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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

$94,343
1,003
100–74%
$95,190
2,151
74–52%
$97,914
2,297
50–21%
$104,328
908
17–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings

By SAT median

$91,918
837
400–1240
$92,535
1,776
1250–1330
$98,604
1,893
1330–1410
$106,974
834
1440–1600
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings

Earnings vs. selectivity rank

$83,515p10 $106,431p90 Military STEM Non-Research Public University Religious University Private University Public University 1–25 Private University 21–40 Private University 1–20 United States Naval Academy · $92,987 United States Air Force Academy · $96,347 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach · $97,509 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott · $97,915 Florida Polytechnic University · $82,523 Cal State Long Beach · $99,098 University of California, Irvine · $102,765 Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo · $112,671 San Diego State University · $93,649 University of Washington · $102,468 Cal Poly - Pomona · $97,066 University of California, Davis · $98,457 San Jose State University · $101,217 Pennsylvania State University · $99,365 University of South Carolina · $90,663 New Mexico State University · $95,469 Mississippi State University · $94,025 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities · $81,624 Oklahoma State University · $89,424 University at Buffalo · $83,498 University of Colorado Boulder · $103,431 Missouri University of Science and Technology · $95,014 Morehead State University · $80,433 University of Oklahoma - Norman · $87,920 University of Texas at Arlington · $88,986 University of Alabama in Huntsville · $85,592 University of Alabama · $93,809 Kent State University at Kent · $83,515 Western Michigan University · $100,965 Iowa State University · $92,551 University of Akron · $92,817 University of Arizona · $103,537 University of Cincinnati · $86,633 West Virginia University · $96,827 Wichita State University · $82,517 Arizona State University · $97,599 University of Kansas · $90,488 University of Texas at El Paso · $90,734 University of Notre Dame · $98,886 Saint Louis University · $92,038 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · $98,049 Florida Institute of Technology · $99,429 Tuskegee University · $63,477 Syracuse University · $98,978 Illinois Institute of Technology · $75,993 Clarkson University · $95,489 University of Hartford · $91,523 Georgia Tech · $101,967 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor · $113,025 University of Virginia · $93,485 University of Florida · $100,208 Purdue University · $97,947 University of Maryland, College Park · $106,431 UCLA · $97,069 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · $109,503 University of Texas at Austin · $100,587 Rutgers University - New Brunswick · $92,706 Texas A&M University - College Station · $96,505 Auburn University · $95,997 University of Tennessee, Knoxville · $85,604 University of Central Florida · $84,789 Virginia Tech · $100,423 University of California, San Diego · $107,359 Ohio State University · $88,477 North Carolina State University · $94,192 Case Western Reserve University · $90,949 University of Southern California · $113,915 University of Miami · $89,830 Worcester Polytechnic Institute · $98,303 MIT · $138,934 Stanford University · $144,702 Military: mean $96,190 STEM Non-Research: mean $82,523 Public University: mean $93,783 Religious University: mean $95,462 Private University: mean $88,991 Public University 1–25: mean $98,126 Private University 21–40: mean $98,249 Private University 1–20: mean $141,818 All colleges: p10 $83,515 All colleges: p90 $106,431
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl Earnings Employment
Aerospace Engineering 72 6,359 82% / 18% 4% $95,871 95%
Aerospace Engineering 63 5,644 82% / 18% 4% $94,983 95%
Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering 1 323 80% / 20% 6% $97,947 95%
Aeronautical Engineering 1 92 80% / 20% 3% $98,049 93%
Aeronautics and Astronautics 2 77 78% / 22% 8% $123,585 94%
Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16) 1 55 71% / 29% 2% $138,934 94%
Aerospace Science and Engineering 1 53 75% / 25% 6% $98,457 88%
Astronautical Engineering 1 49 82% / 18% 4% $94,564
Engineering Physics (Aerospace) 2 36 78% / 22% 3% $87,362 100%
Aerospace Systems Engineering 1 23 78% / 22% 0% $92,817
Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering 1 5 40% / 60% 20% $90,734
Systems Engineering (Aerospace) 1 2 100% / 0% 0% $79,587