Graduate Degrees

M.Eng. in Space Engineering

The AOSS M.Eng. program in Space Engineering combines strong emphasis on both theoretical and applied aspects with extensive hands-on experience at all levels. The program is designed to develop students into a new type of interdisciplinary engineer prepared for future managerial and systems engineering roles in space related industries and government agencies.

If you are interested in studying the scientific, engineering and management aspects of space engineering, this program, developed with the Aerospace Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Departments, allows you to structure the program to your specific area of interest.

Program Objectives

• To provide a comprehensive knowledge of space science and engineering and their interrelationship.
• To increase depth beyond the baccalaureate level in a space-related discipline.
• To teach the systems approach to conceiving, designing, manufacturing, managing, and operating complex space systems.  
• To provide practical experience in space system design, project development and management.

Program Concentrations

While your specific concentration curriculum will be decided through discussions with your program advisors, suggested programs have been developed in the following areas:

• Space Science Program
• Propulsion Program
• Plasma Electrodynamics and Sensors Program
• Instrumentation and Sensor Payloads Program
• Launch Vehicles Program
• Telemetry and Spacecraft Communications Program
• Astrodynamics Program
• Computer Control and Data Handling Program
  

M.S. in Atmospheric and Space Sciences

Applicants to the master's program may have a bachelor's degree in any field of study, but they are expected to have completed minimum requirements in mathematics, physics and chemistry. Normally this would include five semesters of mathematics; eight credit hours of physics including two laboratories; and five credit hours of chemistry. Thirty semester hours are required for the master's degree, fifteen of which must be from the Department's offerings. A minimum of four additional hours must be in mathematics and/or natural science. A student will select a research topic if required in conjunction with an appropriate faculty member, who will guide the student in the preparation of both the research and the thesis or research essay. Satisfactory completion of the thesis or research essay will normally count for six credit hours of the total thirty hours required for the Master of Science degree.

Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Space Sciences
Ph.D. in Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Ph.D. in Space and Planetary Physics

Applicants for a doctorate are expected to have the ability and scholarship of a high order in one of the following areas: atmospheric science, space and planetary physics, or geoscience and remote sensing. Doctoral students are expected to carry a course load of nine to twelve semester hours (three to four courses) each semester until the dissertation work is begun. There are no foreign language requirements. During the first year, students must select courses from among the core courses for their particular program. After the second year, students must pass a qualifying examination before they can be advanced to candidacy. After reaching candidate status, students will concentrate on a dissertation topic under the guidance of an advisor.

Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Space Sciences

This program gives students the basic courses to allow them to specialize later in a broad range of subdisciplines. Students are expected to learn the basic morphology of the atmosphere and the space environment, as well as the necessary physics, chemistry, and mathematics.

Ph.D. in Geoscience and Remote Sensing

The AOSS/EECS/CEE Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Geoscience and Remote Sensing leads to a degree with designated combined specialties in Atmospheric Science and electrical engineering, space science and electrical engineering or environmental science and electrical engineering.

Ph.D. in Space and Planetary Physics

The emphasis of this joint graduate degree program is on the physics of the heliosphere, planetary magnetospheres, ionospheres and upper atmospheres (including those of the Earth). The SPP program offers both Ph.D. and M.S. degrees.

The most up-to-date information on the AOSS graduate programs is available online at http://aoss.engin.umich.edu/grad/.

Research in AOSS

Atmospheric Research

AOSS provides an educational and research environment in which students examine a wide range of issues in the atmospheric sciences. Research interests of the faculty include: global climate change (emphasizing modeling of atmospheric and aerosol chemistry), regional and urban air pollution, chemical kinetics, radiative transfer, remote sensing, aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, and atmospheric dynamics. In addition, faculty are now developing a high-resolution computational framework for advanced climate simulation. Students enjoy extensive computational facilities as well as laboratories for measurement of the chemical and physical properties of the atmosphere. AOSS has an active seminar series that includes a series of Distinguished Lectures by experts from outside of the University of Michigan as well as a series of lectures by staff and students.

In addition, faculty members are extensively involved in observations of the Earth from space. They are involved in optical measurements from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and the TIMED satellite, in microwave measurements from the TRMM satellite, and in ozone studies from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer. AOSS faculty also participate in field campaigns, designing and integrating instruments on balloons, aircraft and sounding rockets to study the dynamics and composition of the atmosphere and the near-space environment of the Earth.

Planetary and Space Research

AOSS is known as a leading center for the study of the Earth, the planets, other objects, and plasma regions within and beyond the solar system. Faculty members are active in space instrumentation, data analysis, computer simulation, laboratory simulation, and theory. The associated Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL) has developed a strong reputation as one of the select few university centers able to design, construct, test and operate space flight instruments. AOSS faculty members emphasizing planetary science seek to understand the origin and evolution of the atmospheres of the planets, of their satellites, and of comets. Those faculty emphasizing plasma phenomena in space seek to understand the space environment, including the environment near the Earth where most satellites exist, the heliospheric environment produced by the sun, and some more distant space plasma systems.

SPRL has played a significant role in the U.S. Space Program since its founding in 1946, making it one of the first university-owned facilities in the world to participate in space research, beginning with work involving captured World War II V-2 rockets. Over the past five decades, SPRL faculty and engineers have designed and built more than 35 spaceborne instruments as well as numerous sounding rocket, balloon, aircraft, and ground-based instruments.

Recent research by AOSS faculty members has involved building instruments for and/or interpreting data from the Galileo Jupiter mission, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan and the Voyager missions. Projects involve the use of ever more advanced technologies. These include the Mercury Messenger mission, the development of advanced particle detectors and mass spectrometers, microwave detector systems, the TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI), Space Tethers, and remote sensing research. AOSS provides a rich intellectual environment and a tremendous opportunity for students to learn through frequent interaction with a wide range of expert colleagues.