UT launched the first known freshman robotics program in the country, allowing high school students to apply directly as part of their admissions application to the University, according to a Sept. 5 press release. 

The new initiative is part of Texas Robotics, a collaborative program of faculty from the computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering departments. Texas Robotics has offered a graduate portfolio program for master’s and PhD students since its inception and launched a minor in robotics for undergraduates last year. 

Sridevi Rao, managing director of Texas Robotics, said the group created the freshman program to accommodate the growing number of students interested in robotics-related fields. 

“We had a lot of students who had done some really cool robotics projects and even won national competitions in high school, and then they were coming to UT and … weren’t able to necessarily get any type of credentials in robotics as an undergrad,” Rao said. “We were noticing that undergrad students had a four-year gap in their robotics education, and we wanted to be a part of fixing that.” 

Incoming freshmen can apply through the Common App or Apply Texas alongside their applications to the University, and the deadline is Dec. 1. Rao said applicants must apply for a major within one of the four departments that make up Texas Robotics and answer an extra question to indicate their interest in the program. If students answer “yes,” they will be instructed to write an additional essay about what robotics means to them. 

Rao said once students are accepted, they will spend their first two years researching a desired robotics field and the last two years completing their minor in robotics. The system is part of the Freshman Research Initiative, a program run by the College of Natural Sciences that introduces freshmen to research opportunities. 

“We think this (system) is really beneficial because they’ll be getting the in-depth study of their major, and then they’ll be getting the breadth of robotics,” Rao said. “They’ll leave here with the social robotics, research in robotics and the academic piece with the minor in robotics, so it really is like a holistic, four-year cohort-based experience for them.”

Texas Robotics Director Peter Stone, said freshmen in the program will have the option to live together in Jester Hall. Stone said this program is unlike any other in the country because it guarantees high schoolers a spot.

“Most places, you need to first apply to the university, and then there are some robotics majors, but you don’t know if you’re going to be admitted to it when you decide to go (there),” Stone said. “Whereas now, when (students) decide to come to UT Austin, they can come secure in the knowledge that there’s a spot waiting for them.”