Specialized Certificates

Aerospace Engineering at Illinois offers specialized certificates to best fit your interests.

• Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics
• Aerospace Design and Systems Engineering
• Aerospace Materials
• Aerospace Structural Mechanics
• Hypersonics
• Spaceflight Engineering
• Sustainable Aircraft Design and Operation

Students enrolled in University of Illinois’ online and on-campus programs may apply for the certificate program. Students not enrolled at the University of Illinois may apply to take courses non-degree. Complete information about online registration, tuition and fees, etc. may be found on the Engineering Online website.

• Online Course Registration
• Online MS in Aerospace Engineering
• Aerospace Graduate Degree Programs

 

Application Requirements

Students who are eligible to enroll in these certificate programs are:

• Current AE graduate students

OR

• Non-degree students that have:
  • BS degree in engineering or science from an accredited college in the United States or an approved institution of higher learning abroad. Basic background knowledge in the area of Aerospace Engineering is required for success in this certificate. Students with a non-engineering BS must have acquired this knowledge through coursework and/or through professional experience in order to qualify.
  • GPA of 3.0/4.0 or higher for the last 60 semester hours in a BS program. Students who do not meet the 3.0/4.0 GPA criterion may still be eligible to enroll if they have significant experience outside of the classroom. Such students are encouraged to contact us at aerospace@illinois.edu to determine if they are eligible to register for online classes and to participate in the certificate program.

Program Details

• Students wanting a certificate must fill out an AE Certificate Application form to declare their intent to pursue the certificate.
• Students must earn a B or higher in each course. Courses cannot be applied to multiple certificates. However, courses taken while pursuing certificates can be applied toward the MS AE degree. Up to 12 hours of coursework taken by non-degree students and/or those pursuing certificates can be transferred into the MS AE degree. A separate application is needed for the MS AE program.
• Upon completion of coursework needed to fulfill the certificate, students must fill out an AE Certificate Completion form.

Graduate Certificate in Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics

Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics are among the most basic aspect of Aerospace Engineering. The aerospace engineering faculty includes world-class experts in both theoretical and practical aspects of aerodynamics and flight mechanics.

Certificate Requirements

This certificate requires students to complete graduate-level courses for 12 credit hours in the area of Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics. Courses that can be applied toward this certificate are the following:

AE 410: Computational Aerodynamics (4 credit hours)
AE 412:  Viscous Flow & Heat Transfer (4 credit hours)
AE 416: Applied Aerodynamics (4 credit hours)
AE 419: Flight Mechanics (4 credit hours)
AE 451: Aeroelasticity (4 credit hours)
AE 498 CFD: Applied Computational Fluid Dynamics (4 credit hours)
AE 515: Wing Theory (4 credit hours)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.

Graduate Certificate in Aerospace Design and Systems Engineering

Aerospace systems are highly integrated and complex, and therefore they present unique challenges from a design perspective. It is critical that aerospace engineers are well versed in the principles of design and systems engineering in order to create and manage aircraft and space systems whose components work in synergy to provide strong performance over their full life cycle. The certificate in Aerospace Design and Systems Engineering provides students with a strong foundation in the fundamentals of engineering design methods and systems engineering for aerospace applications.

Certificate Requirements

Students will be introduced to the basics of this subject area, as well as emerging topics that are highly relevant to the aerospace industry such as computational design optimization, design for additive manufacturing, and machine learning. Students are required to complete 12 credit hours from a selection of the following courses:

AE 598: Nonlinear Solid Mech Design (4 credit hours)
AE 498: Structural Design Optimization (4 credit hours)
AE 498: Comp Methods for Sys Engr (4 credit hours)
AE 504: Optimal Aerospace Systems (4 credit hours)
AE 542: Aerospace Systems Engineering I (4 credit hours)
AE 543: Aerospace Systems Engineering II (4 credit hours)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.

Graduate Certificate in Aerospace Materials

The Aerospace Engineering Department has a long tradition in Aerospace Materials and Aerospace Structures (see the next certificate). For many years the department has housed a Composite Materials Center, which is now being expanded, and also has introduced an Autonomic Materials center housed at Beckman Institute. The Department also has strong links with Mechanical, Civil, and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics faculty in these areas. As advanced materials, especially composites and high temperature materials, become more commonplace in Aerospace Engineering the “Aerospace Materials” certificate becomes very relevant.

Certificate Requirements

This certificate requires students to complete graduate-level courses for 12 credit hours in the area of Aerospace Materials. Courses that can be applied toward this certificate are the following:

AE 427: Mechanics of Polymers (3 credit hours)
AE 428: Mechanics of Composites (3 credit hours)
AE 522: Dynamic Response of Materials (4 credit hours)
AE 525: Advanced Composite Materials (4 credit hours)
AE 526: Composites Manufacturing (4 credit hours)
AE 527: Multi-scale Modeling of Materials (4 credit hours)
AE 529: Viscoelasticity Theory (4 credit hours)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.

Graduate Certificate in Aerospace Structural Mechanics

The Certificate in Aerospace Structural Mechanics is geared towards practicing engineers who wish to gain additional technical expertise in aircraft structures. The aircraft structures group at Illinois boasts among the largest research and graduate education program of its kind in the US. This comprehensive program has world-class faculty, a broad-based, cutting-edge research portfolio, and strong ties to industry and government agencies. Our Aerospace Structural Mechanics courses are kept up-to-date with the latest developments in materials, design, specifications, and sustainability engineering practices.

Certificate Requirements

This certificate requires students to complete three graduate-level courses for 12 credit hours in the area of Aerospace Structural Mechanics. Each of the three selected courses must be taken for 4 credit hours. Courses that can be applied toward this certificate are the following:

AE 420: Finite Element Analysis (3 or 4 credit hours)
AE 451: Aeroelasticity (3 or 4 credit hours)
AE 452: Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamics and Vibrations (4 credit hours)
AE 521: Fracture and Fatigue (4 credit hours)
AE 522: Dynamic Response of Materials (4 credit hours)
AE 523: Nanoscale Contact Mechanics (4 credit hours)
AE 528: Nonlinear Continuous Media (4 credit hours)
AE 550: Nonlinear Aeroelasticity (4 credit hours)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.

Graduate Certificate in Spaceflight Engineering

Spaceflight Engineering is among one of the most requested certificates and concentrations for which we received requests. The Aerospace Engineering department has developed a worldwide reputation for excellence in Astrodynamics and Orbital Mechanics with pioneering studies being performed here, as well as development of widely used theories and textbooks. Thus the Aerospace Engineering faculty at Illinois offers unequaled expertise in all aspects of spaceflight engineer making this a natural certificate program to form in this department. The Certificate in Spaceflight Engineering is geared towards practicing engineers who wish to gain additional technical expertise across a wide range of Space Science topics.

Certificate Requirements

This certificate requires students to complete three or four graduate-level courses for at least 12 credit hours in the area of Spaceflight Engineering. Courses that can be applied toward this certificate are the following:

AE 402: Orbital Mechanics (3 or 4 credit hours)
AE 403: Spacecraft Attitude Control (3 or 4 credit hours)
AE 435: Electric Propulsion (3 or 4 credit hours)
AE 446: Cube Sat. (new AE number for ENG491) (1 to 4 credit hours)
AE 502: Advanced Orbital Mechanics (4 credit hours)
AE 504: Optimal Aerospace Systems (4 credit hours)
AE 508: Optimal Space Trajectories (4 credit hours)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.

Graduate Certificate in Hypersonics

Hypersonics flight systems are at the forefront of modern national security,  transportation and space exploration. In designing hypersonic vehicles, aerospace engineers face tremendous challenges associated with extreme aerodynamics, thermochemistry, advanced high temperature materials and rapid control. The Department of Aerospace Engineering is home of the Nation’s finest scholars in hypersonics research. Two vibrant centers, the Center for Hypersonics and Entry System Studies (CHESS) and the Center for Exascale Enabled Scramjet Design (CEESD), coordinate hypersonics research and education across The Grainger College of Engineering. This certificate is designed to provide students with the fundamentals of this multidisciplinary subject area, with attention to emerging topics and advances in hypersonic science and technology. Students are required to complete 12 credit hours from a selection of the following courses:

AE 498: Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics (4 credit hours)
AE 451: Aeroelasticity (4 credit hours)
AE 510: Advanced Gas Dynamics (4 credit hours)
AE 512: Molecular Gas Dynamics (4 credit hours)
AE 514: Boundary Layer Theory (4 credit hours)
AE 598: Planetary Entry (4 credit hours)
ME 598-KS: Dynamics of Gas/Plasma-Surface Interactions (4 credit hours)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.

Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Aircraft Design and Operation

Sustainable aviation is not just an environmental or natural resources concern. At Illinois, we are adopting a multidisciplinary mindset to address this global problem as we work to share science-based advice and educate the next generation of thought leaders to achieve sustainable aviation. One effort to accomplish this is to offer this certificate that will provide specialized instruction to help address these complex issues. Students are required to complete 12 credit hours from a selection of the following courses:

AE 419: Aircraft Flight Mechanics (3 or 4 credits)
AE 542: Aerospace Systems Engineering I (4 credits)
AE 543: Aerospace Systems Engineering II (4 credits)
CEE 407: Airport Design (4 credits)
CEE 447/ATMS 420: Atmospheric Chemistry (4 credits)
CEE 493: Sustainable Design Engineering and Technology (4 credits)
SE 413: Engineering Design Optimization (3 or 4 hours)
AE 433: Aerospace Propulsion (3 or 4 credits) 
AE 515: Wing Theory (3 or 4 credits) 
CPSC 415: Bioenergy Crops (3 credits) 
ME 400: Energy Conversion Systems (4 credits) 
ME 401: Refrigeration and Cryogenics (3 or 4 credits) 
ME 403: Internal Combustion Engines (3 or 4 credits) 
NPRE 470: Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Sources (3 credits) 
ABE 436: Renewable Energy Systems (4 credits) 
CEE 438: Science and Environmental Policy (3 credits) 
CEE 441: Air Pollution Sources, Transport and Control (4 credits) 
ENG 471/571: Seminar/Theory Energy and Sustainable Engineering (1 + 3 or 4 credits) 
GGIS 466/ESE 466: Environmental Policy (4 credits) 
NPRE 480: Energy and Security (3 credits)
NPRE 481: Writing on Technology and Security (3 or 4 credits)
NRES 439: Env and Sustainable Dev (3 credits) 
SE 400: Engineering Law (4 credits)

Course availability can be found at the course schedule.