General Requirements
3.1 Admission
Requirements for admission to the graduate program in aerospace engineering include graduation with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, or its equivalent, from an institution of recognized standing and satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Degrees in mathematics, physics, and certain other engineering disciplines may also be deemed appropriate. Foreign students must also present a satisfactory score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Application for admission to the graduate program in aerospace engineering is made directly to the Graduate School. The required application forms may be secured from the Graduate School in printed form or online. Two official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work must be mailed directly to the Graduate School by the student's prior school(s). Completed application forms must be received by the Graduate School at least three weeks prior to the announced date of final registration for the semester in which the applicant proposes to begin studies. The application must be approved by both the Graduate School and the Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student Screening Committee.
Admission to the graduate program in aerospace engineering is based primarily on the following general standards. For students whose undergraduate degree is from the U.S., the following numerical criteria are applied:
- Admission to the M.S. or M.A.E. program:
a. [V + 2Q + 1500(GPA-1.0)] / 10 > 450
where:
V = GRE verbal score
Q = GRE quantitative score
GPA = grade point average overall or in major area, whichever is highest.
b. Total (verbal plus quantitative) GRE score > 1000.
c. Grade point average > 3.0 overall or in major area. - Admission to the Ph.D. program criteria:
a. [V + 2Q + 1500(GPA-1.0)] / 10 > 475
or
[V + 2Q + 1500(GPA-1.0) + 1000(GGPA-1.0)] / 10 > 725
where: GGPA = graduate grade point average.
b. Total (verbal plus quantitative) GRE score > 1100.
(Note: A minimum score of 1000 may apply to students
who've received a master's degree from this department.)c. Grade point average > 3.0 undergraduate (overall or in major)
and in all graduate course work. - Students who meet the requirements for admission except that they have not taken the GRE may be admitted as a GPR student, for one semester only. Satisfactory GRE scores must be submitted by the end of that semester or the student will not be permitted to enroll for a second semester.
For students whose undergraduate institution was in a foreign country:
- Admission to the M.S. or M.A.E. program:
a. Total (Verbal plus Quantitative) GRE score > 1100
b. TOEFL Score: = 550 on the paper TOEFL, or > 213
on the computer TOEFL. - Admission to the Ph.D. program:
a. Total (Verbal) plus Quantitative) GRE scores > 1150
(Note: A score of 1100 may also apply to students who have
received a master's degree from this department.)
b. TOEFL Score: > 550 on the paper TOEFL, or > 213
on the computer TOEFL.
Please Note: Any student receiving a master's degree from this department must secure a written commitment from an aerospace engineering faculty member to serve as the Major Professor for the student's Ph.D. program prior to admission to the Ph.D. program. This letter must be submitted with the admission application.
3.2 Major Professor
Upon admission to the Graduate School, the Graduate Program Officer will serve as the student's temporary advisor during the first semester of graduate study. Prior to the end of the first semester, the student should make arrangements for a permanent Major Professor. The Major Professor must be a member of the Graduate Faculty, Level 2 for Ph.D. students, and must be mutually agreed upon by the student, the professor, and the Graduate Program Officer. Ordinarily, the Major Professor will act as Chairman of the Advisory Committee and will direct the student's thesis or dissertation research, if applicable.
3.3 Advisory Committee
Prior to the end of the second semester of study, the student should establish an Advisory Committee. For M.S. and M.A.E. students, the Advisory Committee must be made up of at least three faculty members. Two of which must be from the Aerospace Engineering Department. The Advisory Committee is appointed by the Department Head after consultation with the student, the Major Professor, and the individual faculty members involved. Members of the Advisory Committee accept this responsibility by signing the proposed Plan of Study.
For Ph.D. students, the Advisory Committee is recommended by the Department Head and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. This Advisory Committee should consist of at least three faculty members, two of which, including the Major Professor, must be Level 2 members of the Graduate Faculty. Two members of the Advisory Committee must also be from the Aerospace Department. The student's wishes regarding the composition of the Advisory Committee are generally accepted by the Department Head and the Graduate School.
3.4 Plan of Study
As early as possible in the graduate program, the student should confer with the major Professor to discuss the student's interests, select the courses to be taken, and develop a Plan of Study. A tentative Plan of Study should be completed during the first semester of graduate study. Prior to the end of the second semester of study (fourth course for part-time students), a formal Plan of Study must be completed and submitted to the Graduate School. The course work proposed in the Plan of Study should support the student's technical interests. In general, graduate students may specialize in one of the following three technical areas: aerodynamics/propulsion, dynamics/control, or structures/structural dynamics. The department emphasizes individual programs of study and close faculty-student contact. The Student is responsible at all times for carrying out the planned program. Major changes in the student's degree program will require a new Plan of Study. Minor changes can be made by completing a Revision of the Existing Plan of Study form. No student will be permitted to graduate if a Plan of Study has not been submitted prior to the end of the semester before the semester of expected graduation.
3.5 Grade Requirements
Candidates for an advanced degree are required to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better on all work taken for graduate credit. No grade below C will be accepted for graduate credit, but grades on all courses taken will be used in determining the overall GPA. Courses in which grades below C are obtained must be repeated regardless of whether these courses are part of the student's Plan of Study. A student is allowed to take no more than nine hours in addition to the Plan of Study in order to obtain the overall grade point average of 3.0. The Graduate School uses the Honor Point System in determining the eligibility of students to continue graduate studies. See the Bulletin for a complete description of the Honor Point System.
3.6 Incomplete Grades
A grade of incomplete (IN) must be removed within the following two semesters or it will be permanently recorded as an "F" and the course will have to be repeated. This rule applies regardless of the student's enrollment status. A student not enrolled during one of the following two semesters, including the summer semester, is not exempt from this rule. Until an incomplete grade is removed, the (IN) grade will be counted as an "F" in computing the student's GPA.
3.7 Time Limit
All graduate work to be applied to a master's degree must be completed within a period of five calendar years from initial enrollment in the Masters Degree program. Upon successful completion of the General Doctoral Examination (as described in Section 5.8), the Ph.D. student becomes a candidate for the degree. Upon admission to candidacy, the student has four calendar years to complete all requirements for the doctoral degree. A student unable to complete the requirements on time may petition the Graduate Council for an extension, but such extensions are not automatically granted and should not be expected unless there are serious extenuating circumstances.
3.8 Undergraduate Students and Graduate Credit
Under certain circumstances, a student who has not yet completed the undergraduate degree may register for courses which can later count towards graduate credit. Details may be found in the bulletin.
3.9 Seminar Requirement
All on-campus graduate students are required to register for a minimum of one credit hour of Aero 7950, Seminar each fall and spring semester they are enrolled. This course is taken under the S/U grading option and will require students to attend departmental seminars given during the semester. Roll will be taken during each seminar and each student's grade will be determined by seminar attendance. Students must attend at least one-half of the seminars in order to receive a grade of S. Reasons for nonattendance at any seminar must be provided to the Graduate Program Officer prior to the scheduled seminar. Students who do not attend at least one-half of the scheduled seminars will receive a grade of "IN" for the course. In order to have this "IN" grade removed, the student must present a seminar in a subsequent semester. The topic of this seminar must be different from the student's thesis or dissertation topic. Up to one hour of the credit on the student's Plan of Study can be counted for AE 7950 at the discretion of the student's Advisory Committee. Credit for Seminar on the Plan of Study will also require the student to present a seminar on a topic other than that of the student's thesis or dissertation.
3.10 Thesis/Dissertation Requirements
In preparing the thesis required for the M.S. degree or the dissertation required for the Ph.D. degree, students should use The Guide to the Preparation and Submission of Thesis and Dissertations, which is available in the University Bookstore and online at the Graduate School website. The Aerospace Engineering Department suggests that students use the bibliographic style set for by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
3.11 Thesis/Dissertation Completion Courses
The Graduate School offers courses GRAD 7900 and GRAD 8900, entitled "Thesis Completion" and "Dissertation Completion," respectively. These courses carry no credit but core requisites of AERO 7990 (for GRAD 7900) or AERO 8990 (for GRAD 8900) are required for a minimum of one credit hour. Students registered in GRAD 7900/GRAD 8900 would be certified by the Registrar as full-time students. Registration for GRAD 7900 is restricted to thesis students and is limited to a total of three semesters. Registration for GRAD 8900 is restricted to dissertation students and is limited to a total of six semesters. International students are not permitted to enroll in GRAD 7900/GRAD 8900. The requirements for registration in these courses, which must be certified by the Department Head to the Graduate School, are that the student:
- Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- Must be enrolled in a thesis/dissertation program.
- Must be engaged full-time in the preparation or completion of the thesis/dissertation.
- Must be concurrently enrolled in GRAD 7990/8990 for a minimum of one credit hour.
- Must NOT be enrolled in didactic course work.
- Must be making significant progress toward the degree.
- Must have successfully passed the General Examination (Ph.D. students only).
- Must have completed the degree residency requirement.
- Must make minimal use of university facilities and resources.
In order to register for GRAD 7900/GRAD 8900, the Graduate School Registration Request for GRAD 7900/GRAD 8900 form must be completed prior to registration.
