Good Aerospace Engineering Colleges

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is one of the top aerospace engineering colleges in the United States. In fact, "U.S. News & World Report" in 2010 ranked MIT's aerospace program one of the two top aerospace engineering programs (tied with the California Institute of Technology). The aerospace engineering department at MIT offers undergraduate degrees along with several master's degree programs, including master of science, master of science in technology and policy and master of science in engineering and management, as well as two doctoral degrees.

  MIT implements innovative research programs in the field through its interdisciplinary approach to research. The college is home to multiple aerospace research centers including the Aerospace Computational Design Lab and the Space Propulsion Laboratory. MIT aerospace engineering faculty members are prominent researchers in the field.

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  School of Engineering
  77 Massachusetts Ave.
  Room 1-206
  Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
  617-253-2917
  web.mit.edu/aeroastro/

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, and Daytona Beach, Florida, is well known for its aerospace engineering program. Embry-Riddle offers numerous degree programs, including an undergraduate major in aerospace engineering, as well as several related to the aerospace field. These include space physics, aeronautics and aeronautical science.

  Embry-Riddle's aerospace engineering major requires 120 credit hours for completion and offers courses in such areas as space mechanics; control systems design and analysis; aerospace structures and implementation; turbine and rocket engines; thermodynamics; space systems engineering; aerodynamics; and computer-aided conceptual design of aerospace systems.

  Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  3700 Willow Creek Rd
  Prescott, AZ 86301
  928-777-6600
  prescott.erau.edu

California Institute of Technology

• The California Institute of Technology (Cal-Tech) tied with MIT for first place in "U.S. News & World Report's" 2010 ranking of aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering schools. Cal-Tech's program offers students opportunities that cannot be duplicated at other aerospace colleges, specifically the ability to work with researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

  A distinguishing aspect of Cal-Tech's program is its emphasis on advanced diagnostics and fundamentals. The program is forward-looking in that its studies in biomechanics, space science, nanomechanics and space technology is the main focus of ongoing research. Graduate research is endemic to the Cal-Tech program to the point that the only undergraduate program offered is a minor in aerospace engineering. Master's degrees and a doctorate of philosophy are offered as graduate-level programs.

  California Institute of Technology
  1200 E. California Blvd.
  Pasadena, CA 91125-4400
  626-395-6346
  www.galcit.caltech.edu