<p>So I am looking for somewhere to transfer into for aerospace engineering after 2 yrs of cc. I am mainly interested in stuff beyond the exosphere so Im searching for schools with an emphasis on the astronautical portion of aerospace. I know USC has an astronautical specific degree. Are there any others that anybody thinks I should know about? Any input or advice will be greatly appreciated :) </p>
<p>Most Aerospace Engineering programs are sub-divided into astronautical and aeronautical tracks. Schools with strong and reputable astronautical tracks include (but are not limited to):</p>
<ul>
<li>USC</li>
<li>Embry-Riddle</li>
<li>Purdue</li>
<li>Michigan</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Alabama</li>
<li>UIUC </li>
</ul>
<p>Would these be undergrad programs as well? My son is interested in this major. He has applied to USC & Michigan. He was already accepted into Purdue. What do you think about University of Colorado Boulder’s program? </p>
<p>Also, how is UT Austin?</p>
<p>@fractalmstr </p>
<p>You could try getting into the USAFA, they offer a B.S. in astronautical engineering, but that’s a whole other ballpark - and you can’t transfer, you’d have to to get appointed and do the full 4 years, then serve at least 8. </p>
<p>Yes, they all have undergrad programs. Not familiar with UT Austin’s aerospace engineering program. I know that Johnson Space Center (NASA) in Houston hires a lot of grads from Texas A&M though.</p>
<p>UC Boulder’s program is also pretty good. The ones I mentioned in the list above (plus Texas A&M and Georgia Tech which I forgot to include) are school which I know have highly reputable programs. </p>
<p>Honestly, any program with an ABET-accredited aerospace engineering program (or aeronautics and astronautics program, as some are called) is going to give you the same basic level of preparation in astronautics. Evaluating beyond that at the undergraduate level is tricky. You are probably best just selecting a list of aerospace programs that interest you, then using two criteria to narrow it down further: companies that recruit those schools and the research the professors do.</p>
<p>Companies that recruit the school ought to give you an idea of how well-regarded a school is in a certain area (though it isn’t foolproof). That said, it’s a tough metric to use for this since it is likely that a company like Boeing is going to recruit for both aero and astro jobs at a school. Looking at the research professors do in the department (and by extension, the types of electives offered) should give you an idea of what percentage of the faculty priorities astro over aero and how you can benefit from that.</p>
<p>I will say that UT-Austin also has a good reputation despite the fact that I am currently sitting in my office in the TAMU aerospace building. Sadly, their CubeSat was lost in the Antares explosion this past October.</p>
<p>That’s too bad, ^. That explosion was intense. I hope Orbital Sciences will start to phase out of using Russian engines. </p>
<p>Apparently they have said they play to do just that. They will be doing away with Ukrainian fuel tanks as well.</p>
<p>Maryland has the closest three schools to wallops, dulles, and greenbelt (orbital sciences locations-greenbelt is more of a business unit though) with abet accredited aerospace programs (one of which having the official astronautical title), yet orbital has recruited ece majors almost exclusively from these schools for several years now. Perhaps if they hired aerospace engineers their rockets wouldn’t blow up… just sayin.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>"Dimitri (in Russian): Okay, thanks Mission Control.</p>
<p>Howard: There’s fuel leaking and we’re still going to go?</p>
<p>Dimitri: This happens a lot. Nine times out of ten, no problem.</p>
<p>Howard: What happens on the tenth time?</p>
<p>Dimitri: Problem."</p>
<p>:P</p>