¦ So you want to be a Rocket
Scientist or Why get a BAEM Degree?¦
¦
Career Opportunities with a BAEM Degree
¦
¦ On to Graduate School
¦
¦ Further Information
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So you want to be a Rocket Scientist?
or
Why get a BAEM Degree?
A Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (BAEM) degree can certainly start you on your way to becoming a rocket scientist, but it can lead you in many other directions as well. Alumni of the AEM department have jobs in many different engineering fields. The key to the versatility of the BAEM degree is in the mechanics part of the degree. Although the topics discussed in most of the AEM Department's courses relate to aeronautical or aerospace applications, they are approached from a fundamental point of view. That is, when you are told about the lift equation for a wing, you are also given the fluid mechanics background that was used to derive the equation. Why is this important? It's important because the rapid rate of change in technology today requires an engineer to learn new ideas to keep up with the state of the art. If an engineer knows the basics of mechanics, which is the fundamental science of engineering, then he or she can learn new technology much faster. Someone who knows only specific formulae and not the mechanics behind them is at a disadvantage in today's world.
In the 1998 Princeton Review of Undergraduate Programs (The
Gourman Report), the University of Minnesota AEM program was ranked 4th in the
nation. If you are interested in the aerospace profession, additional
information can be obtained from the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) the principal technical
society serving the aerospace profession and
Aviation Week the major voice of the
aerospace industry.
Career opportunities with a BAEM
Students graduating from the AEM department go on to jobs in a wide range of organizations. Job opportunities for AEM Majors are found not only at traditional aerospace companies, but also within a variety of other engineering and scientific fields, including many areas of mechanical engineering. A few examples of organizations employing recent BAEM graduates are given here:
- Boeing Co., Seattle WA
- Aero Systems, St. Paul, MN
- Lockheed-Martin, Houston, TX
- Nordic Track, Eden Prairie, MN
- Parametric Technology Co., Minneapolis, MN
- Caterpillar, Peoria, IL
- United Defense, Minneapolis, MN
- Honeywell Co., Minneapolis, MN
- Rockwell, CA
- Goodrich Sensor Systems, Burnsville, MN
- Westinghouse, TX
- NASA
- United Space Alliance
- General Motors
- Pratt & Whitney
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
A number of recent BAEM graduates have attended graduate school here and at other schools. Some of these schools include:
- MIT, Cambridge, MA
- Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN
On to Graduate School?
A BAEM degree is a great place to start if you are thinking of going on to graduate school in a wide range of programs. Recent AEM alumni have obtained graduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanics, Public Policy, and of course Aerospace Engineering. Other alumni have obtained professional degrees in Business, Medicine, and Law. The BAEM degree is especially suited to those wishing to attend graduate school, again, because of the mechanics part of the degree. In graduate school, much more attention is focused on understanding the basics behind the engineering analysis learned at the undergraduate level. By stressing the fundamentals of mechanics in the AEM courses, the BAEM program gives a student a head start in graduate school.
If you are interested in obtaining a Masters or PhD degree in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, you can continue your education in the AEM Department or at another school. Aerospace Engineering degrees are normally chosen by students interested in aerospace applications. Mechanics degrees are chosen by students interested in the more fundamental areas of solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and dynamics and control. Students in the UM BAEM program are encouraged to investigate graduate opportunities at a number of universities in order to find a good match for their interests.
Further Information
For further undergraduate admissions information, to request an application packet or to apply on-line, go to:
Contact the Institute of Technology Student Affairs Office to receive information for the BAEM:
Institute of Technology Student Affairs
105 Lind Hall
207 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: (612) 624-2890
e-mail: studentaff@itdean.umn.edu
Be sure to specify which degree you are interested in.
You can address specific questions about the undergraduate program to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the AEM Department. For additional information about Graduate programs in AEM, contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
Last Modified: 2007-07-24 at 10:04:46 -- this is in International Standard Date and Time Notation