About
Aerospace engineers design, analyze, model, simulate, and test aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles, rockets, and the larger systems in which these vehicles operate. The aerospace engineer is often a specialist in one of many areas such as propulsion, aerodynamics, fluids, materials, flight mechanics and avionics, heat transfer, structures, cost analysis, reliability, survivability, maintainability, operations research, marketing, or airspace management. Aerospace engineers have also applied their knowledge to related fields such as automated mass transportation, bioengineering, medical systems, environmental engineering, communications, and many more.
We educate the future leaders of aerospace engineering, so they can advance human knowledge, elevate society, and continue a tradition of creating wonder.
To do this we:
- Have built an inclusive environment that draws excellence from the widest possible talent pool and has the broadest positive impact on society.
- Provide an immersive hands-on residential learning experience with our courses and student groups.
- Offer flexible local and remote options for professionals to advance their expertise in new and traditional areas.
- Develop the teamwork skills needed for work on integrated projects.
- Teach the rigorous fundamentals of flow, mechanics, materials, dynamics, and all the subdisciplines that impact modern aerospace engineering.
- Cultivate an expert faculty, internationally renowned for their research impact and engaged in our educational mission.
- Tackle current and emerging challenges of aerospace engineering, such as sustainability, hypersonics, autonomy, space systems, aerospace manufacturing, and next-generation computation.
- Provide aerospace talent to meet industry needs.
- Leverage our alumni family to drive our continuous improvement and commitment to excellence.
Elevate society. Create wonder.
Our programs are ranked in the top 10 by US News and World Report Rankings (2023)
#5
Illinois Undergraduate Engineering Program
#6
Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering Program
#7
Graduate Aerospace Engineering Program
The Department of Aerospace Engineering at Illinois is an international leader in aerospace science and engineering. With nationally ranked undergraduate and graduate programs, internationally renowned faculty, and state-of-the-art research facilities, the department is committed to excellence and leadership in teaching, research, and service.
AE at Illinois is committed to cooperative research within the university and with other universities, state and federal government agencies, and industry. Our faculty and graduate students are active in a variety of interdisciplinary centers including:
AE faculty and graduate students conduct research in over 20 different laboratories on campus and consistently play a role in the development of major advances in aircraft and space applications.