Prospective Students - Graduate

Aerospace Engineering Sciences

Aerospace Engineering is shaping the future of transportation, communication, explorations, and security through hands-on experience and teamwork. The department’s mission is to prepare students for leadership positions in design, testing, and operation of complex aerospace and related systems. Ranked 12th nationally by U.S. New and World Report, the graduate program spends more than $11 million annually on research. It is home to four research centers, two funded by NASA, and was named a program of excellence by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

Areas of Study and Research

Graduate students are admitted into a specific focus area that provides research advising, financial support, and sets specialized admission and program requirements and recommendations for course work within and outside the department. The five focus areas are:

• Astrodynamics and Satellite Navigation Systems
• Bioastronautics
• Remote Sensing, Earth and Space Science
• Structural and Material Systems
• Vehicle Systems, including Aerodynamics and Systems and Control

Each focus area has defined the required characteristics of its successful graduates at the MS and Ph.D. level, and defined the required and elective courses that support its educational program.

 

Degrees Offered

MS
The Master of Science requires 30 hours of course work, at least 24 hours of which must be completed at the graduate level, and no more than 12 hours taken outside of the aerospace engineering sciences department. Students must also complete a project (6 semester hours) consisting of either (1) a MS thesis, (2) two semesters of independent study, or (3) a two-semester team projects course. Each project culminates with an oral presentation and or written report or oral examination (in the case of the MS thesis).

ME
Students typically elect to enroll for a Master of Engineering Degree rather than a Master of Science degree for one of the following reasons: (1) they are distance learning (CAETE) students who are interested in a course work only program; (2) a student desires a more flexible and customized degree program (e.g. incorporating business courses) and does not wish to follow any focus area curriculum; or (3) the required MS core coursework for their focus area is not fully through CAETE (biostronautics and vehicle systems). The Master of Engineering requires 30 hours of course work, at least 24 hours of which must be completed at the graduate level, with at least 15 hours from the aerospace engineering science department at the graduate level.

PhD
The Ph.D. requires 36 credit hours at the 5000 level or above, 18 hours taken in the aerospace engineering sciences department, and 30 hours of dissertation credit. Students must pass the departmental preliminary and comprehensive examinations and successfully defend the dissertation in a final examination. Students do not need to have a master’s degree to apply to the Ph.D. program.

Admission

Graduate School Minimum Admissions Standards
Individual graduate departments may have additional or more restrictive standards by which they evaluate graduate applicants. However, the Graduate School at CU-Boulder has established minimum standards for graduate admission. Applicants must:

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, or have done work equivalent to that required for such a degree.
   
2. Show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research, as judged by the student’s scholastic record.
   
3. Have adequate preparation to enter graduate study in the chosen field.
   
4. Have at least a 3.00 (3.00=B) undergraduate grade point average.
   

Aerospace Engineering Sciences Admission Requirements
Applicants must:

1. Have undergraduate courses in calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
2. Have two semesters of undergraduate calculus-based physics.
3. Have at least two semesters of upper-division undergraduate courses in engineering or physics.
4. Hold a baccalaureate degree in engineering, science or mathematics from a college or university of recognized standing (or the equivalent).
5. Have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.00.
6. Provide official GRE scores from an examination taken within the last 5 years.
7. Provide four letters of recommendation.
8. Provide a statement of purpose.

Additional information is available on the department's website: www.colorado.edu/aerospace.

Application Information and Deadlines   Fall admission Yes Application deadline February 1 International application deadline December 1   Spring admission Yes Application deadline October 1 International application deadline August 1   Summer admission No

Contact Information

University of Colorado at Boulder
Aerospace Engineering Sciences
Engineering Center
Office Tower 632 (ECOT 632)
429 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0429
Phone: 303-492-6416
Fax: 303-492-7881
Website: www.colorado.edu/aerospace
E-mail: aerograd@colorado.edu