Aerospace Engineering

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Dr. Kirk H. Schulz, Dean

Dr. Roger L. King, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies

Dr. Anthony Vizzini, Department Head

Dr. Pasquale Cinnella, Graduate Coordinator

330 Walker Engineering Building

662-325-3623

grad-coord@ae.msstate.edu

Graduate study is offered in the Department of Aerospace Engineering leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy.  Major areas of study are: fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, structures and composites, structural dynamics, dynamics and controls, space applications.  The Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, a unique University facility for graduate aeronautical teaching and research, is operated as an integral part of the Aerospace Engineering Department.  The department is a major participant in the ERC.  Members of this faculty provide primary leadership in computational simulation and numerical grid generation.  Other department facilities consist of: a low speed wind tunnel, a water tunnel, a blow-down supersonic wind tunnel, and a universal testing machine laboratory.  Graduate research and teaching assistantships are available.

Admission Criteria—Regular admission in Aerospace Engineering requires a B.S. degree from an EAC/ABET (Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited program with a grade point average of 3.00 out of 4.00 for the junior and senior years.  An entering graduate student with a bachelor’s degree from a program that is not ABET accredited must submit GRE general-test scores.  International students must have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (CBSS-Computer-Based Score Scale 213).

Program of Study/Completion Requirements— A student must complete 24 hours of course work for the master’s degree with half the work at the full graduate level (8000-level courses).  A student may elect a thesis option, which requires six hours of research/thesis, or a non-thesis option, which requires nine hours of additional graduate course work.  A Master’s degree student must pass a final oral examination upon completion of all course requirements.  The number of course hours required of a Ph.D. student depends on each student’s needs.  A typical Ph.D. program of study includes 30 hours of course work past the master’s degree, half of which are at the full graduate level (8000-level courses), plus a minimum of 20 hours of research/dissertation.  In order to be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, a student must pass a doctoral qualifying examination, have his/her dissertation topic approved, and sit for a candidacy examination.  A final dissertation defense and an oral examination of the candidate are also required.

Contingent Admission—A student whose B.S. or M.S. degree is not in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering may be granted contingent admission, depending on qualifications and experience.  Typically, the contingency is removed by taking some undergraduate prerequisite courses in the first few terms after admission.  Specific conditions are handled on a base-by-case basis.  For more information, please contact the Graduate Coordinator. 

Provisional Admission—A student who has not fully met the requirements for regular admission may be granted admission as a degree seeking graduate student with provisional status.  Please refer to the “General Requirements for Admission” section for more details.  The minimum acceptable undergraduate grade point average for admission as a provisional student is 2.75 (out of 4.00).

Academic Performance and Continued Enrollment—Continued enrollment in the graduate program in Aerospace Engineering is contingent upon satisfactory performance in the courses and research and satisfactory performance toward completion of the degree.  Satisfactory performance is achieved when all four of the following criteria are fulfilled: 

a)  The student maintains a B average, or better, on

1)  all undergraduate prerequisite courses,

2)  graduate courses completed,

3)    all graduate courses included on his or her program of study;

b)   the student has no more than one grade less than C;

c)   the student has a Satisfactory (S) grade on all research credit hours attempted;

d)   the student has a major advisor and a supervisory graduate committee after the first two terms of enrollment.

Should the cumulative GPA (in any of the three categories of the first criterion) be less than a 3.00/4.00 at the end of a term, the student will be placed on probation.  Should the student earn a second grade less than C, the student will be terminated immediately.  Should the student received an Unsatisfactory (U) grade on research credit hours attempted, he/she will be placed on probation. 

The probationary period is defined to be one term (summer counts as one term if the student is enrolled).  If at the end of the probationary period the student has not remedied his/her deficiency (i.e., has not achieved a 3.00 GPA, has not scheduled research credit  hours and received a satisfactory grade), then his/her program of study will be terminated. 

A student may appeal termination of his/her program of study to the Aerospace Engineering graduate coordinator.

Further Information—For information about the program or financial support, contact the Aerospace Engineering Graduate Coordinator, Box A, Mississippi State , MS 39762 , or send electronic mail to:  grad-coord@ae.msstate.edu.  Information regarding the Aerospace Engineering graduate programs can be found at the department’s website: http://www.ae.msstate.edu/.

Graduate Courses—Course prerequisites are noted in parentheses.

ASE 6013      Engineering Design Optimization (Consent of Instructor). 3 hours

ASE 6133      Automatic Control of Aerospace Vehicles (ASE 4123). 3 hours

ASE 6153      Advanced Performance (ASE 2013). 3 hours

ASE 6163      Introduction to Flight Test Engineering (ASE 3313, ASE 4123).  3 hours

ASE 6243      Astrodynamics II (ASE 4143). 3 hours

ASE 6333      Helicopter Aerodynamics and Performance (consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 6423      Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics (consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 6433      Fundamentals of Numerical Grid Generation (consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 6990      Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering. 1-9 hours

ASE 7000      Directed Individual Study. 1-6 hours

ASE 8000      Research/Thesis. 1-6 hours

ASE 8313      Advanced Compressible Aerodynamics I (ASE 4343 or equivalent). 3 hours

ASE 8323      Advanced Compressible  Aerodynamics II (ASE 8313). 3 hours

ASE 8343      Incompressible Viscous Laminar Flow (consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 8353      Turbulent Flow (ASE 8343). 3 hours

ASE 8363      Computational Heat Transfer (consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 8413      Computational Fluid Dynamics I (consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 8423      Computational Fluid Dynamics II (ASE 8413 or equivalent). 3 hours

ASE 8533      Advanced Numerical Grid Generation (ASE 4433/6433 or consent of instructor). 3 hours

ASE 8990      Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering. 1-9 hours

ASE 9000      Research/Dissertation.  1-20 hours