Aerospace Engineering BS Degree Typical Four-year Outline

The uAchieve Interactive Degree Audit is the official method for tracking the completion of your specific degree requirements. Please be aware that there are multiple ways for students to progress through this major. This is just one sample, and adjustments may be required due to curriculum changes. Students should work with their advisor to develop their individual plan. A full list of undergraduate course descriptions is available.

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First Year

Fall Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
CH 1150 University Chemistry 1 CH 1151 (Corequisite) 3
CH 1151 University Chemistry Lab 1 CH 1150 (Corequisite) 1
PH 1100 Physics 1 Lab MA 1160 (Concurrent) 1
MA 1160 Calculus with Technology 1   4
ENG 1101 Engineering Analysis and Problem Solving MA 1160 (Concurrent) 3
UN 1015 Composition   3
Total   15
Spring Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
PH 1200 Physics 2 lab PH 1100 1
PH 2100 University Physics 1 MA 1160, PH 1100 (Concurrent) 3
MA 2160 Calculus with Technology 2 MA 1160 4
ENG 1102 Engineering Modeling and Design MA 1160 (Concurrent), ENG 1101 3
Essential Education – Foundations in the Human World   3
Essential Education – Activities for Well-being and Success   1
Total   15

Second Year

Fall Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
AE 2500 Principles of Aerospace Engineering (Fall Only) ENG 1102 3
PH 2200 University Physics 2 PH 1200 (Concurrent), PH2100, MA2160 3
MA 3160 Multivariable Calculus MA 2160 4
ME 2110 Statics MA 2160 (C or better) 3
ME 2901 Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Practice 1 UN 1015, ENG 1102, ME 2110 (Concurrent) 3
Essential Education – Activities for Well-being and Success   1
Total   17
Spring Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
ME 2700 Dynamics PH 2100, ME 2110 3
AE 2550 Space Environment and Operations (Spring Only) PH 2200, ENG 1102 3
MA 2321 Linear Algebra MA 1160, MA 3521 (Corequisite) 2
MA 3521 Differential Equations MA 2160, MA 2321 (Corequisite) 2
ME 2150 Mechanics of Materials ME 2110 3
Essential Education – Communication Intensive   3
Total   16

Third Year

Fall Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
AE 4570 Space Mechanics (Fall Only) ME 2700 3
ME 2201 Intro Thermodynamics MA 2160 (C or better), CH 1150, CH 1151 3
ME 2911 Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Practice 2 ME 2201 (Concurrent), ME 2110, ME 2901 3
AE 3501 Aerospace Systems Engineering Practice (Fall Only) ME 2150, ME 2700, AE 2500, AE 2550, ME 2911 (Concurrent) 3
Essential Education - Intercultural Competency (3000+)   3
Essential Education - Activities for Well-being and Success   1
Total   16
Spring Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
AE 3520 Aerodynamics and Lab (Spring Only) AE 2500, MA 3160, ME 2201, ME 2911 4
ME 3750 Dynamic Systems MA 3521, ME 2700 4
AE 3511 Spacecraft Engineering Practice (Spring Only) AE 3501 3
Essential Education – SHAPE   3
Essential Education – Arts and Culture   3
Total   17

Fourth Year

Fall Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
AE 4530 Compressible Flow (Fall Only) AE 3520 3
AE 4550 Spacecraft Thermal Engineering (Fall Only) AE 3520, AE 3511 3
AE 4560 Aerospace Materials and Structures (Fall Only) AE 2550, ME 2150 3
MA 3710 Statistics MA 2160 3
ME 4901 Senior Design 1 AE 3511, ME 3750, AE 4550 (Concurrent), AE 4560 (Concurrent), MA 3710 (Concurrent) 2
Essential Education - Experience (3000+)   3
Total   17
Spring Semester
Course Prerequisites Credit
Technical Elective   3
Technical Elective   3
AE 4540 Aerospace Propulsion and Lab (Spring Only) AE 3520, AE 4530 (Concurrent) 4
AE 4580 Spacecraft Dynamics and Control (Spring Only) ME 3750, AE 4570 (Concurrent) 3
ME 4911 Senior Design 2 MA 3710, AE 4550, AE 4560, ME 4901 2
Total   15

Grand Total = 128 Credits

Essential Education Requirements

  • 24 total credits.
  • Required courses are
    • UN 1015 Composition (3 credits),
    • a Foundations in the Human World course (3 credits),
    • a Communication Intensive course (3 credits),
    • an Arts and Culture course (3 credits),
    • an Intercultural Competency (3000+) course (3 credits),
    • a SHAPE course (3 credits),
    • an Essential Education Experience (3000+) course (3 credits),
    • and 3 credits of Activities for Well-being and Success.

Activities for Well-being and Success

  • Mainly physical education courses with some additions.
  • Students need 3 credits for graduation.
  • These credits will be included as earned hours and may be used to determine full-time enrollment status.
  • The Activities for Well-being and Success list is also available in the MAE Advising Center.

Technical Electives

  • Any 4000+ level courses in the College of Engineering except MET courses are acceptable for ME technical electives; with the exception of MET 4377.
  • Allowable COE prefixes include, AE, BE, CM, CEE, EE, ENG, GE, ME, and MSE, and may be used by BSME students for technical elective credits (if allowed to enroll in the course by the offering department) with the following exceptions:
    • BE 4000, BE 4900, BE 4901, BE 4910, BE 4930, BE 5000, BE 5900, BE 5930,
    • CEE 4510, CEE 4900, CEE 4905, CEE 4910, CEE 4915, CEE 4916, CEE 4920, CEE 4930, CEE 4990, CEE 5190, CEE 5250, CEE 5390, CEE 5490, CEE 5560, CEE 5561, CEE 5562, CEE 5563, CEE 5590, CEE 5690, CEE 5890, CEE 5920, CEE 5930, CEE 5990, CEE 5991, CEE 5992, CEE 5994, CEE 5997, CEE 5998, CEE 5999,
    • CM 4000, CM 4020, CM 4040, CM 4060, CM 4080, CM 4855, CM 4860, CM 4861, CM 4900, CM 4910, CM 4990, CM 5900, CM 5950, CM 5990,
    • EE 4000, EE 4800, EE 4805, EE 4870, EE 4901, EE 4910, EE 5290, EE 5805, EE 5900, EE 5990, EE5991, EE 5992, EE 5994,
    • ENG 4060, ENG 4070, ENG 4900, ENG 4905, ENG 4910, ENG 4990, ENG 5060, ENG 5100, ENG 5200, ENG 5300, ENG 5400, ENG 5990, ENG 5998,
    • GE 4000, GE 4900, GE 4910, GE 4916, GE 4930, GE 4931, GE 4933, GE 4934, GE 4961, GE 4962, GE 4970, GE 5187, GE 5930, GE 5940, GE 5950, GE 5960, GE 5970, GE 5994, GE 5995, GE 5998, GE 5999,
    • ME 4990, ME 4901, ME 4911, ME 4999, ME 5010,
      ME 5990, ME 5994, ME 5995, ME 5999, ME 6000,
    • MSE 4130, MSE 4131, MSE 4140, MSE 4141, MSE 4970, MSE 4990, MSE 5100, MSE 5900, MSE 5970, and MSE 5990
    • or any other research/special topics/seminar/senior design/etc. credits (courses without a specific course description and/or syllabus).
  • Undergraduate students cannot typically enroll in 6000-level courses.
  • Special topics courses (4990, 5990, etc.) may be approved on an individual section/semester basis if a student/faculty member submits or creates a course syllabus for evaluation.
  • OSM 4300 is also acceptable.

Prerequisites

  • The prerequisite course must be successfully completed prior to taking the subsequent course.
  • A grade of ‘C’ or better in MA 2160 is required as a prerequisite for ME 2110 and ME 2201.

Concurrent Prerequisites

  • Courses that may be taken at the same time, although it is not necessasry if the prerequisite course is completed first.

Required Corequisites

  • Courses must be taken together in the same semester.

Engineering Fundamentals

  • MA 1160/1161 is a concurrent prerequisite for ENG 1101 and ENG 1102.
  • ENG 1102 project content varies by section number.

Math

  • Students are placed into an initial math course based on ACT/SAT math score, the online ALEKS assessment,
    or a math placement exam score for credit (AP, IB, CLEP).
  • MA 1160 (4 credits) or MA 1161 (5 credits) satisfy the Calculus 1 requirement.
  • MA 2320 and MA 3520 are offered as full semester courses for students taking these courses in separate semesters.
  • The math department also teaches MA 2321 as an accelerated course (equivalent to MA 2320) in the first half of a given semester and MA 3521 as an accelerated course (equivalent to MA 3520) in the second half of the same semester (registration must be for the same section number of both MA 2321 and MA 3521 in that semester).
  • MA 2320, MA 2321, and MA 2330 are all equivalent and are approved prerequisites for MA 3520 or MA 3521.
  • MA 3530 and 3560 are also equivalent to MA 3520/3521.
  • MA 2710, 2720, and 3715 are all acceptable in place of MA 3710.

Transfer, Advanced Placement, or Study Abroad Courses

  • Not included in credit hours used for GPA calculations.
  • Transfer credit is awarded for Michigan Tech equivalent course work only if a grade of ‘C’ or better (2.00/4.00) or
    equivalent is earned at a transfer institution.
  • Study abroad credit will be awarded based on passing a course according to equivalent international standards.
  • Advanced Placement credit is awarded according to published AP Exam score standards (also IB and CLEP).

Revised spring 2025 for 2025-2026 academic year.