Aerospace engineers apply scientific principles and engineering concepts and practices to design, build, test, analyze, operate and maintain aircraft and spacecraft. They work as members of research teams, manage technical and research staffs, become test pilots, astronauts, CEOs of airlines or own their own companies.
Auburn University's Department of Aerospace Engineering provides a balanced undergraduate education in aeronautics and astronautics leading to a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree. Students study math and science as well as aerospace fundamentals such as aerodynamics, the dynamics of flight, propulsion and structures, and have an option to study the design of aircraft or spacecraft.
Graduate programs lead to the Master of Science, Master of Aerospace Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Students may specialize in aerodynamics, astrodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, flight dynamics and control theory, propulsion, structures, or structural dynamics. Digital simulation is a major part of students' graduate studies.
Aerospace engineering faculty are engaged in a wide variety of research and outreach activities. It is home to the Adaptive Aerostructures Laboratory, Aerodynamics Laboratory, Missile and Aircraft Hardware in the Loop Simulation Lab, Composite Materials Laboratory, Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory, Laser Diagnostics Laboratory, Flow Visualization Laboratory, GPS Laboratory and Base Station, and Structures and Structural Dynamics Laboratory.
