Cyber-Physical Systems Education
The University of Virginia is leading the way in 21st century education in Cyber-Physical Systems.
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) is the engineering discipline that interfaces the cyber and physical to address today's most pressing societal challenges. Being a CPS engineer requires an interdisciplinary approach to learning, thinking, and communicating that an education at UVA Engineering can help you develop. With over 50 world-class faculty in CPS, the UVA Link Lab is the premier location to pursue a focus in the areas of smart health, smart cities, robotics and autonomous systems, and hardware for IoT.
UVA Engineering offers CPS courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level through various departments and programs.
CPS Graduate Certificate
Earn a Graduate Certificate in Cyber-Physical Systems by completing a graduate curriculum designed to give you the interdisciplinary expertise to be a CPS engineer. The graduate certificate is an official credential approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The certificate is available to current graduate students in UVA Engineering and will be awarded upon degree conferral.
CPS Course Offerings
Spring 2025
Core CPS Courses (for Certificate)
CPS 2: CS 6501 / ECE 6501 Advanced Embedded Computing Systems (Homa Alemzadeh)
CPS4: MAE 6592 Dynamical Systems (Frank Lagor)
CPS 5: CS 6763 Cyber-Physical Systems: Formal Methods, Safety and Security (Lu Feng)
In-Depth CPS courses
CE 6000 Forefronts of Civil Engineering (Venkataraman Lakshmi)
CE 6440 Advanced Transportation Systems (Brian Smith)
CE 6500 World Building with Virtual and Augmented Reality
CE 6500 Artificial Intelligence for Engineers (Leo Liu)
CS 6316 Machine Learning (Shangtong Zhang)
CS 6456 Operating Systems (Felix Lin)
CS 6465 Human-Robot Interaction (Tariq Iqbal)
CS 6501 Network Security and Privacy (Yixin Sun)
CS 6316 Machine Learning (Shangtong Zhang)
CS 6465 Human-Robot Interaction (Tariq Iqbal)
CS 6501 Multi-Robot Navigation (Rohan Chandra)
CS 6501 Learning in Robotics (Madhur Behl)
CS 6501 Network Security and Privacy (Yixin Sun)
ECE 6332 VLSI Design (Benton Calhoun)
ECE 6465 Human-Robot Interaction (Tariq Iqbal)
ECE 6502 Advanced Digital Design Laboratory (Mircea Stan)
ECE 6502 Network Security and Privacy (Yixin Sun)
ECE 6784 Machine Learning for Wireless Communications (Cong Shen)
MAE 6210 Analytical Dynamics (Qing Chang)
MAE 6260 Robotic Autonomy (Tomonari Furukawa)
MAE 6310 Fluid Mechanics I (Dan Quinn)
MAE 6592 Turbulence & Multiphase Flow (Eric Loth)
MAE 6310 Fluid Mechanics I (Dan Quinn)
SYS 6007 Human Factors I (Matthew Bolton)
SYS 6024 User Experience Design (Gregory Gerling)
SYS 6034 Discrete-Event Stochastic Simulation (Brian Park)
SYS 6050 Risk Analysis (James Lambert)
SYS 6465 Human-Robot Interaction (Tariq Iqbal)
SYS 6582 Decision, Planning, and Control (Nicola Bezzo)
Two CORE CPS courses will be offered in Fall 2024:
CPS1: Cyber-Physical Systems Technology and Ethics - CS 6780 / CE 6780 / SYS 6780 / MAE 6780 / ENGR 6780 / ECE 6501
M/W 12:30am – 1:45pm (Rice Hall 340)
(Previously listed under CPS1: Communication, Test-Beds & Policy - ENGR 6559 / CE 6500 / CS 6501 / MAE 6592 / SYS 6581)
CPS3: Signal Processing, Machine Learning, and Control - CS 6762
T/Th 12:30pm - 1:45pm (Thornton Hall D223)
(previously listed under CS 6501 Signal Processing, Machine Learning, and Control)
In-Depth CPS courses:
CE 5400 Traffic Operations | Brian Park
CE 6500 Smart and Healthy Buildings | Brad Campbell, Arsalan Heydarian
CS 6111 Cloud Computing | Haiying Shen
CS 6434 Dependable Computing Systems | Homa Alemzadeh
CS 6501 Human-Computer Interaction | Seongkook Heo
CS 6501 The Internet of Trillions of Things | Kun Qian
CS 6501 Smart and Healthy Buildings | Brad Campbell, Arsalan Heydarian
CS 6501 Learning for Interactive Robots | Yen-Ling Kuo
CS 6501 Computational Behavior Modeling | Afsaneh Doryab
CS 6501 Autonomous Mobile Robots | Nicola Bezzo
ECE 6434 Dependable Computing Systems | Homa Alemzadeh
ECE 6501 Autonomous Mobile Robots | Nicola Bezzo
ECE 6501 AI Hardware | Mircea Stan
ECE 6850 Introduction to Control Systems | Zongli Lin
MAE 6270 Experimental Robotics | Tomo Furukawa
MAE 6600 Introduction to Control Systems | Zongli Lin
SYS 6005 Stochastic Modeling I | Tariq Iqbal
SYS 6021 Statistical Modeling I | Seokhyun Chung
SYS 6050 Risk Analysis | Jim Lambert
SYS 6060 Autonomous Mobile Robots | Nicola Bezzo
SYS 6581 Computational Behavior Modeling | Afsaneh Doryab
SYS 6581 Human Factors in Safety | Matthew Bolton
SYS 6582 Smart and Healthy Buildings | Brad Campbell, Arsalan Heydarian
Graduate Courses
Undergraduate Courses
Two CORE CPS courses will be offered in Fall 2023:
CPS1: Cyber-Physical Systems Technology and Ethics - CS 6780 / CE 6780 / SYS 6780 / MAE 6780 / ENGR 6780
T/Th 11:00am - 12:15pm (Rice Hall 340)
(Previously listed under CPS1: Communication, Test-Beds & Policy - ENGR 6559 / CE 6500 / CS 6501 / MAE 6592 / SYS 6581)
CPS3: Signal Processing, Machine Learning, and Control - CS 6762
T/Th 12:30pm - 1:45pm (Rice Hall 340)
(previously listed under CS 6501)
In-Depth CPS courses:
CS 6111 Cloud Computing | Haiying Shen
CS 6434 Dependable Computing Systems | Homa Alemzadeh
CS 6501 Human-Computer Interaction | Seongkook Heo
CS 6501 Smart and Healthy Buildings | Brad Campbell, Arsalan Heydarian
CS 6501 Computational Behavior Modelng | Afsaneh Doryab
CS 6501 Autonomous Mobile Robots | Nicola Bezzo
ECE 6434 Dependable Computing Systems | Homa Alemzadeh
ECE 6501 Autonomous Mobile Robots | Nicola Bezzo
ECE 6501 AI Hardware | Mircea Stan
ECE 6850 Introduction to Control Systems | Zongli Lin
CE 5400 Traffic Operations | Brian Park
CE 6500 Smart and Healthy Buildings | Brad Campbell, Arsalan Heydarian
SYS 6005 Stochastic Modeling I | Tariq Iqbal
SYS 6021 Statistical Modeling I | Laura Barnes, Julianne Quinn
SYS 6050 Risk Analysis | Jim Lambert
SYS 6060 Autonomous Mobile Robots | Nicola Bezzo
SYS 6581 Computational Behavior Modelng | Afsaneh Doryab
SYS 6581 Human Factors in Safety | Matthew Bolton
SYS 6582 Smart and Healthy Buildings | Brad Campbell, Arsalan Heydarian
MAE 6592 Wind Energy | Eric Loth
MAE 6210 Analytical Dynamics | Qing (Cindy) Chang
MAE 6270 Experimental Robotics | Tomo Furukawa
Why pursue a focus on CPS at UVA?
Critical Need for CPS Engineers
Link Lab emeritus faculty member Jack Stankovic co-authored a National Academies Consensus Study which highlights the critical need for 21st Century Cyber-Physical Systems Education. Engineers who can work across disciplines and integrate both cyber and physical knowledge are increasingly in demand for companies to solve today's pressing challenges.
World Renowned CPS Faculty
In the UVA Link Lab, you will learn from over 50 Link Lab Faculty spanning six degree programs (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Systems and Information Engineering) that jointly contribute to a vibrant educational program. This breadth of expertise enables you to learn across traditional knowledge and disciplinary boundaries from leaders in a variety of fields—giving you the preparation to succeed in research or a CPS career.
True Interdisciplinary Focus
The key technical principles that underlie a CPS education span both the physical side (physics, digital signal processing, embedded hardware such as sensors and actuators, control and hybrid systems, wireless communication and dynamic systems modeling) and the cyber side (networking, embedded systems programming, machine learning, model-based design and formal methods, privacy and security, real-time systems and software engineering).
Because the CPS program at UVA spans across various engineering disciplines, we can offer classes that provide foundational knowledge in a wide range of topics:
- Formal and model-based reasoning through all levels of design and operation
- Sensor design, including RF sensing, novel sensing devices, and application thereof
- RF and mixed-signal circuits
- Robotics, drones, and autonomous and connected vehicles
- Machine learning and signal processing as applied to Cyber-Physical Systems
- Communications, and networking and applications to support the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Cyber-Physical Systems with humans in the loop; human-automation interaction
- Smart Cities
- Smart and Connected Health
- Internet of Things (IoT)
Help Advancing Your Career
The Link Lab offers professional development sessions every Friday through the semester on topics to help you improve your skills, learn from others, and grow your career. We invite speakers from around Grounds and outside UVA to share their knowledge with our students. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your professional skills whether you are pursuing a career in industry or academia.