Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering Programs: A Comparison of Top Universities

“Jay Naag Deuta Anusha Thapa Magar Ale”
“Masters thesis”
“Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate program around the globe
compared to RMIT”
Abstract
Introduction
The currently existing more than 500 universities and colleges offering undergraduate
degree in Aerospace/Aeronautical engineering has their own unique program structure
and ways of running the program that best suits the students and helps them in developing
skillset and understanding of the aerospace engineering. Aerospace engineering itself is the
newest branch of engineering so to best understand the program a student has to undergo,
to qualify as an aerospace engineer, it is fundamental to know what is aerospace
engineering and what do an aerospace engineer do.
First and foremost it is necessary to understand what is engineering. Engineering is “The
action of working artfully to bring something about” and also “The branch of science and
technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures.”
Oxford Dictionary
So Aerospace engineering is an art and branch of science and technology that deals with
the designing, developing and building of the machines that fly. It is combination of two
branches of engineering Aeronautical Engineering concerned with the aircrafts that flies
within the earth’s atmosphere and Astronautical engineering that deals with space beyond
earth’s atmosphere. To be an Aerospace engineer you need an engineering degree from
university or college with a major in aeronautical or aerospace engineering with
prerequisite of subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Chemistry, Physics and English.
There are large numbers of universities and colleges all over the world offering a degree in
Aerospace and Aeronautical engineering. Each institution has different prerequisites and
curriculum, requirements, syllabus designed by their respective departments..
Literature Review
To understand the teaching practice it is important to review the undergraduate program
of universities around the globe. Program structure, curriculum, internships and research
projects of top universities around the globe as ranked by “The Times Higher Education “
world university rankings and “Academic ranking of the world” and QS world university
Ranking based on subjects Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering.
Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering Program of Top universities
1. Massachussets Institute of technology (USA)

Masachussets Institute of technology (MIT) is ranked at Number 1 University by
Times Higher education in Mechanical and Aerospace engineering. Aerospace
engineering or MIT AeroAstro in MIT is popularly known in MIT as Course 16 aims
to prepare students for entry level positions in Aerospace industry and for graduate
school.
Program Structure
Students choose the aerospace Engineering course at the end of first year however
students are welcomed to the department during spring to Introduction of
Aerospace and Design Class and to participate in undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program and Student group and Clubs.
During their second year or Sophomore year students enter Unified Engineering
where students are exposed to Aerospace Engineering’s fundamental disciplines:
statics, materials and structures, thermodynamics and propulsion, mechanics and
signals and system and laboratory Experiments.
Students also have to complete additional core requirement subjects in dynamics,
Principles of automatic control, statistics and probability, and computer
programming.
In addition, Course 16 candidates has to complete 48 units i.e. 4 subjects from
among a group of professional subject areas with a subject in 3 areas: fluid
mechanics, materials and structures, propulsion, computational tools, estimation
and control, computer systems, communication systems, and human and
automation.
For Capstone and laboratory requirement requires student to work with a partner
and a faculty advisor to purpose and perform an original experiment during a two
semester experimental research project and also can form a team to design an
aircraft or spacecraft system for which students must complete a minimum of two
professional area or concentration subjects before enrolling in the flight design or
space design capstone.
Curriculum
Undergraduate curriculum is mainly composed of three main components:
Core Curriculum
In this curriculum students are introduced to the fundamental principles of
aerospace engineering.
Professional Area and Concentration Subjects
Subjects in the professional area and Concentration subjects are more complete and
in depth of the materials that are covered in core curriculum and for concentration
subjects students can choose from several subjects and areas of aerospace software
engineering, autonomous systems, communications, computational engineering,
computational sustainability, energy, engineering management, environment, space
exploration, and transportation and also can purpose their own concentration
approved by advisor and by AeroAstro Undergraduate Office.
Experimental and Capstone Subjects
This program integrates the various disciplines and emphasizes the conceive-
design-implement-operate context of the curriculum.
Internships
Summer research Internships

It offers students opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge to their field of
interest to real world challenges. Full time undergraduate students are eligible for
the internship program. MIT also offers students opportunities through the MIT
International science and Technology Initiatives, Student-Alimni Externship
Program, and the International Research Opportunities Program.
January Operation Internship Experience
Selected small group of senior ands and graduate students gets this opportunity to
learn about operational aspects of Kennedy space center and it is sponsored by
Massachusetts space Grant Consortium and take place during MIT’s January
Independent Activities Period. During this program NASA and commercial–sector
engineers and scientists, give Students lectures and tours which will give
participants the operational perspectives at the Kennedy Space Center helping
students academic education and engineering research and offer insight into
potential careers in the aerospace area.
Research
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
MIT undergraduate students are encouraged to be involved in the research
activities of the department through Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program (UROP) in a unique research environment.
Advanced Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
This program was launched as a collaborative effort between the Department of
Electrical and Computer Science (EECS) and Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program (UROP). In this SuperUROP program juniors and seniors may get involved.
Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP)
This program is open for all Engineering sophomore students and is also funded by
the school of engineering and administered by the Office of Dean of Engineering.
During this program students are provided opening to work in industry nonprofit
organization or government offices and a written and oral presentation of the after
the program. They are paid during the program by the companies and also receive
academic credit and further employment in the company.
2. Stanford University (USA)
Undergraduate Engineering programs are divided into two categories:
Departmental Majors and School of Engineering Majors and the Aeronautics and
Astronautics fall under the departmental major.
At Stanford university undergraduate students are encouraged to explore different
possibilities before committing to a major until students are ready to sign up for
classes for their junior.
During their first and second year the undergraduates are offered courses to help
students develop intellectual skills, communicative skills, thinking, researching and
writing.
Introductory seminar provides opportunities students to explore on topics that are
not part of their particular Major. Guest speaker are invited for the seminar.
There are 22 Fundamental courses as an introductory course to the discipline of
engineering. To build foundation to the major two or three such courses are

required to acquire knowledge outside of their major they intend to choose and also
consider choosing one fundamental course they plan to choose as major.
Aeronautics and Astronautics
Aeronautics and astronautics program is a broad program integrating multiple
disciplines of engineering emphasizing aerodynamic, structure, guidance and
control, and propulsion of aircraft and spacecraft. It prepares students for careers in
aircraft and spacecraft engineering, autonomy, robotics, unmanned Aerial Vehicles,
drones, space exploration, air and space based telecommunication industries,
computational engineering, teaching, research, military service and other relative
fields.
Curriculum
Prerequisite for Aeronautics and astronautics depth Course
As a prerequisite for the course students has to complete:
24 units of mathematics from Single –variable calculus, vector calculus, linear
algebra and differential Calculus of several Variables, probability and statistics and
highly recommended math courses Linear Algebra and Partial Differential
Equations and Introduction to Scientific Computing.
20 units of science from Physics: Mechanics, concepts, Calculations and context,
Electricity Magnetism and Heat and Lights well as Chemistry subjects Chemical
Principles and one course of Technology in society equivalent to 3-5 units is
required before entering this departmental major
Curriculum for departmental Major in Aeronautics and astronautics include:
Engineering Fundamental course
Undergraduates need to complete 11 units minimum from 17 total units of
Engineering Fundamentals from engineering of systems, programing Methodology,
Introduction to engineering
Aeronautics and Astronautics depth requirements
Students are required to complete 27 units minimum foe depth requirements from
subjects, solid Mechanics, dynamics, control, thermodynamics, introduction to
aeronautics and Astronautics, introduction to applied Aerodynamics, Air and space
propulsion, space flight, atmospheric flight and directed research and writing in
Aero/Astro.
Aeronautics and astronautics Focus Electives
Minimum of 15 units are required to complete among Aerospace computational
engineering, space policy. Lightweight structures, composite materials, flight
controls and mechanics, embedded programming, global positioning system, space
mechanics, operation of Aerospace systems, Independent study in Aero/AStro and
the spirit of Entrepreneurship
Aeronautics and Astronautics Capstone
For Capstone students has to select complete 7 units and one sequence from Air
Capstone I and Ais capstone II or Space Capstone I and Space Capstone II.
Research
They have designed a Research Ecperience for undergraduates (REU) program
jointly coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office of
student Affairs in school of Engineering and the Astronautics and Aeronautics