PhD in Aerospace Engineering

Curriculum

You can apply for the PhD in aerospace engineering with a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree, with the bachelor’s degree requiring a longer course of study to completion of the PhD degree. The course work requires several aerospace engineering courses; graduate seminars; and proposal, completion, and defense of a dissertation. Our faculty will help you match your research interests to your professional goals so you can launch right into a career upon graduation.

Students may use these academic planners to help determine their credits:

Research for Aerospace Engineering PhD

The Aerospace Engineering PhD program allows candidates the opportunity to delve deep into original research they are particularly passionate about. Our expert faculty invite collaboration and innovation in our classrooms and state-of-the-art labs to advance aerospace engineering research.

Recent research projects:

Intelligent algorithms placed on board UAVs to assist remote military and civilian pilots and lead to improved operational safety
Investigation of ignition and flame propagation enhancement by plasma assisted technologies to contribute to developing modern combustion-based energy conversion devices with higher efficiency and lower emissions

Aerospace engineering students work closely with faculty to gain mastery in the fundamentals of aerospace engineering and a strong technical competency in modern aerospace components and systems.

The world is our lab. Through coursework and research, students develop technical and scientific skills to solve real-world problems.

Collaborative, hands-on project work means many great minds use their knowledge to achieve better solutions.

A degree in aerospace engineering can lead to careers in academia, industry, and business.

Faculty Profiles

David Olinger

Professor, Aerospace Engineering

In my teaching I bring fluid and aerodynamics experiments, including wind tunnels, into the classroom each day. Fundamental concepts are demonstrated in these experiments, and collected data is immediately compared to the theory and equations learned during lecture. Students see [...]

Michael Demetriou

Professor, Aerospace Engineering

Professor Demetriou is very active with the Controls and Systems research community. He served as an Associate Editor in the IEEE Tr. on Automatic Control (2004-2007), in the ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control (2009-2011), and in SIAM J. Control and Optimiz [...]

Nikolaos Gatsonis

Interim Dean, School of Engineering, Aerospace Engineering

Nikolaos A. Gatsonis received his undergraduate Ptychion (BS degree) in Physics at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece (1983), an M.S. in Atmospheric Science at the University of Michigan (1996), an M.S. (1987) and a Ph.D. (1991) in the Aeronautics and Astronautic [...]

Raghvendra Cowlagi

Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering

Autonomous vehicles – aircraft, cars, rovers, over- and underwater vehicles that can move in the real world by themselves without human pilotage – have gained immense importance not only due to the broad spectrum of their potential military and civilian applications, but also due [...]

John Blandino

Professor, Aerospace Engineering

Prior to joining the faculty at WPI in 2001, I was a Senior Staff Engineer in the Advanced Propulsion Technology Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). My research at JPL included application of plasma sources for materials processing and the development of pulsed plasm [...]

Jagannath Jayachandran

Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering

My research is aimed towards understanding fundamental aspects of reacting flows at thermodynamic conditions of relevance to aircraft, rocket, and automobile propulsion. Reacting flow phenomena occurring in engines are complicated as a result of turbulent flow, interaction with s [...]

Nikhil Karanjgaokar

Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering

Prior to joining the faculty at WPI in August 2015, I worked as a post-doctoral research associate at Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at California Institute of Technology. My research at Caltech focused on the development of a Granular Element Method (GEM) based force visualizat [...]

Mark Richman

Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering

I have served two past terms as WPI’s Secretary of the Faculty (from 2009 to 2012 and from 2015 to 2018) and am currently serving a third term that began in 2021. My passion for faculty governance at WPI stems from my passion for the faculty itself. My pride in our faculty gov [...]

Also Available

Experiential PhD: Working Full-Time While Pursuing Your PhD Degree

WPI supports individuals working full-time in industry to pursue PhD degrees either part-time or full-time on topics related to their employment. Want to learn more about this opportunity and how to obtain this industry-based PhD degree, visit the WPI Experiential PhD program page.

Experiential PhD Program

Explore Alternative PhD Paths

Are you intrigued by evaluating design and engineering principles, but prefer to be on land? With a PhD in mechanical engineering you can use your creative talents to produce devices closer to home, for businesses, houses, and more. As a student in our PhD program, you’ll have the opportunity to lead breakthrough research alongside world-renowned WPI faculty and work to solve problems that support real industry partners.

Pursue a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering First

Do you first need to earn your master’s degree? Here at WPI, we offer a flexible part or full time master’s in aerospace engineering perfect for students who have other obligations. Our MS covers topics like turbomachinery, spacecraft propulsion, and more to encourage students to simulate their creativity into practice. Our one-on-one faculty mentorship empowers students to gain technical expertise in modern aerospace from industry experts.

Just Starting Your Career? Reach Sky High Limits with a Bachelor's.

If you have aspirations to become an aerospace engineer, flight technician, or even a design engineer, be sure to set yourself up for success with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering. As an undergraduate student you’ll have exposure to the technical tools to learn about aircraft design, astronautics, and more. Maybe you’re intrigued by airplanes and rockets, but aren’t sure you want to major in aerospace engineering? Consider gaining a fundamental understanding of aircraft with our minor in aerospace engineering.

Curriculum

Research for Aerospace Engineering PhD

Faculty Profiles

Refer a Friend

Experiential PhD: Working Full-Time While Pursuing Your PhD Degree

Explore Alternative PhD Paths

Pursue a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering First

Just Starting Your Career? Reach Sky High Limits with a Bachelor's.

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