Automation and Robotics
What Is Automation and Robotics?
Automation and robotics is about keeping the machines that make things running. Factories, food producers, and warehouses across southern Minnesota use robotic arms, conveyors, and computer-controlled equipment to build and package products. Someone has to set those machines up, program them, fix them when they break, and find better ways to use them.
That someone could be you. You do not need any experience with robots or programming to start here. If you like solving problems, working with your hands, and seeing how things work, you already have what it takes to begin.
Is This Path Right for Me?
Starting right out of high school? You can begin with the Foundations certificate or go straight into the two-year degree. No tech background needed.
Already working in a plant or factory? The short certificates build on what you already know and can help you move into higher-paying technician roles. Ask us about class schedules that work around shifts.
Still in high school? If you have done robotics club, shop class, or just like tinkering, ask your counselor about earning Riverland credit through PSEO and dual enrollment.
International student? Our Admissions team can help you understand which programs meet enrollment requirements for international students.
Career Outlook
Companies in our region need people who can keep automated equipment running, and they often cannot find enough of them. Graduates work as automation technicians, maintenance technicians, and robotics technicians at food producers, manufacturers, and warehouses close to home.
1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Industrial Machinery Mechanics, Machinery Maintenance Workers, and Millwrights, May 2024 national data.
Choose Your Path
Riverland offers four awards in automation and robotics, and they stack. You can start with a short certificate, go to work, and come back later. Every credit you earn counts toward the next award, all the way up to the two-year degree.
| Award | Credits | Best For | Where It Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations Certificate | 16 | Trying out the field with no experience needed | Entry-level work or the next certificate |
| Occupational Technology Certificate | 17 | Workers adding hands-on automation skills | Technical roles in production and maintenance |
| Technician Diploma | 46 | Becoming the go-to fixer on the floor | Technician jobs running and repairing robotic systems |
| Engineering Technology AAS | 60 | The full two-year degree | System design, engineering support, leadership roles, or transfer |
What You Will Learn
You will train on real equipment, not just textbooks. Depending on your path, you will learn to wire and read electrical circuits, program PLCs (the small computers that control factory machines), operate and program robotic arms, troubleshoot equipment when it stops working, and design automated systems that solve real production problems.
Have Questions?
About classes, the lab, or careers? Open any program in the table above and use the form in the sidebar. Your question goes straight to the program faculty.
About applying, costs, or getting enrolled? Contact the Admissions office, or use the buttons below to get started.