Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, nonsectarian college with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Admission to the university is highly competitive; less than 12 percent of those who apply receive an invitation to attend the school, according to the "2009 Barron's Profiles of American Colleges." In 2010, U.S. News and World Report ranked the college's aeronautical and aerospace engineering curricula the best in the country, among similar programs. Areas of interest to the faculty at MIT are aeronautics informatics, aeronautics systems and aeronautics vehicle design. At the undergraduate level, MIT offers a general Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering degree as well as a specialized joint engineering and information technology degree. Masters and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering are also awarded.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
School of Engineering
77 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-2917
mit.edu
Stanford University received the third-place ranking among all aeronautics, aerospace and astronautical engineering programs in the United States from U.S. News and World Report in 2010. Founded in 1885, the private, nonsectarian university is in Stanford, California, a suburban area 30 miles from San Francisco. Less than 10 percent of applicants receive admission to the school annually, reports the "2009 Barron's Profiles of American Colleges." The college's research focuses in aeronautics and astronautics include computational-based design, control and navigation systems, space systems, structural health monitoring and sustainable aviation. The college offers a baccalaureate degree in the field as well as an undergraduate minor and master's and doctoral degrees. The university offers a coterminal degree course of study, which allows students to concurrently work toward a bachelor's and master's degree in aerospace engineering, graduating with both credentials after five or six years as opposed to the traditional four.
Stanford University
Terman Engineering Center
Stanford, CA 94305
650-723-4291
soe.stanford.edu
A public university based on an urban campus in Atlanta, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is home to more than 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college was ranked fourth for its aerospace and aeronautical engineering program by U.S. News and World Report in 2010, making it the highest-rated course of study in the field in the Southern United States. Compared to other top-ranked schools, Georgia Tech has relaxed admissions standards, admitting roughly 60 percent of applicants each year, explains the "2009 Barron's Profiles of American Colleges." Research specialties at the school include aerodynamics and fluid mechanics, aeroelasticity and structural dynamics, flight mechanics and controls, structural mechanics and system design and organization. Students in the baccalaureate program at the college have the option to spend a semester studying abroad in Lorraine, France or at Oxford University in England. Master's and doctoral programs in aerospace engineering are also available at Georgia Tech.
Georgia Institute of Technology
225 North Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30332
404-894-1610
gatech.edu