Engineering Mechanics: Astronautics

The astronautics option in engineering mechanics prepares students for design, development, and research, with an emphasis on applied mathematics and astronautics. Its purpose is to improve and expand the educational opportunities of students at the university who wish to pursue careers in astronautics and space-related areas. This is accomplished by providing in depth exposure to course sequences in astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, and flight dynamics, as well as a core curriculum of structural and material analysis, advanced dynamics, and vibrations. The program requires a minimum of 128 credits; students selecting this option must submit an option declaration form to the department office.

The following curriculum applies to students who entered the College of Engineering after fall 2018.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Mathematics and Statistics		22
Science		10
Engineering Science		27
Engineering Mechanics/Astronautics Core		40
Technical Electives		5
Communication Skills		8
Liberal Studies		16
Total Credits		128

MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
MATH 221	Calculus and Analytic Geometry 1	5
or MATH 217	Calculus with Algebra and Trigonometry II
or MATH 275	Topics in Calculus I
MATH 222	Calculus and Analytic Geometry 2	4
or MATH 276	Topics in Calculus II
MATH 234	Calculus--Functions of Several Variables	4
MATH 320	Linear Algebra and Differential Equations	3
MATH 321	Applied Mathematical Analysis	3
STAT 324	Introductory Applied Statistics for Engineers	3
or STAT 311	Introduction to Theory and Methods of Mathematical Statistics I
or STAT/MATH 431	Introduction to the Theory of Probability
Total Credits		22

SCIENCE

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select one of the following:		5-9
CHEM 109	Advanced General Chemistry
CHEM 103 & CHEM 104	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II
PHYSICS 202	General Physics	5
Total Credits		10-14

ENGINEERING SCIENCE

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
INTEREGR 170	Design Practicum	3
M E 231	Geometric Modeling for Design and Manufacturing	3
E P 271	Engineering Problem Solving I	3
or COMP SCI 310	Problem Solving Using Computers
M E 361	Thermodynamics	3
M E 363	Fluid Dynamics	3
E C E 376	Electrical and Electronic Circuits	3
M E 364	Elementary Heat Transfer	3
E C E 332	Feedback Control Systems	3
or M E 346	Introduction to Feedback Control for Mechanical Engineers
or M E 446	Automatic Controls
Computing Elective (select one)		3
COMP SCI 300	Programming II
COMP SCI 412	Introduction to Numerical Methods
E M A/E P 471	Intermediate Problem Solving for Engineers
E M A/E P 476	Introduction to Scientific Computing for Engineering Physics
Total Credits		27

ENGINEERING MECHANICS/ASTRONAUTICS CORE

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
E M A 201	Statics	3
E M A 202	Dynamics	3
E M A 303	Mechanics of Materials	3
E M A/M E 307	Mechanics of Materials Lab	1
E M A 405	Practicum in Finite Elements	3
E M A 469	Design Problems in Engineering	3
E M A 506	Advanced Mechanics of Materials I	3
Experimental Mechanics Elective (select one)		3
E M A/M E 540	Experimental Vibration and Dynamic System Analysis
E M A/M E 570	Experimental Mechanics
E M A 611	Advanced Mechanical Testing of Materials
E M A 522	Aerodynamics Lab
E M A 521	Aerodynamics	3
E M A 542	Advanced Dynamics	3
E M A 545	Mechanical Vibrations	3
E M A 569	Senior Design Project	3
Spacecraft & Structural Dynamics Elective (select one)		3
E M A/ASTRON 550	Astrodynamics
E M A 610	Structural Finite Element Model Validation
E M A 642	Satellite Dynamics
Aerospace Fluid Mechanics Elective (select one)		3
E M A 523	Flight Dynamics and Control
E M A 601	Special Topics in Engineering Mechanics (Topic: Rocket Propulsion)
Total Credits		40

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select five credits at an academic level that requires 2 semesters of calculus or 2 semesters of physics as a pre-requisite. E M A 1 may also be used to satisfy this requirement.		5

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
ENGL 100	Introduction to College Composition	3
or COM ARTS 100	Introduction to Speech Composition
or LSC 100	Science and Storytelling
or ESL 118	Academic Writing II
E P D 275	Technical Presentations	2
E P D 397	Technical Communication	3
Total Credits		8

LIBERAL STUDIES

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
College of Engineering Liberal Studies Requirements
Complete Requirements ¹		16
Total Credits		16

Students must take 16 credits that carry H, S, L, or Z breadth designators. These credits must fulfill the following subrequirements:

A minimum of two courses from the same department or program. At least one of these two courses must be designated as above the elementary level (I, A, or D) in the course listing.
A minimum of 6 credits designated as humanities (H, L, or Z in the course listing), and an additional minimum of 3 credits designated as social science (S or Z in the course listing). Foreign language courses count as H credits. Retroactive credits for language courses may not be used to meet the Liberal Studies credit requirement (they can be used for subrequirement 1 above).
At least 3 credits in courses designated as ethnic studies (lower case “e” in the course listing). These courses may help satisfy subrequirements 1 and 2 above, but they count only once toward the total required. Note: Some courses may have “e” designation but not H, S, L, or Z designation; these courses do not count toward the Liberal Studies requirement.

For information on credit load, adding or dropping courses, course substitutions, pass/fail, auditing courses, dean's honor list, repeating courses, probation, and graduation, see the College of Engineering Official Regulations.

SAMPLE FOUR-YEAR PLAN

First Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
CHEM 109¹	5	E M A 201³	3
MATH 221	5	MATH 222	4
Communication A	3	M E 231	3
INTEREGR 170²	3	STAT 324	3
		Liberal Studies Elective	3
	16		16
Second Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
MATH 234	4	MATH 320	3
PHYSICS 202	5	Technical Elective	2
E M A 202	3	M E 361	3
E P 271 or COMP SCI 310	3	E M A 303⁴	3
E P D 275 or COM ARTS 105	2	E M A/M E 307	1
		Liberal Studies Elective	3
	17		15
Third Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
E M A 506	3	E M A 405	3
E M A 542 or 545⁵	3	Experimental Mechanics Course⁶	3
MATH 321	3	M E 363 or CIV ENGR 310	3
M S & E 350	3	Computing Elective	3
E P D 397	3	Technical Elective	3
Liberal Studies Elective	3
	18		15
Fourth Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
E M A 469	3	E M A 569	3
E M A 521⁷	3	EMA Elective	3
EMA Elective	3	EMA Elective	3
E C E 376 or PHYSICS 321	3-4	M E 364	3
Liberal Studies Elective	4	Liberal Studies Elective	3
	16-17		15
Total Credits 128-129

It is recommended that students take CHEM 109 Advanced General Chemistry for 5 credits. However, depending on their high school chemistry experience, students may substitute this with CHEM 103 General Chemistry I and CHEM 104 General Chemistry II for a total of 9 credits.

Students who were not able to take INTEREGR 170 Design Practicum as freshmen may, with the approval of their advisor, substitute a course offered in the College of Engineering or in the departments of Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics.

Students may substitute PHYSICS 201 General Physics, 5 credits, for E M A 201 Statics, 3 credits, with the approval of their advisor.

⁴

M E 306 Mechanics of Materials is an acceptable substitution for E M A 303 Mechanics of Materials.

⁵

Students electing E M A 545 Mechanical Vibrations instead of E M A 542 Advanced Dynamics should note that E M A 545 Mechanical Vibrations is offered in the spring semester only.

⁶

E M A 611 Advanced Mechanical Testing of Materials or E M A/M E 540 Experimental Vibration and Dynamic System Analysis or E M A/M E 570 Experimental Mechanics or E M A 522 Aerodynamics Lab. Note that EMA/ME 540 and EMA/ME 570 and are typically offered in the fall. EMA 611 and EMA 522 are typically offered in the spring.

⁷

M E 563 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics may be substituted for E M A 521 Aerodynamics.