Aeronautics and Astronautics
Professors, students, and researchers come to MIT from all corners of the globe to explore their passion for air and space travel and to advance the technologies and vehicles that make such travel possible. We build on our long tradition of scholarship and research to develop and implement reliable, safe, economically feasible, and environmentally responsible air and space travel.
Our industry contributions and collaborations are extensive. We have graduated more astronauts than any other private institution in the world. Nearly one-third of our current research collaborations are with MIT faculty in other departments, and approximately one-half are with non-MIT colleagues in professional practice, government agencies, and other universities. We work closely with scientists and scholars at NASA, Boeing, the U.S. Air Force, Stanford University, Lockheed Martin, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Our educational programs are organized around three overlapping areas:
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Aerospace information engineering
Focuses on real-time, safety-critical systems with humans-in-the-loop. Core disciplines include autonomy, software, communications, networks, controls, and human-machine and human-software interaction.
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Aerospace systems engineering
Explores the central processes in the creation, implementation, and operation of complex socio-technical engineering systems. Core disciplines include system architecture and engineering, simulation and modeling, safety and risk management, policy, economics, and organizational behavior.
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Aerospace vehicles engineering
Addresses the engineering of air and space vehicles, their propulsion systems, and their subsystems. Core disciplines include fluid and solid mechanics, thermodynamics, acoustics, combustion, controls, computation, design, and simulation.
Undergraduate Education
The Aero-Astro department prepares undergraduates for entry-level positions in the aerospace field and further education at the master’s level. Our curriculum ensures that students learn aerospace engineering fundamentals, including every phase of the aerospace system life cycle: conception, design, implementation, and operation.
Our graduates find careers in commercial and military aircraft engineering, spacecraft engineering, space exploration, air- and space-based telecommunications, teaching, research, military service, and related technology-intensive fields. Our comprehensive technical education, with its emphasis on complex systems, is also great preparation for careers in business, law, medicine, and public service.
Degree Options
Undergraduates can choose from the following four-year bachelor’s degrees:
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Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
This program provides students with a solid foundation in the disciplines related to aerospace vehicle engineering, including aerodynamics, propulsion, structural design, advanced materials, dynamics, and human factors.
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Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering with Information Technology
Building on our core aerospace engineering program, this degree option enables students to specialize in aerospace information technologies, such as control systems, computer programming, electronics, communications, and autonomous robotic systems.
