Top Space-Based Aerospace Colleges

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I want to major in Aerospace engineering, but I'm afraid that most of the colleges I will apply to (UCLA,UCSD,UCD,UCB,Cal Poly) focus on the "sky" portion, i.e. in the atmosphere vs the space portion. I really want a career based on Astronautical Engineering; which colleges are the best for this?</p>

<p>I read a report that said MIT, Stanford, and Purdue were the top 3 for astro, but realistically MIT is out and Stanford is a reach, with Purdue in possibly. But if possible, I'd like to stay in California.</p>

2

<p>Caltech (probably also out of reach if you feel that MIT and Stanford are) and Michigan are both excellent in the Space component of Aerospace Engineering. I think Georgia Tech is also strong. Those three schools are among NASA’s, LM’s and Boeing’s favorite hunting grounds. </p>

<p>Other than Caltech and Stanford, the four California schools I recommend are:</p>

<p>Cal
Calpoly SLO
UCLA
USC</p>

3

<p>I think that CalTech is the best choice because it has the Jet Propulsion Lab. The systems, integration, testing, and operations on a lot of the major NASA satellites is done at the JPL. At Johns Hopkins, the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has a space department that is basically a smaller version of the JPL. The APL designed and is currently operating Messenger (first mission to Mercury) and New Horizons. Since Caltech and Johns Hopkins have close ties to the JPL and APL respectively, I think that these are two top choices for someone wanting to get into the space industry. Berkeley may have something similar, but I’m not sure. </p>

<p>Secondly, if you want to enter the space industry, I would recommend majoring in physics - not aerospace engineering. The reason is that the people in the space industry are involved in a variety of areas: scientists analyze data, thermal engineers study thermal data, flight software designs the software, guidance and control guides the satellite, integration and testing builds the satellite, and so on. If you have a BS in physics, you’ll be qualified to get a master’s degree in whatever area you want to move into. Aerospace will restrict your options too much, even if it is a little bit easier starting out.</p>

4

<p>[Bachelor’s</a> Degrees/Majors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University](<a href=“http://www.erau.edu/degrees/bachelor-degrees.html]Bachelor’s”>http://www.erau.edu/degrees/bachelor-degrees.html)</p>

5

<p>Here’s a list of schools designated as national “space-grant” colleges:
<a href=“https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Space_Grant_Colleges[/url]”>https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Space_Grant_Colleges&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Virginia Tech is top 10 for almost every type of engineering. It’s much cheaper OOS than other schools (around 22-23k I believe).</p>