M.S. in Aerospace Engineering

The Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering (MSAE) is designed to give students exposure to at least two different areas of Aerospace Engineering through concentration and breadth requirements, and at the same time allowing students to pursue their interests through flexibility in the selection of technical electives.

For information on when courses are offered, please see the USC Catalogue.

Specialization areas:

Aerodynamics/Fluid Dynamics
Aerospace Control
Aerospace Design
Aerospace Structures
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Propulsion

Requirements Common To All Areas Of Specialization:

Applied Math Requirements: AME 525 Engineering Analysis & AME 526 Engineering Analytical Methods

Breadth Requirement: a required core course from a different area of specialization than the one being followed.

Specialization Areas:

Aerodynamics/Fluid Dynamics

Core Requirements:
AME 530a Dynamics of Incompressible Fluids
AME 511 Compressible Gas Dynamics

Core Electives (choose one):
AME 530b Dynamics of Incompressible Fluids
AME 457 Engineering Fluid Dynamics
AME 535a Introduction to Computational Fluid Mechanics
AME 620 Aero and Hydrodynamic Wave Theory
AME 621 Stability of Fluids
AME 651 Statistical Theories of Turbulence
AME 652 Turbulent Shear Flows

Aerospace Control

Core Requirements:
AME 532a Flight Vehicle Stability and Control
AME 541 Linear Control Systems II

Core Electives (choose one):
AME 532b Flight Vehicle Stability and Control
AME 552 Nonlinear Control Systems
AME 544 Computer Control of Mechanical Systems
AME 545 Modeling and Control of Distributed Dynamic Systems
ASTE 585 Spacecraft Attitude Control
ASTE 586 Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics

Aerospace Design

Core Requirement:
AME 527 Elements of Vehicle and Energy Systems Design

Core Electives (choose two):
ASTE 520 Spacecraft System Design
AME 528 Elements of Composite Structure Design
AME 408 Computer-Aided Design of Mechanical Systems
or Six units of a supervised design project

Aerospace Structures

Core Requirement (choose one):
AME 529 Aircraft Structures Analysis

Core Electives:
AME 546 Basic Aeroelasticity
CE 529a Finite Element Analysis
CE 541a Dynamics of Structures
AME 509 Applied Elasticity
or
CE 507 Mechanics of Solids I
AME 521 Engineering Vibrations II
AME 559 Creep
AME 560 Fatigue and Fracture
AME 584 Fracture Mechanics and Mechanisms

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Core Requirements:
AME 530a Dynamics of Incompressible Fluids
AME 535a Introduction to Computational Fluid Mechanics

Core Electives (Choose two courses, each from a different category):

Category I: Numerical Methods
AME 535b Introduction to Computational Fluid Mechanics
ASTE 545 Computational Techniques in Rarefied Gas Dynamics
Math 504ab Numerical Solution of Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations

Category II: Fluid Mechanics
AME530b Dynamics of Incompressible Fluids
AME 511 Compressible Gas Dynamics
AME 620 Aero and Hydrodynamic Wave Theory
AME 621 Stability of Fluids
AME 651 Statistical Theories of Turbulence
AME 652 Turbulent Shear Flows
AME 457 Engineering Fluid Dynamics

Propulsion

Core Requirements:
AME 511 Compressible Gas Dynamics
AME 513 Principles of Combustion

Core Electives (choose one):
ASTE 470 Spacecraft Propulsion
ASTE 501a Physical Gas Dynamics
AME 436 Energy and Propulsion
AME 514 Applications of Combustion
AME 512 Advanced Thermodynamics
ChE 530 Thermodynamics for Chemical Engineers