Funding

We provide funding for all accepted PhD students according to the College of Engineering’s fully funding model. As a departmental policy, we do not make offers of financial assistance to master’s applicants. We encourage all graduate students to search and apply for external funding such as fellowships and scholarships. GSI/GSSA positions are available on a semester-by-semester basis, depending on availability of positions for specific courses.

The following are external, non-University opportunities that may be of interest to University/College students. Inclusion of an external opportunity is intended only as a resource for students, and does not express or imply any University involvement with, or endorsement of, the external program.

PhD Program

All PhD applicants who are accepted for admission will be provided funding (stipend, tuition, health care) according to the College of Engineering’s fully funding model, typically through funds secured by their faculty advisor. These funds may come from a variety of sources, including department, college, and university fellowships, external grants, or external scholarships, as arranged by the faculty advisor.

Students are encouraged to seek outside funding, such as fellowships from NSF, DoD, NASA, DoE, etc., to provide maximum flexibility in the type of research pursued. Regardless of the source, full funding is guaranteed for PhD students for at least five years, provided they are making satisfactory progress toward their doctorate.

Master’s Program

Admission to the master’s program is not accompanied by financial aid and students are expected to secure their own financial support. There are very limited opportunities for department positions after beginning the program, such as research and teaching assistant positions.

Visit this page for specific information on the Global Aerospace Leadership MEng Program

Positions in the department

Graduate student research assistant (GSRA) and graduate student instructor (GSI) positions are available, although these are very competitive. Most of these positions are given to doctoral students. Approximately one-third of our SUGS students and 6% of our MSE students have a GSRA or GSI position during a term of their graduate program. SUGS students in particular may find GSI positions with undergraduate lab courses.

The Aerospace Engineering Department’s work-study program is only for undergraduate students. Master’s students may apply for positions as graders, which are announced via email after the start of the term.

International students

International students seeking employment must ensure that they are eligible to work, and that the number of hours of work does not exceed any restrictions stipulated in their visas. Students should keep in mind, however, that graduate classes may be time-consuming, and maintaining a high GPA can be difficult with the time demands of employment.

Learn more about On-campus employment for F-1/J-1 students

GRADUATE STUDENT INSTRUCTORSHIP (GSI)

GSI/GSSA application process, requirements and timeline

Description of graduate student instructor (GSI) position

In the Aerospace Engineering Department GSIs are not the instructor of record for courses, but provide instructional support to the instructor of record, while all responsibilities remain with the instructor of record.

GSI positions are typically available for the following courses, although hiring needs may change each semester as department needs evolve. Please note that our GSI application system will provide specific information each semester regarding which courses are being offered as we plan and recruit for upcoming terms. Some courses are offered during both academic semesters (fall and winter). We do not offer courses during the summer months.

Fall semester:

AEROSP 200. Introduction to the Aerospace Enterprise
AEROSP 201. Introduction to Aerospace Engineering
AEROSP 205. Introduction to Aerospace Engineering Systems
AEROSP 215. Introduction to Solid Mechanics and Aerospace Structures
AEROSP 225. Introduction to Gas Dynamics
AEROSP 288. Fundamentals of Product Development
AEROSP 305. Aerospace Engineering Laboratory I
AEROSP 315. Aircraft and Spacecraft Structures
AEROSP 325. Aerodynamics
AEROSP 335. Aircraft and Spacecraft Propulsion
AEROSP 343. Spacecraft Dynamics
AEROSP 350. Fundamentals of Aerospace Computing
AEROSP 405. Aerospace Laboratory II
AEROSP 470. Control of Aerospace Vehicles
AEROSP 481. Aircraft Design
AEROSP 488. Product Development Leadership
AEROSP 495. Cubesat Design
AEROSP 523. Computational Fluid Dynamics I
AEROSP 520. Compressible Flow I
AEROSP 526. Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics
AEROSP 536. Electric Propulsion
AEROSP 540 Intermediate Dynamics
AEROSP 548 Astrodynamics
AEROSP 567. Inference, Estimation, and Learning
AEROSP 575 Flight and Trajectory Optimization
AEROSP 584. Avionics, Navigation and Guidance of Aerospace Vehicles
AEROSP 588. Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

Winter semester:

AEROSP 200. Introduction to the Aerospace Enterprise
AEROSP 201. Introduction to Aerospace Engineering
AEROSP 205. Introduction to Aerospace Engineering Systems
AEROSP 215. Introduction to Solid Mechanics and Aerospace Structures
AEROSP 225. Introduction to Gas Dynamics
AEROSP 305. Aerospace Engineering Laboratory I
AEROSP 315. Aircraft and Spacecraft Structures
AEROSP 325. Aerodynamics
AEROSP 335. Aircraft and Spacecraft Propulsion
AEROSP 341. Aircraft Dynamics
AEROSP 350. Fundamentals of Aerospace Computing
AEROSP 388. Aerospace Tools & Methods (MBSE)
AEROSP 405. Aerospace Laboratory II
AEROSP 470. Control of Aerospace Vehicles
AEROSP 483. Space System Design
AEROSP 488. Product Development Leadership
AEROSP 495. Cubesat Design
AEROSP 525. Introduction to Turbulent Flows
AEROSP 575. Dynamics and Control of Spacecraft
AEROSP 577. Data-driven & Reduced Complexity Modeling

GSI positions may be available for additional courses. A complete list of available GSI positions will be posted with the call for application at the beginning of each application period, which begins at the start of the academic semester prior to the semester of appointment. Typical GSI appointments range between a 25% (10 hours/week) to 50% (20 hours/week), although other arrangement may be offered.

GSIs must be able to work through the end-of-term grading period.

Description of Graduate Student Staff Assistant (GSSA) position

The GSSA is a graduate student whose employment is a part of a degree requirement or is otherwise considered academically relevant by the department or degree program in which the degree is being pursued. GSSAs perform administrative, counseling or educational duties other than those of a GSI. These positions are rare and not usually available in AERO.

Application procedure

Applicants should submit the online application for a GSI/GSSA position during the application period in the semester before they are appointed. Applications are collected via this portal. The online application will ask applicants to submit the following information:

Their top five course choices (select on the application form from the list of courses with available positions)
A one-page statement (max) describing the applicant’s experience and/or reason for GSI-ing a particular course (enter on the comments box next to the course number once a course has been selected)
Resume

Any questions related to the GSI/GSSA application process should be directed to the AERO Front Desk at aero-front-desk@umich.edu.

Application deadlines for the fall and winter semester are:

Fall semester: May 31
Winter semester: November 1

Qualifications

GSI applicants must be an incoming or current graduate student (MSE, SUGS or PhD) currently enrolled in the Aerospace Engineering program during the term of GSI appointment, must have taken the course or an equivalent course at U-M or another institution with a grade of B or better, and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

Selection Criteria

In addition to meeting the qualifications listed above, selection criteria will include:

Academic performance
Experience in teaching the same or similar courses
Having taken the same or similar courses
Previous experience and performance as a GSI
Number of years as a graduate student

Prospective GSIs at the University of Michigan whose undergraduate education was at an institution in which the language of instruction is not English are required to pass the Graduate Student Instructor Oral English Test (GSI OET). Details are available on the College of Engineering GSI information website . Contact Aero-Front-Desk@umich.edu to arrange this test.

Qualified GSI candidates may be interviewed by the instructor of record of the course they are being considered before final selection is made.

Selection decisions will be completed according to the following schedule:

Fall semester: July 30
Winter semester: November 27

Information about the percentage of Master’s students employed by the Aerospace Engineering department in the previous academic year can be found here.

For more information please visit the UM Academic HR website at https://hr.umich.edu/working-u-m/my-employment/academic-human-resources/contracts/about-gsi-gssa-employment

Maximum enrollment capacity and class size

The maximum ratio of students to GSI depends on the course level, type, and pedagogical nature of the course. This is indicated below for each type of course.

Undergraduate non-laboratory course: The maximum enrollment capacity of any class is the capacity of the room it is assigned to. The maximum ratio of students per GSI is 150 at the third week student count.
Undergraduate laboratory course: The maximum enrollment capacity of any class is the capacity of the room it is assigned to. The class is divided into multiple sections, with each section having at most 8 students per section and the typical number of sections per GSI is 6.
Capstone design courses: The maximum enrollment capacity of any class is the capacity of the room it is assigned to. The maximum ratio of students per GSI is 150 at the third week student count.
Graduate course: The maximum enrollment capacity of any class is the capacity of the room it is assigned to. The maximum ratio of students per GSI in the graduate programs (doctoral and master’s) is 150 at the third week student count. The actual assigned ratio of students to GSI will take into consideration the pedagogical nature of the course.

Override process

A student seeking an override for a course should undergo the following process:

Identify the course, name, and email of the instructor of record, and reason for the override.
Email the instructor of record and the department’s academic services office team at aero-front-desk@umich.edu with a request for an override indicating:
1. Course number and semester;
1. Name on instructor; and
1. Reason for the override request.
Once the course instructor of record approves, the department’s academic services office team will process the request and confirm with the student via email once the request is processed.
Note: A GSI/GSSA is not authorized to grant an override for a course.