MS/MEng Degree Programs
The Department of Aerospace Engineering graduate program is consistently ranked in the top-10 by U.S. News & World Report.
Aerospace Engineering offers an MEng in Aerospace Systems Engineering. on campus or online.
The department offers two types of master's degrees:
MS degree with Thesis and MS degree Non-Thesis.
Compare Our Aerospace Master’s Programs
The Department of Aerospace Engineering offers a variety of master’s degrees.
Compare our degrees to find the right one for your professional and career goals.
“Being able to choose when I watch lectures and the ability to re-watch lectures was extremely useful. I no longer need to worry about schedule conflicts or not being able to scribe all of my notes quickly.”
-- Luke Firsching with UTC Aerospace Systems in Rockford, Illinois
“The differences are (online) is more flexible and you can apply what you’re learning to the real world at your job.”
-- Cassie Meisner, Rolls Royce
Requirements for all MS Degrees
- All graduate students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 to continue in the AE Graduate Program. The cumulative GPA is computed on all courses taken for credit except thesis and seminar courses in which DF, S, and U grades are recorded.
- The Grading System can be found on page 22 of the Graduate Student Handbook.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering requires a grade of C- or better in order for a course to count toward degree requirements. - Per Office of the Registrar Policy, credit/no credit courses are not counted toward the GPA, but are included as part of the total credit hours and are assessed as credit hours. Credit/no credit courses will not count toward degree requirements.
- All graduate students must register in the seminar course AE 590 and must attend all seminars each semester while they are on campus.
- MS students are expected to select courses in consultation with an MS advisor.
- MS students may count a maximum of four (4) credits of Technology and Entrepreneurship (TA) graduate coursework toward their degree.
- The University of Illinois requires all students working research laboratories to receive training in general lab safety. In order to meet this requirement, all graduate students working in research laboratories must complete MSE 492/Lab Safety Fundamentals by the second offering after enrollment. MSE 492/Lab Safety Fundamentals is not a graded course and so does not count toward the credit requirement for the MS and MS non-thesis degree programs.
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(The online MSAE program and online AE classes are restricted to off-campus students and are not intended for University employees or students in on-campus programs.)
Graduate Options and Joint Programs
Aerospace graduate students have the option of combining their Aerospace degrees with other joint programs such as Computational Science and Engineering.
Degree Conferral
MS and PhD degrees are conferred in May, August, and January. In order to receive a degree, the student's name must be on the graduation list for the appropriate graduation date. Students should submit their names to the AE Departmental Office at the beginning of the semester in which they intend to deposit their thesis.
The Department of Aerospace Engineering does not have a separate commencement ceremony. Students graduating with a degree from the AE Dept. attend the College of Engineering and/or University of Illinois commencement ceremonies.
Time Limitations
Aerospace Engineering requires on-campus candidates for the non-thesis MS degree to complete all the requirements within four semesters and for the MS with thesis to complete all the requirements within five semesters.