FAQs

This page contains answers to many common questions that we receive. Note this page is a work in progress!

I’m interested in doing research in your lab! Are there positions available right now?
  • Current GT Students: It is likely we cannot bring you on at this time. However, please send Shreyas an email with your interests and qualifications.
  • Undergrads at Other Institutions: It’s very unlikely we can bring you on at this time, unfortunately.
  • Current High School Students: We definitely cannot bring you on as a researcher due to labor laws and the extensive paperwork required to work with minors.
I need to review a paper! Do you have guidelines?

Yes! See here: paper_review_guidelines

I am a prospective PhD student. Should I apply to GT’s ME PhD program, or the Robotics PhD program?

They each have their pros and cons:

  • ME PhD:
    • No required classes; Great if you are an MS student with credits to transfer
    • No lab rotation requirements
    • Qualifying exam committee must be from the ME department; Plus, the exam material is restricted to a pool of papers that can be outdated and/or irrelevant to your research
    • Lower priority in class registration for many non-ME classes
  • Robotics PhD:
    • Has required classes
    • Has lab rotation requirements (Multidisciplinary Robotics Research); Great if you want more collaboration opportunities
    • Your qualifying exam materials and committee are more tailored and flexible
    • Higher priority in class registration than an ME PhD for many non-ME classes (especially CS)
    • Some employers may find the title of “Robotics PhD” more prestigious
  • Some professors may also have different funding requirements for PhD students of different programs
What classes should I take at GT to learn useful skills for robotics research?

See our ROBO Course Guide.

    Acknowledgments

    Thanks to David Fridovich-Keil for inspiring this page, based on https://clearoboticslab.github.io/QandA/