Field of Study

The aerospace engineering degree at Rutgers provides a broad education on unmanned aerial systems, airplane and space vehicle design and performance, propulsion, flight technology, aerodynamics and astrodynamics, aerospace materials and structures, and aerospace systems, among other areas. Regardless of the particular product involved, aerospace engineers rely upon knowledge of matter and energy conversions, motions, and forces obtained from computer simulations and experimental investigations of processes and systems. Each aerospace engineer is able to learn and apply the fundamentals of aircraft and spacecraft design while applying their knowledge from courses such as spacecraft mission design, propulsion, system dynamics and controls, orbital mechanics, aerodynamics, and flight control dynamics to name a few. The curriculum in aerospace engineering provides these skills and prepares students for graduate study and research.

The undergraduate program in aerospace engineering trains students in a technically sound, challenging, and professional manner, laying the foundation for a productive career and enabling graduates to make positive contributions to their profession and society. This is achieved with a thorough preparation in the humanities, mathematics, and basic sciences as well as up-to-date aerospace engineering fundamentals and applications using the most advanced tools and methods available. In the senior year, the capstone aerospace design course allows students to solve open-ended, multicriteria engineering problems. Emphasis is placed on teamwork, project management, conceptualization, detailed design, computational analysis, and manufacturing. At the end of the yearlong course, students will have experienced a full product development cycle from concept to construction and testing.

Career prospects for aerospace engineers extend beyond the aeronautics and astronautics fields into other industrial sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and automotive.