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Aerospace Engineering

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

You'll take the fundamentals of engineering and push them to the extreme. Specialized courses include aerodynamics, jet and rocket propulsion, orbital mechanics, and flight dynamics. Instead of just machine shops, expect to run wind-tunnel experiments, test lightweight composite materials, and use flight simulators. Senior design projects usually involve building a small satellite (CubeSat), a high-altitude rocket, or a heavy-lift drone. The math is highly intense, especially regarding fluid dynamics and control systems.

What you'll do after college

Grads work at aerospace giants (Boeing, Lockheed, SpaceX, Blue Origin), defense agencies, and NASA. Career paths usually split between aeronautics (commercial planes, stealth jets, drones) and astronautics (satellites, Mars rovers, deep-space probes). A typical day revolves around high-stakes simulations (like computational fluid dynamics), stress-testing structures, and optimizing guidance systems. The work is demanding because failure isn't an option, but you get to build things that explore the sky and beyond.

Pay is solid, and many grads pursue master's degrees to specialize in propulsion or astrodynamics.

Famous graduates

  • Neil Armstrong — First person to walk on the moon; B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University
  • Kalpana Chawla — First woman of Indian origin in space; M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
  • Kelly Johnson — Legendary aeronautical engineer and first team leader of the Lockheed Skunk Works

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$99,764
977
100–80%
$101,338
2,417
79–49%
$103,650
2,373
49–20%
$106,027
987
19–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$104,057
836
400–1240
$102,251
2,064
1250–1310
$102,729
2,005
1330–1450
$107,366
983
1460–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category

$91,969p10 $110,492p90 STEM, Business & Military Public University Religious University Private University 20–30% 10–20% 0–10% Florida Institute of Technology · $98,300 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $103,319 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $99,482 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach · $99,528 Cal Poly - Pomona · $102,545 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott · $100,860 Florida Polytechnic University · $87,428 Clarkson University · $86,708 Missouri University of Science and Technology · $103,734 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $112,273 San Diego State University · $90,638 North Carolina State University · $102,615 University of Tennessee, Knoxville · $96,841 University of Washington · $107,455 University of Central Florida · $99,103 Purdue University · $103,044 University of Maryland, College Park · $101,137 Cal State Long Beach · $89,859 University of California, Davis · $101,297 Auburn University · $108,537 Ohio State University · $104,182 Texas A&M University - College Station · $110,492 Virginia Tech · $101,406 Pennsylvania State University · $105,236 University of South Carolina · $104,565 New Mexico State University · $99,716 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $97,384 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $89,992 University of Colorado Boulder · $120,770 University of Alabama · $100,239 Wichita State University · $97,830 Oklahoma State University · $102,740 University of Alabama in Huntsville · $91,969 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $107,490 San Jose State University · $124,025 University at Buffalo · $84,452 University of Texas at Arlington · $103,120 Kent State University at Kent · $94,713 Western Michigan University · $93,453 University of Arizona · $92,946 Mississippi State University · $105,745 Morehead State University · $97,495 University of Akron · $103,144 West Virginia University · $104,173 Iowa State University · $96,362 University of Cincinnati · $98,100 Arizona State University · $98,085 University of Kansas · $110,613 University of Kentucky · $98,859 University of Colorado Colorado Springs · $101,213 University of Texas at El Paso · $92,845 Saint Louis University · $114,586 Case Western Reserve University · $94,937 Tuskegee University · $95,982 Syracuse University · $94,398 Illinois Institute of Technology · $99,696 University of Hartford · $98,362 University of Florida · $103,186 University of Texas at Austin · $104,891 University of California, San Diego · $95,050 University of California, Irvine · $91,180 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $100,823 University of Southern California · $122,930 University of Miami · $92,071 University of California, Berkeley · $109,756 Georgia Tech · $106,175 University of Virginia · $95,396 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $109,622 United States Air Force Academy · $104,850 Stanford University · $129,532 MIT · $107,312 UCLA · $105,517 University of Notre Dame · $109,682 United States Naval Academy · $102,309 STEM, Business & Military: mean $97,989 Public University: mean $101,099 Religious University: mean $114,586 Private University: mean $96,675 20–30%: mean $99,026 10–20%: mean $105,829 0–10%: mean $110,870 All colleges: p10 $91,969 All colleges: p90 $110,492
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Aerospace Engineering 74 6,754 80% / 20% 6% $101,628 98%
Aerospace Engineering 65 5,957 80% / 20% 5% $101,322 98%
Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering 1 427 83% / 17% 10% $103,044 98%
Aeronautics and Astronautics 2 98 82% / 18% 4% $118,494 95%
Aeronautical Engineering 1 93 81% / 19% 4% $99,482 98%
Aerospace Science and Engineering 1 73 78% / 22% 4% $101,297 98%
Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16) 1 45 53% / 47% 2% $107,312 94%
Engineering Physics (Aerospace) 2 24 71% / 29% 4% $87,766 95%
Aerospace Systems Engineering 1 17 82% / 18% 0% $103,144
Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering 1 15 80% / 20% 0% $92,845
Systems Engineering (Aerospace) 1 5 100% / 0% 0% $96,294
Astronautical Engineering 1 0 $102,438