Graduate FAQs

MSE and PhD applicants must submit an application for admission to the Rackham Graduate School. As part of your application, you will also need to submit the following: 

• Official transcripts for each Bachelor’s, Master’s, Professional, or Doctoral degree earned or in progress (Please note: a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree is required for entry into the MSE and PhD programs. You do not need a Master’s to apply to the PhD program).
• Academic statement of purpose
• Personal statement
• Resume/Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)
• Three letters of recommendation, two of which should be from faculty who can speak to your academic and research experience.
• GRE score (required for MSE applicants, optional for PhD applicants)
• English language proficiency score (for applicants whose native language is not English). More information about acceptable test scores and exemptions can be found on the Rackham Graduate School website.

More information can be found on the Application Process page.

The Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Studies (SUGS) program allows students to pursue a sequential BSE and MSE degrees in a total of five years (four years of undergraduate coursework and one year of graduate coursework). Through this program, a student can double-count up to nine credits of graduate-level coursework toward both their BSE and MSE. Additionally, students can transfer up to 6 credits of graduate-level coursework from their BSE to their MSE. More information can be found on the Aerospace SUGS page.

To be eligible for the SUGS program, students must be a declared Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Michigan and have a minimum 3.5 GPA by the completion of their undergraduate degree. Students earning dual majors in their undergraduate degree are not eligible. 

You must submit an application for admission to the Rackham Graduate School. Students typically apply at the beginning of the semester prior to their anticipated start date in the SUGS program. As part of your application, you will also need to submit the following: 

• Undergraduate transcript
• Academic statement of purpose
• Personal statement
• Resume/Curriculum Vitae (C.V.)
• Two letters of recommendation, one of which should be from a faculty member who can speak to your academic and research experience.

The SUGS election form allows both the student and the department to track your coursework toward the SUGS program and identify courses you plan to double-count and transfer. If you are applying for the SUGS program, we recommend that you meet with the Aerospace Graduate Program Coordinator to begin your SUGS election form during the semester in which you are applying to SUGS. However, you do not need to submit the SUGS Election Form as part of your admissions application. This form is submitted to Rackham when you are ready to graduate from the MSE program. More information can be found on the Aerospace SUGS page.

Fall Term application deadlines: 

• PhD: December 15
• MSE (including SUGS): January 15

Winter Term application deadlines:

• PhD and MSE (including SUGS): October 7

More information about the application process for the MSE, SUGS, and PhD programs can be found on the Admission Guidelines & Planning page.

Our graduate program is very selective. GPA and GRE scores of admitted students are very high on average, and project experience during the undergraduate years is very common. On average, recently admitted graduate applicants had a combined GRE score of 320 (verbal + quantitative), a minimum analytical writing score of 4.0, and a GPA over 3.6 on a 4.0 scale.

The graduate admissions committee evaluates applications from a holistic perspective, so grades and test scores are certainly not the only factor in admissions decisions. We encourage all interested applicants to apply for admission consideration.

Not automatically. If you apply for the PhD program or SUGS program and are not admissible, but your application is well suited for our MSE program, we may reach out and ask if you would like to be considered for the MSE program instead. If you are interested in both an Aerospace Engineering program and a program in a different department, you will need to complete two separate applications.

Fee waivers are not available for MSE applicants. PhD applicants may apply for a fee waiver by completing this form. Please note that completing this form does not guarantee that a fee waiver will be provided. The department has a limited number of fee waivers to provide, so these waivers are granted on a case-by-case basis. 

The Rackham Graduate School also has some application fee waivers that you can apply for if you meet the eligibility requirements.

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. You are also encouraged to explore funding opportunities administered by the Rackham Graduate School. 

The University of Michigan College of Engineering operates under a fully-funded model for all admitted Ph.D. students. This funding commitment is guaranteed, provided the student meets all necessary milestones and fulfills program requirements, as stipulated by their individual faculty advisor and graduate program. A comprehensive funding package includes tuition, fees, University health insurance, and a monthly stipend. More information can be found at Scholarships & Funding – Michigan Engineering.

Typically, it takes 3 semesters to complete the MSE and 4-5 years to complete the PhD, but these timelines can vary. Through the SUGS program, the MSE can be completed in two, full-time semesters.

To graduate from the MSE program, you must complete 30 credits of graduate-level coursework, including: 

• A minimum of five Aerospace Engineering (AEROSP) courses at the 500-level or higher with a grade of B or better.
• A minimum of two approved math courses with a grade of B or better.

You can take a maximum of six credits of directed study (AEROSP 590) and up to three credits of seminars (AEROSP 585) as part of your degree, but these courses do not count toward the five  required Aerospace Engineering courses.

No. If you take an approved math class that happens to be an Aerospace Engineering (AEROSP) course, it can only count toward one curriculum requirement, not both.

No, there is no thesis requirement for students in our Master’s degree programs. Our Master’s degrees are considered coursework-based, professional degrees, so there is no requirement for a thesis, research, or practicum experience. However, students interested in research have the opportunity to participate in AEROSP 590 with a faculty member.

Complete this Aerospace Override form, and you will receive an email notification when your override is granted so you can proceed to enroll.

If you are interested in petitioning a course to count toward the math requirement for the MSE, please email the syllabus and any other available supplemental course materials to Mirko Gamba, the Graduate Program Chair, for review. Please keep in mind that for a course to be eligible as a math course, the course must involve a rigorous and formal treatment of a mathematical topic. This means that it is not about using or applying mathematical tools to a particular application (since all engineering courses do that), but it is to exercise the mathematical methods and rigor. Courses that are not proof-based, with the typical formalism math courses have (definitions, theorems, proof of theorems and relations, mathematical derivation, etc.) are unlikely to be approved.

To audit a class, you must receive approval from the course instructor and determine the instructor’s expectations for involvement (attending class, completing assignments, etc.) to successfully complete the course. Provide written documentation (e.g. an email) of this approval to the Aerospace Graduate Program Coordinator (Gabby Strzalkowski, gabstrz@umich.edu), who will then initiate the audit request with the Office of the Registrar. See section 3.2 of the Rackham Graduate School policy for more information.

The SUGS program requires that you complete all of the typical requirements of both a BSE and MSE in Aerospace Engineering, with the understanding that you can double-count up to 9 credits of graduate coursework toward both degrees. Per Rackham Graduate School policy, you must enroll in graduate coursework only for at least two, full-time semesters to meet the conditions of the SUGS program.

PhDs begin in the program as pre-candidates and must complete 18 credits of coursework, complete four Research Conduct of Search and Scholarship (RCRS) workshops, and pass their preliminary exam in order to advance to candidacy. Once PhDs reach candidacy, PhDs will focus on their doctoral research and will ultimately defend their dissertation before earning their degree. More information about PhD requirements can be found here.

As a pre-candidate, it is recommended that you take 9 credits of coursework for your first two terms (for a total of 18 credits in the first year) so that you will be prepared to complete your preliminary exam and advance to candidacy at the end of your first year.

After advancing to candidacy, PhDs will enroll in AEROSP 995, “Dissertation/Candidate,” for a total of 8 credits. In addition, PhDs can take one additional course each semester without being assessed additional tuition. More information about this policy can be found under the “Candidacy Course Registration” section of the Rackham Graduate School policy page.

Possibly, but as a current MSE student, you will still need to submit an application for admission to the Rackham Graduate School and be admitted to the program. The PhD program is highly competitive, even for current MSE students. If you have worked with a faculty advisor who has demonstrated a commitment to supporting you as a PhD, you can ask them for a letter of support to include as part of your application.