u/Excellent_Sir_6163

Hi everyone,

I am considering signing a license for Discovery House, but I have a question about the summer transfer situation. My concern is about the summer months, especially June and July. If I get a summer internship elsewhere, I may need to transfer the license for those months. But since the person taking over needs to be a full-time UMD graduate student, I’m wondering how realistic this is. For people familiar with UMD housing: do full-time graduate students usually look for short-term housing around June/July? Would it be difficult to find someone eligible to take over a license for only the summer?

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m a master’s student originally working on vision generation, and I still really love core computer vision research. I plan to apply for US PhD programs in the near future.

Lately I’ve been noticing the US research funding landscape is getting tighter. I’ve heard two big observations and want to ask if these are actually true:

1. Top schools like Stanford, CMU are leaving far fewer funded PhD spots purely for vision.

2. More government and institutional funding is shifting heavily toward robotics instead of pure vision these days.

If this is the real trend… is switching my focus from pure vision to robotics more promising for PhD admission, funding availability, and long-term career prospects?

Also, I’m personally very interested in multimodal learning, which sits perfectly between vision and robotics.

Would love to hear insights from current PhD students, researchers, or anyone following the US CS/robotics funding & admission trend. Thanks a lot!

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming UPenn MS Robotics student for Fall 2026, and I’m looking for a roommate / housing partner.

Ideally, I’d like to find someone from UPenn MS in CIS, Data Science, or Robotics — Robotics would be especially great since I’m in the same program. I’m mainly considering a 2B2B apartment, but I’m also open to discussing other reasonable options.

Even if we don’t end up housing together, I’d still be happy to connect with other incoming Penn students in CIS / DS / Robotics!

Please feel free to DM me if you’re also looking for housing or want to connect. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’ve been admitted to the MSE Robotics program at Penn for Fall ’26 and wanted to connect with others heading there as well.

I’m especially looking to:

-Connect with fellow admits,if there are groups better!(Whatsapp, wechat or discord)

-Get insights from current students/alumni

-Discuss housing, coursework, assistantships, and internships

If you’re in the same cohort or currently at Penn, I’d love to connect, please comment or feel free to DM. If you have groups, please let me in!

Thanks in advance 😄

Hi everyone,

I’m currently deciding between several master’s programs and would really appreciate any insights or experiences you could share:

- University of Michigan MS in Robotics (MSR)

- University of Pennsylvania MS in Robotics (MSR)

- University of Maryland MSCS

- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign MCS

My goal is to work in robot perception / HRI (Human-Robot Interaction) and eventually pursue a PhD.

I understand that all four schools have strong robotics-related faculty, and on the surface, MSR programs seem like the most direct fit. However, I’ve noticed a few things that make me hesitate:

- It seems that some MSR students may prioritize lighter coursework and prefer deeply engaging in research. In that case, how critical is the “MSR” label itself compared to, say, MSCS?

- For programs like UIUC MCS, although it is considered more “professional,” it still seems possible to get involved in research. So I’m wondering: does MSCS/MSR really provide a significant advantage over MCS in terms of PhD preparation?

- More broadly, for someone targeting PhD in robotics, how much does program type vs. actual research experience matter?

I’d really love to hear from current students or alumni of these programs about:

- Research opportunities (ease of finding advisors, RA positions, etc.)

- Coursework rigor vs. flexibility

- Student outcomes (PhD placements, industry roles)

- Overall experience in the program

Any comparisons or personal experiences would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance!