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 127 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 2016.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Mathematics and Statistics		22
Science		10
Engineering Science		26
Engineering Mechanics/Astronautics Core		40
E M A Electives		6
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
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	Introductory Engineering Graphics	2
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 ¹		3
Total Credits		26

Choose from COMP SCI 300 Programming II, COMP SCI 412 Introduction to Numerical Methods, E M A/E P 471 Intermediate Problem Solving for Engineers, E P/E M A 476 Introduction to Scientific Computing for Engineering Physics

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
Select one of the following:		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
Select one of the following:		3
E M A/ASTRON 550	Astrodynamics
E M A 610	Structural Finite Element Model Validation
E M A 642	Satellite Dynamics
Select one of the following:		3
E M A 523	Flight Dynamics and Control
E M A 601	Special Topics in Engineering Mechanics (Rocket Propulsion)
Total Credits		40

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select three 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.		6

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.

Astronautics Option in Engineering Mechanics

EXAMPLE FOUR YEAR PLAN

First Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
CHEM 109¹	5	E M A 201³	3
MATH 221	5	MATH 222	4
Communications A	3	M E 231	2
INTEREGR 170²	3	STAT 324	3
		Liberal Studies Elective	3
	16		15
Second Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
MATH 234	4	MATH 320	3
PHYSICS 202	5	Technical Elective	3
E M A 202	3	M E 361	3
E P 271	3	E M A 303⁴	3
E P D 275 or COM ARTS 105	2	E M A/M E 307⁴	1
		Liberal Studies Elective	3
	17		16
Third Year
Fall	Credits	Spring	Credits
E M A 506	3	E M A 545	3
E M A 405	3	Aerospace Elective	3
E M A 542	3	E P D 397	3
M E 363 or CIV ENGR 310	3	M E 364	3
MATH 321	3	Computing 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 521	3	Aerospace Elective	3
E M A 611, 540, 570, or 522	3	E C E 332 or M E 446	3
E C E 376	3	Technical Elective	3
Liberal Studies Elective	4	Liberal Studies Elective	3
	16		15
Total Credits 128

Students should take CHEM 109 Advanced General Chemistry, 5 cr; students with inadequate preparation in high school chemistry may substitute 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 and M E/E M A 307 Mechanics of Materials Lab are acceptable substitutions for E M A 303 Mechanics of Materials and E M A/M E 307 Mechanics of Materials Lab.