First Year Undergraduate Curriculum
The freshman year curriculum is identical for most engineering undergraduate degree programs. Undergraduate students are admitted to the Texas A&M University College of Engineering with a preference for the major noted on their admissions application and follow the same first-year engineering curriculum. The Entry to a Major process is designed for students to take ownership of their future to identify at least three majors that are a good match for their career goals and academic performance.
In meeting the requirements for a baccalaureate degree, a student is expected to complete the course and hour requirements as outlined in the catalog in effect at the time he or she first enrolls at Texas A&M.
The curriculum is generally composed of three topical areas which are (1) core courses composed of humanities, visual and performing arts, international and cultural diversity, and social sciences, (2) basic science and mathematics, and (3) engineering science and design. The core courses are intended to broaden a student’s education and to provide training in oral and written communication skills. In addition, they ensure an awareness of our cultural heritage and contemporary human situation. The basic science and mathematics courses provide the necessary foundation for the engineering science courses. The latter start at the sophomore year with topics common to many fields of engineering and continue in the last two years with sequences in aerodynamics, structures and materials, propulsion, and dynamics and control. These provide a strong fundamental basis for advanced study and specialization, while technical electives offer a concentration of study in fields of special interest. Design philosophy and practice are developed throughout the curriculum so as to relate analysis to aerospace engineering design and the design of aerospace system components is particularly emphasized in the junior- and senior-level courses. A senior-level two-semester design sequence, involving specific goals, objectives, and constraints, integrates analysis and design tools and requires students working in small teams to design, build, test, and even fly an aerospace system such as an aircraft, rocket, spacecraft or rotorcraft. Application of modern engineering and computational tools is required and emphasized in all courses.
The department is pleased to offer a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering with honors degree option. This option was proposed by our students and implemented for our students. Few programs across the country offer this type of experience within aerospace engineering. You will be provided with the opportunity to enhance your learning experience through one-on-one research with a faculty mentor, introduction to advanced aerospace theories, and much more.