Program overview
A graduate program in aerospace engineering is essentially about learning how to build, repair, and make aircraft safer and more efficient. Core courses include aerodynamics, aircraft structural mechanics, aircraft engine principles, flight control and navigation, and aerospace materials and manufacturing processes. If you don't mind physics and math, enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together, or have a natural curiosity about aircraft, this major is a great fit. Chinese universities have unique strengths in this field: Beihang University and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics excel in drones and helicopters, Northwestern Polytechnical University has deep expertise in aircraft engines, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University focuses on avionics and system integration. Many labs are equipped with wind tunnels and flight simulators, and graduate students often get to work on real projects, such as subsystem development for the domestic C919 large passenger aircraft.