Aerospace Engineering, MSAER

The M.S. graduate program offers students the opportunity to work with award-winning faculty on a wide range of research topics including autonomous systems, robotics and controls, experimental fluid mechanics, hypersonics, computational fluid modeling, aeroacoustics, combustion, and aerospace manufacturing and materials, among others.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Aerospace Engineering MS program requires a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, and a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0/4.0 or 70 percent on all graduate and undergraduate work. An undergraduate degree in mathematics, chemistry, physics or another engineering discipline combined with a strong interest in aerospace engineering topics may be suitable preparation when certain required undergraduate courses are taken. These courses include key topics in thermal fluids (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer), mechanics (statics, dynamics, solid mechanics) and controls as well as two years of calculus. Exceptions to the requirement for a mechanical or aerospace engineering undergraduate degree may be made by the Director of Graduate Studies if other persuasive evidence indicating the student’s potential of success, including appropriate course background, is available. All international students, except those with a degree from a U.S. institution, must have a minimum score of 550 (paper), 213 (computer), or 79 (Internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or an IELTS score of 6.5.

Degree Requirements

MSAER Option A (Thesis Plan)

Credit Requirements

Option A requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work and a thesis. The thesis must be supervised by a member of the Graduate Faculty.

Course Requirements

30 credit hours required for a MS degree, where 6 credit hours of MS residency - AER 768 - RESIDENCE CREDIT FOR MASTER’S DEGREE - is suggested. Research courses (including AER 799 - AEROSPACE ENGINEERING GRADUATE SEMINAR ) do not count toward the required credit hours.
At least 6 credit hours from courses with prefix MA at the 500 or greater level, or from STA 570 - BASIC STATISTICAL ANALYSIS , STA 674 - REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS , STA 677 - APPLIED MULTIVARIATE METHODS , or STA 678 - STATISTICAL COMPUTATIONAL THEORY AND DATA VISUALIZATION: R AND SAS .
At least 12 credit hours at the 600-level or greater (AER 790 - RESEARCH IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING and AER 768 - RESIDENCE CREDIT FOR MASTER’S DEGREE are excluded).
A maximum of 6 credit hours of AER 780 - SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN AEROSPACE ENGINEERING . and a maximum of 6 credit hours of ER 768 - RESIDENCE CREDIT FOR MASTER’S DEGREE may be included.
At least 20 credit hours from courses with the prefix AER (Graduate School requirements). The DGS may solicit approval from the Graduate School on courses from another department related to the student’s major area if approved by student’s advisor and the DGS.
Students must take two semesters of AER 799 - AEROSPACE ENGINEERING GRADUATE SEMINAR .

Registration in AER 748 - MASTER’S THESIS RESEARCH is limited to MS Option A students who have completed all course requirements. AER 748 is a zero (0) credit hour course that guarantees that a student is considered full-time for the purposes of student financial aid, loan deferments, insurance coverage, and visa status. The DGS must certify that the student is working at least half time (i.e., 20 hours per week) on the thesis project. Registration in AER 748 is limited to a maximum of six (6) semesters (not counting summer terms). First time registration requires advisor approval prior to enrollment.

Option A students must develop a thesis under the direction of a tenured/tenure track faculty member of the department and a full or an associate member of the Graduate Faculty. It must be approved by the thesis director and advisory committee, the DGS, and the Graduate School. The thesis must conform with instructions prepared by the Graduate School found here: http://gradschool.uky.edu/thesis-dissertation-preparation

Option A students must submit a thesis in partial fulfillment of the degree program. A draft of the thesis must be submitted to the advisor no less than one (1) month prior to the defense and no less than two (2) weeks prior to the defense to the rest of the advisory committee. The final examination will be automatically canceled if these deadlines are not met. The Final Examination for an MS Option A student will primarily constitute a defense of the thesis research as represented in the thesis and provided to the advisory committee.

Since the written thesis represents important documentation of completed research, any MS student participating in a funded research project, or receiving funding from the department in the form of an assistantship or scholarship will be required to enroll in the MS Option A and to complete a thesis as part of their degree requirement.

The thesis in its final form must be received by the Graduate School within sixty (60) days of the Final Examination (Note: If students take final examination late in the semester, they will have less than 60 days). Theses must be presented to and accepted in the Graduate School by the last day of the semester if a student plans to graduate that semester.

MSAER Option B (Non-Thesis Plan)

Credit Requirements

Option B requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of course work including an independent study project. A final oral examination administered by the students Advisory Committee must be passed to complete degree requirements. Option B students must have a faculty advisor throughout their program of study. Option B students are not eligible for TA or RA Support.

Course Requirements

30 credit hours required for a MS degree. MS residency (AER 768 - Residence Credit For Master’s Degree ) and research courses (including AER 799 - Aerospace Engineering Graduate Seminar ) do not count toward the required credit hours.
At least 6 credit hours from courses with prefix MA at the 500 or greater level, or from STA 570 - Basic Statistical Analysis , STA 674 - Regression Analysis and Design of Experiments , STA 677 - Applied Multivariate Methods , or STA 678 - Statistical Computational Theory And Data Visualization: R And Sas .
At least 12 credit hours at the 600-level or greater (AER 790 - Research In Aerospace Engineering and AER 768 - Residence Credit For Master’s Degree is excluded).
Students must complete an independent study project via credit hours of AER 780 - Special Problems In Aerospace Engineering . A maximum of 6 credit hours of AER 780 may be included.
At least 20 credit hours from courses with the prefix AER (Graduate School requirement). The DGS may solicit approval from the Graduate School to substitute courses with another prefix related to the student’s major area if approved by student’s advisor.