Should Robotics Engineering Education Include Software Engineering Education?

Abstract

Multiple universities across the United States now offer bachelor's degrees in robotics, which aim to prepare students to work in the robotics industry. To judge how well these programs are providing software engineering training, we evaluate whether these programs teach the software engineering practices that are required for robotics software engineering. We compile an updated list of robotics bachelor's degree programs and measure whether the curriculum of each program claims to teach a specific practice. We find that some of these practices are not mentioned in the curricula, and that some are only taught implicitly in long-term project courses. These project courses vary in scope, guidance, and structure. This implies that robotics bachelor's degrees may not be preparing students to engage with the practices in the workforce.