical research data scientists.
  • Neuroscientists have helpful insights for developing human-like cognitive abilities, such as recognizing emotions, understanding natural language, and reasoning.
  • Computer Science specialists can create performance analysts and architects for computer systems and embedded systems.
  • Mechanical engineers design a robot's physical structure and movement. Material science specialists develop lightweight, durable, and flexible materials to improve a robot's performance and efficiency.
  • Biomedical engineers develop robotic systems for surgery, rehabilitation, and prosthetics.
  • Environmental scientists develop robots for precision farming and environmental monitoring.
  • Business professionals and entrepreneurs bring technology to the market, developing strategies, identifying opportunities, and securing research & development funding.
  • Communications writers translate complex information into clear language to inform the public, either for news reports/technology blogs, user manuals and investor documentation, or robotic product marketing.
  • Psychologists and Biologists contribute to understanding behavioral ecology or human-robot interaction, user preferences, and the emotional impact of robots on individuals and society.
  • Law, Philosophers and Ethicists are already discussing robot rights, accountability, data privacy, and ethical implications of autonomous systems. Those discussions should be based on a realistic, hands-on understanding of the technology.

What You'll Study: Fundamentals & Principals

You'll complete 18-21 credits, depending on the specific paths you choose. Here are the categories of classes you'll take as a Robotics minor. 

All robotics students start with one programming course.

  • Most students will take CPSC 121 Computer Science I
  • Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or Engineering Management majors may take ENSC 201 Programming for Engineers
 

Choose one combination:

or
 

All robotics minors take both of the following two courses:

 

What You'll Study: Specializations

All Robotics minors choose two specialization courses. There are options for any student from Arts to Physiology, Business to Engineering. The more mathematics courses in your specific major, the more options you have.

Click on any of the following to see some of the options. All students should check the catalog for pre-requisites, and plan ahead with your adviser.

These courses are open to any student who has completed the Computer Systems/Organization Second Fundamental requirement. No additional math or computer science is required!

 

If your major requires a higher level of Calculus & Analytic Geometry, you can take EENG 201 Circuit Analysis I with EENG 201L Lab, a Specialization course that leads to one of these options:

 
Computer Science majors and Applied Math programs include the pre-requisites* to two Computer Science AI-related courses:
  • CPSC 323 Machine Learning & Intelligent Systems
  • CPSC 475 Speech & Natural Language Processing
* These pre-reqs are CPSC 122 Computer Science II, CPSC 223 Algorithms & Abstract Data, MATH 157 Calculus-Analytic Geometry I, and MATH 231 Discrete Structures. Check with the undergraduate catalog and plan ahead with your Adviser.
 

Many of the Specialization courses are already part of the Mechanical Engineering degree. The Robotics Minor adds the Fundamentals & Principles plus an option to take the CPEN specialization courses. Additional options or courses that would go well with your technical electives include:

 

Robotics Lab

Students practice the principles of robotic design and manipulation through the integration of several hardware modules accompanied by the driving software. Through a series of carefully structured lab projects, such as line-tracking, object avoidance, maze solver, and others, students will gain the skills of developing and implementing various robotic systems' concepts using state-of-the-art robotic learning kits.