The objective of this program is to provide students with a broad knowledge of major technical areas of aerospace engineering.

Aerospace Engineering

 
Degree: Master of Science in Engineering – Aerospace

Area Director:  Professor Xiaolin Zhong – xiaolin@seas.ucla.edu

Program Description:
The objective of this program is to provide students with a broad knowledge of major technical areas of aerospace engineering in order to fulfill the current and future needs of the aerospace industry. The major technical areas of this program include aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), propulsion, systems and control, and structures and dynamics. Our undergraduate and graduate courses in the area of aerospace engineering cover a wide range of fundamental concepts of the science and engineering of aerodynamics, space technology, compressible flow, computational aerodynamics, aircraft and rocket propulsion systems, digital control of physical systems, linear dynamic systems, linear optimal control, design of aerospace structures, dynamics of structures, robust control system analysis and design, and probability and stochastic processes in dynamical systems.

Program Statistics for Aerospace Engineering

Degree Requirements:
At least nine courses are required (36 Units), of which at least FIVE must be graduate courses at the 200 level (excluding ENGR 299 Capstone Project course), and meet Comprehensive Exam Requirement. Courses applied toward the degree must be taken for letter grade; S/U grading is not acceptable.

Select a minimum of six courses from the list below. Graduate students should not take more than (3) 100-level courses. 

  • MECH&AE 150B – Aerodynamics
  • MECH&AE 150C – Combustion and Energy Systems
  • MECH&AE 154B – Design of Aerospace Structures
  • MECH&AE 161B – Introduction to Space Technology
  • MECH&AE 171B – Digital Control of Physical Systems
  • MECH&AE 250B – Viscous and Turbulent Flows
  • MECH&AE 250C – Compressible Flows
  • MECH&AE 250D – Computational Aerodynamics
  • MECH&AE 250H – Computational Fluid Dynamics for Incompressible Flows
  • MECH&AE C250P – Aircraft Propulsion Systems
  • MECH&AE C250R – Rocket Propulsion Systems
  • MECH&AE 252E – Data Science for Fluid Dynamics
  • MECH&AE M269A – Dynamics of Structures
  • MECH&AE M270A – Linear Dynamic Systems
  • MECH&AE 270B – Linear Optimal Control
  • MECH&AE M270C – Optimal Control
  • MECH&AE C271A – Probability and Stochastic Processes in Dynamical Systems
  • MECH&AE 298 Advanced Design of Modern Aerospace Structures (Seminar in Engineering)

Please visit the Registrar’s webpage for Course Descriptions.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM REQUIREMENT

Students can meet the Comprehensive Exam Requirement by choosing from ONE option below:

Option 1:
Take and Pass ENGR 299 Capstone Project course.

Option 2:
Take and pass three written exams for three different graduate level courses within the student’s area of specialization. The written exams are held concurrently with the final exam of the graduate level courses. Students may select which exams they would like to count towards the Comprehensive Exam requirement.

Electives:
As long as you have met the requirements above, the remaining courses may be selected from other Engineering departments. No approval is necessary.  Please note: Students may not apply electives towards earning a certificate.  Certificate programs are intended for non-matriculating students and are categorized as separate programs.

Thesis Plan:
NONE

Time-to-Degree:
Students are expected to complete the degree within two academic years and one quarter, including two summer sessions. The maximum time allowed in this program is three academic years (nine quarters), excluding summer sessions.