West Virginia University 1 Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Engineering Aerospace travel, space exploration, and flight of manned or unmanned vehicles continue to gain significance. Aerospace engineering is involved with the science and technology of advanced vehicles, including aircraft, rockets, missiles, and spacecraft. Although a specialized branch of engineering, it is also diverse. Aerospace technology has expanded to include design and development of earthbound vehicles such as ground-effect machines, hydrofoil ships, and high-speed rail-type systems. The curriculum consists of a judicious combination of fundamentals, including mathematics and sciences, and practical laboratory experience which provides access to modern engineering tools. Aeronautical engineering subjects are to be the focus of the discipline along with significant exposure to space-related topics. Graduates will be able to critically analyze aerospace engineering problems and execute practical solutions. In addition to being able to function independently, it is expected that graduates will be able to function with effective written and oral communication within multidisciplinary teams and be prepared to address several issues such as environmental, social, and economic considerations, due to a thorough education in the humanities, social sciences, ethics, safety, and professionalism. The aerospace engineering curriculum includes studies in the disciplines encountered in the design of aerospace vehicles, missiles, rockets, and spacecraft. Undergraduate students extensively study the basic principles of aerodynamics, solid mechanics and structures, stability and control, thermal sciences, and propulsion. The senior year includes a capstone flight vehicle design course providing an experiential learning opportunity. Students are involved in both theoretical and experimental studies and trained to integrate knowledge with practical engineering design. With the breadth and depth of education in aerospace engineering, students become versatile engineers, competent to work in many areas. The curriculum may serve as a terminal degree program by incorporating design-oriented courses for technical electives or it may be used as a preparatory program for advanced study by the selection of science-oriented courses. While the undergraduate curriculum is sufficiently broad to permit graduates to select from a wide variety of employment opportunities, it contains sufficient depth to prepare students to enter graduate school to pursue advanced degrees. As modern science and engineering become more complex, the desirability of graduate-level preparation is being recognized by most advanced industries and government agencies. Students can simultaneously pursue B.S. degrees in both aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering by completing additional courses. Information on this 155 credit-hour, four-and-one-half-year option can be seen at the end of this department description. Students who plan a career in medicine, dentistry, or related areas, but who desire an aerospace engineering degree before entering the appropriate professional school, may substitute eight hours (from a combination of biology and organic chemistry courses) for the required six hours of technical electives. This selection will help students satisfy admission requirements to the professional schools in the health sciences. The aerospace engineering program at WVU is administered by the faculty of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The aerospace engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET. PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is highly committed to provide a foundation in aerospace engineering so that graduates will meet the following objectives: Graduates will be proficient in aerospace engineering. Graduates will be prepared to meet the varying demands of the workforce in the technological arena. Graduates will be prepared for the pursuit of life-long learning. STUDENT OUTCOMES Upon graduation, all Bachelor of Science students in Aerospace Engineering will have the: Ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering Ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze data Ability to design a system, component or process to meet desired needs Ability to function on multidisciplinary teams Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility Ability to communicate effectively A broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context Recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, life-long learning Knowledge of contemporary issues
2 Aerospace Engineering Ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEC requirement. (http://registrar.wvu.edu/current_students/ general_education_curriculum) NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEC requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GECs you will need to select. General Education Curriculum ENGL 101 & ENGL 102 or ENGL 103 Composition and Rhetoric and Composition and Rhetoric Accelerated Academic Writing GEC 2A - Mathematics 3-4 GEC 2B - Natural and Physical Science 7-8 GEC 2C - Additional GEC 2A, B or C 3 GEC 3 - The Past and Its Traditions 3 GEC 4 - Issues of Contemporary Society 3 GEC 5 - Artistic Expression 3 GEC 6 - The Individual in Society 3 GEC 6F - First Year Seminar 1-3 GEC 7 - American Culture 3 GEC 8 - Western Culture 3 GEC 9 - Non-Western Culture 3 Total Hours 38-45 Aerospace Curriculum Requirements To receive a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering, a student must meet the University s undergraduate degree requirements, take all the courses indicated below, and attain a grade point average of 2.0 or better in all mechanical and aerospace engineering courses. If a mechanical and aerospace engineering courses is repeated, only the last grade received is used to compute the major grade point average, and the course credit hours are counted only once. This requirement assures that the student has demonstrated overall competence in the major. Non Aerospace Engineering Core Requirements Minimum grade of C required in these courses Choose one of the following: MATH 155 Calculus 1 4 or MATH 153 & MATH 154 Calculus 1a with Precalculus and Calculus 1b with Precalculus MATH 156 Calculus 2 4 MATH 251 Multivariable Calculus 4 MATH 261 Elementary Differential Equations 4 PHYS 111 General Physics 4 Aerospace Engineering Core Requirements A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 is required in all MAE courses CHEM 115 Fundamentals of Chemistry 4 ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics 3 ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics 3 ENGR 101 Engineering Problem Solving 1 2 Choose one of the following: 3 ENGR 102 Engineering Problem-Solving 2 MAE 102 CHE 102 ENGR 103 Introduction to Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Design Introduction to Chemical Engineering Introduction to Nanotechnology Design ENGR 199 Orientation to Engineering 1 3-6
West Virginia University 3 PHYS 112 General Physics 4 EE 221 Introduction to Electrical Engineering 3 EE 222 Introduction to Electrical Engineering Laboratory 1 MAE 215 Introduction to Aerospace Engineering 3 MAE 241 Statics 3 MAE 242 Dynamics 3 MAE 243 Mechanics of Materials 3 MAE 244 Dynamics and Strength Laboratory 1 MAE 316 Analysis of Engineering Systems 3 MAE 320 Thermodynamics 3 MAE 335 Incompressible Aerodynamics 3 MAE 336 Compressible Aerodynamics 3 MAE 343 Intermediate Mechanics of Materials 3 MAE 345 Aerospace Structures 3 MAE 365 Flight Dynamics 3 MAE 423 Heat Transfer 3 MAE 426 Flight Vehicle Propulsion 3 MAE 434 Experimental Aerodynamics 2 MAE 456 Computer-Aided Design and Finite Element Analysis 3 MAE 460 Automatic Controls 3 MAE 475 Flight Vehicle Design-Capstone 3 MAE 476 Space Flight and Systems 3 Technical Electives (see list for details below) 6 GEC 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 (Students who take ENGL 103 must take another Technical Elective course or department approved course) 21 Total Hours 125 AEROSPACE ENGINEERING TECHNICAL ELECTIVES Students are limited to a total of 3 hours under MAE 495 and MAE 496 Students may subsitute one technical elective from the substitute techinal electives Students may subsitute two technical electives from the pre medical technical electives MAE 415 & MAE 417 Balloon Satellite Project 1 and Balloon Satellite Project 2 MAE 430 Microgravity Research 1 3 or MAE 431 Microgravity Research 2 MAE 432 Engineering Acoustics 3 MAE 433 Computational Fluid Dynamics 3 MAE 437 Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing Aerodynamics 3 MAE 439 Hypersonic Gas Dynamics 3 MAE 446 Mechanics of Composite Materials 3 MAE 447 Aeroelasticity 3 MAE 465 Flight Mechanics 2 3 MAE 467 Introduction to Flight Simulation 3 MAE 470 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Design/Build/Fly Competition 1 1 MAE 473 Bioengineering 3 MAE 474 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Design/Build/Fly Competition 1-3 MAE 478 Guided Missile Systems 3 MAE 482 Flight Simulation for Aircraft Safety 3 Any MAE 493 Except Technical Entrepreneurship and Mobile Robotics MAE 495 Independent Study 1-6 MAE 496 Senior Thesis 1-3 Any MAE 500 Level Course 3
4 Aerospace Engineering SUBSTITUTE TECHNICAL ELECTIVES Aerospace Engineering students may take one of the following courses with prior approval from the AE curriculum chair. Students may only take one of the substitute courses and must take the other technical electives. CHE 366 Materials Science 3 CHE 463 Polymer Composites Processing 3 CE 322 Hydrotechnical Engineering 3 CE 347 Introduction to Environmental Engineering 4 CE 443 Environmental Science and Technology 3 CE 463 Steel Design 3 CE 464 Timber Design 3 CS 430 Advanced Software Engineering 3 CS 440 Database Design and Theory 3 CS 453 Data and Computer Communications 3 CS 455 Computer Architecture 3 EE 327 Signals and Systems 1 3 EE 335 Electromechanical Energy Conversion and Systems 3 EE 345 Engineering Electromagnetics 3 EE 463 Digital Signal Processing Fundamentals 3 IENG 405 Design for Manufacturability 3 MATH 421 Numerical Analysis 2 3 MATH 441 Applied Linear Algebra 3 MATH 456 Complex Variables 3 MATH 465 Partial Differential Equations 3 PHYS 314 Introductory Modern Physics 4 PHYS 321 Optics 3 PHYS 332 Theoretical Mechanics 2 3 PHYS 451 Introductory Quantum Mechanics 3 PHYS 463 Nuclear Physics 3 PHYS 471 Solid State Physics 3 PRE MEDICAL TECHNICAL ELECTIVES Students who plan a career in medicine, dentistry, or related areas may substitute eight hours from the list of courses below for the required six hours of technical electives. Choose two of the following: CHEM 233 & CHEM 235 CHEM 234 & CHEM 236 Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory BIOL 115 Principles of Biology 4 BIOL 117 Introductory Physiology 4 SUGGESTED PLAN OF STUDY First Year CHEM 115 (GEC 2B) 4 MATH 156 (GEC 2C) 4 ENGL 101 (GEC 1) 3 PHYS 111 (GEC 2B) 4 ENGR 101 2 MAE 102 3 ENGR 199 (GEC 6F) 1 GEC Elective 5 3 MATH 155 (GEC 2A) 4 GEC Elective 6 3 GEC Elective 3 3 17 17 4 4
West Virginia University 5 Second Year MAE 215 3 MAE 242 3 MAE 241 3 MAE 243 3 MATH 251 4 MAE 244 1 PHYS 112 4 MATH 261 4 ENGL 102 (GEC 1) 3 ECON 201 (GEC 4) 3 17 14 Third Year MAE 316 3 EE 221 3 MAE 320 3 EE 222 1 MAE 335 3 MAE 336 3 MAE 343 3 MAE 345 3 ECON 202 (GEC 8) 3 MAE 365 3 GEC Elective 7 3 15 16 Fourth Year MAE 426 3 MAE 423 3 MAE 434 2 MAE 460 3 MAE 456 3 MAE 475 3 MAE 476 3 Technical Elective 3 Technical Elective 3 GEC Elective 9 3 14 15 Total credit hours: 125