Undergraduate Advising FAQ

Who is on my advising team, and what are their roles?

Your advising team is made up of four individuals:

• Advising Admin- Lauren Russell is your first point of contact, and can help with many issues: how do I enroll in a class, can I get an override for a class, how do I apply for a pre-graduation audit, etc.
• Academic Advisor- Stephanie Custer is your academic advisor and can meet with you one-on-one to talk about academics- course registration, degree requirements, policies and procedures, and your future semester plans.
• Faculty Advisor- Your faculty advisor is assigned to you when you declare your major in Aero and is there to give you advice throughout your time within the department. Faculty advisors are great resources when it comes to developing and delving into your area(s) of interest and for career advice.
• Program Advisor- Professor Powell can answer questions about double-majors, scholastic standing issues, and any other question that the others on the team might  not be sure about. 

If you are dealing with physical or mental health issues, or are otherwise feeling like the semester is particularly difficult for you, please reach out to Stephanie and Professor Powell. They can often work with your professors and the College staff to help you get on track.

I’ve heard there is a new curriculum: does this affect me?

The new curriculum differs from the old in three elements:

• There is a new required course, Aero 350 (Fundamentals of Aerospace Computing)
• 9 credits of technical electives are required (vs 7 in the old curriculum)
• Several courses have been reduced by one credit, in large part to make space for the
  other changes

In general, you graduate under the rules that were in place when you declared Aero as your major. Students who declared starting in W21 are officially under the new curriculum. However, if you have taken 2 or fewer of these courses – Aero 215, Aero 225, Aero 315, Aero 325, Aero 335 – you may want to graduate under the new rules. Contact Prof. Powell if you are not sure. If you are an old-curriculum student, you may still want to consider taking Aero 350 as a technical elective; the faculty strongly believe that a firm foundation in aerospace computing for today’s job market and graduate programs.

What should I bring to my appointment with my faculty advisor?

You should bring your Academic Requirements Checklist pdf. You can access it in the Student Center of Wolverine Access, via My Academics > View my advisement report > Checklist report pdf

You also may want to work with your advisor to set up an online Aero Advising Worksheet. The templates, which are Google Sheets, are here:

• New curriculum students
• Old curriculum students

As of last year, we have moved them online.  You should have one from your meeting when you declared Aero.  If not, Make a copy of the template, give it the name myuniqname-Advising-Worksheet, and share it with your advisor and Lauren Russell (larusse). You can then work with your advisor to mark courses you have completed, and which semester you plan to take the other courses. If you want to try out different course plans for the rest of your degree, you might want to try this tool.

What is the Aero Related Core Subjects Requirement?

The idea behind the requirement is that there are other engineering disciplines that are useful for Aerospace graduates to be familiar with. We have designed the requirement to allow you an opportunity for breadth, or for depth (including pursuing a minor). The requirement is:

1. All students must take ME 240, preferably during the sophomore year, and
2. Students must take any two courses from this list: MSE 220, MSE 350; EECS 215, EECS 216; EECS 280, EECS 281

Some notes:

• Students who are undecided may want to take MSE 220 and EECS 215. This gives you a grounding in materials science, and electrical engineering.
• We accept EECS 314 as substitute for EECS 215 for students having difficulties enrolling in EECS 215. Please note that EECS 314 cannot be used towards technical electives.
• The computer science minor rules limit the number of courses double-counted with the major to one course (EECS 280) for aero students. Other courses required for the CS minor (3 more courses will be counted as general electives.
• All other minors, including physics and math minors do not limit the number of courses that can be double-counted.

What is the Aero Tech Electives Requirement?

1. All students must take an advanced (300-level or higher) math or science course. The most useful courses for most aero students are linear algebra (Math 419), numerical methods (Math 371 or 471 or Aero 423), or statistics (Stats 412).
2. Including the advanced math/science class, you must take at least 7 (old curriculum) or 9 (new curriculum) credits. Anything technical—which includes most math, science or engineering courses – at the 300 level or higher counts.

What counts as general electives?

Almost anything. If you have 128 or more credits toward program (CTP), you have automatically satisfied the general elective requirement.

Where can I find more information about Aero’s Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Studies (SUGS) program?

Please visit our SUGS program page to learn more about the eligibility and application process.

What’s new with the Aero 205 requirement?

Starting in the fall, the specific requirement of Aero 205 is being replaced by a broader DBTF (design/build/test/fly) requirement.  ENG 100-700, Aero 288, or any DBTF special project classes (e.g. Prof. Cutler’s cubesat course) will meet this requirement. Note that, if you use ENG 100-700 to meet the requirement, you will need to add 3 credits of tech electives.

Degree Audit

To access your degree audit follow this procedure:

Step 1. Log in Wolverine Access
Step 2. Click Students
Step 3. Click Student Business
Step 4. Click Student Center
Step 5. Click My Academics
Step 6. Click View my advisement report
Step 7. Click Checklist report pdf

Advising Appointments

To schedule an appointment with Stephanie Custer, click here 

If you would like to discuss a potential exception to your degree requirements or declare Aerospace Engineering as your major, please email us at aero-front-desk@umich.edu or call (734) 764-3350.

Degree Requirements

An academic advisor can meet with you each semester to discuss course progression, ensure they are taking the proper coursework for degree completion. Click here to view degree requirements.

Peer Advising

Who we are: Sigma Gamma Tau (SGT) is the national honor society for Aerospace Engineering. Our main goal is to foster the education of aeronautics and astronautics. With the objective of reaching out to students at the University of Michigan, we make ourselves available to provide easy and accessible peer advising support.

How to get started: Simply click the link below to access our Peer Advising contact form. We will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Peer Advising Contact Form

Contact SGT Francois Xavier Building 1320 Beal Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48105 P: (734) 330 1510 F: (734) 330 1000 sgt-chairs@umich.edu