Master’s in Aerospace Engineering Online

WPI’s Master’s in Aerospace Engineering online is designed for professionals advancing their careers through graduate education while balancing their work responsibilities. Offered full and part-time, graduate students continuing their studies while benefiting from the flexibility of high-quality remote learning. This program is delivered by faculty members who are not only engaged in wide-ranging, cutting-edge research in aerospace topics, but are dedicated teachers sensitive to the educational goals and individual needs of their students.

The modern curriculum consists of graduate courses distributed in five areas:

Fluid dynamics
Propulsion and energy
Flight dynamics and controls
Materials and structures
General aerospace engineering topics.

The online master’s in aerospace engineering also provides the flexibility for students to specialize in a curricular area by focusing their elective courses. For students wishing to gain research experience, this program allows up to 8-credits of Directed Research, of which up to 3 may be in Graduate Internship Experience on topics encountered in their professional environment. Courses are 7 weeks in length, offering greater flexibility for students who need to adjust their workloads and whose professional or personal lives may not permit lengthy semester-long commitments.

Graduate Catalog

This degree is available on campus.

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Learning Outcomes for Master’s in Aerospace Engineering Online

With a deeper understanding of technical concepts and with an array of technical skills well beyond the limits of an undergraduate degree, graduates of the master’s in Aerospace Engineering online will excel as practicing industry professionals and will have the backgrounds needed to contribute to the research and development of next-generation aerospace systems. Graduates of our program will succeed in any interdisciplinary industrial, R&D or national lab setting.

Students who earn their MS in Aerospace Engineering Online will be able to:

Demonstrate graduate-level knowledge of fluid dynamics, propulsion and energy, flight dynamics and control, materials and structures, and other engineering topics, as appropriate to their professional interests;
Apply the theoretical and computational skills and solve complex, real-world aerospace engineering problems;

Express the appreciation of current developments and outstanding issues in aerospace engineering.

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Admissions Qualifications

Candidates must have a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering or a closely related field.
Candidates with graduate certificates, undergraduate or graduate coursework relevant to the Aerospace Engineering M.S. curriculum are also encouraged to apply.

For specific application requirements, visit our admissions for online programs page

Curriculum

Program  Requirements
The online aerospace engineering degree requires the completion of 30 graduate credit hours. The distribution of credits is as follows:

20-credits in Aerospace Engineering

A minimum of 2-credits in each of the five AE Curricular Areas: Fluid Dynamics; Propulsion and Energy; Flight Dynamics and Controls; Materials and Structures; General Aerospace Engineering Topics

A maximum of 8-credits in AE Research, of which up to 3 may be in Graduate Internship Experience (AE 5900) and the remaining in Directed Research (AE 5098)

0 graduate credits for four terms in Aerospace Engineering Seminar (AE 5032)

10-credits in electives

8 graduate credits in free electives inside or outside AE

2 graduate credits in applied mathematics (MA 501, MA 511, or any other course with the prior approval of AE graduate committee)

TOTAL: 30 Credits
Courses
Subject to change based on availability.
View academic term start dates for online courses.

All Aerospace Engineering graduate courses are 2 credits, unless otherwise noted below.

Fluid Dynamics

AE 5131. Incompressible Fluid Dynamics

AE 5132. Compressible Fluid Dynamics

AE 5133. Kinetic Theory of Gases and Applications

AE 5134. Plasma Dynamics

Propulsion and Energy

AE 5231. Air Breathing Propulsion

AE 5232. Spacecraft Propulsion

AE 5233. Combustion

AE 5234. Sustainable Energy Systems

Flight Dynamics and Controls

AE 5331. Linear Control Systems

AE 5332. Nonlinear Control Systems

AE 5333. Optimal Control for Aerospace Applications

AE 5334. Spacecraft Dynamics and Control

AE 5335. Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

Materials and Structures

AE 5431. Solid Mechanics for Aerospace Structures

AE 5432. Composite Materials

AE 5433. Aeroelasticity

AE 5434. Computational Solid Mechanics

AE 5435. Fracture Mechanics

General Aerospace Engineering Topics

AE 5031. Applied Computational Methods for Partial Differential Equations

AE 5032. Aerospace Engineering Seminar (0 credits)

Table 2. AE Research Courses

AE 5098. Directed Research (credits TBD)

AE 5900. Graduate Internship Experience (1-3 credits)