Aerospace Minor

The Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department offers a nonteaching Aerospace Minor. This minor provides a suite of courses from a wide variety of disciplines which are relevant to aerospace. The minor requires a minimum of 31 credits. Required courses comprise 16 credits in four (4) specified courses, which are common to Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Industrial & Management Systems Engineering at MSU Bozeman. An additional required course, EMEC 368 Introduction to Aerospace, is the cornerstone, foundational course for the Aerospace Minor. An additional 12 elective credits (minimum of four courses) are required from a specified list which comprises the Aerospace Elective Courses. This minor is a useful complement to majors in science or engineering for those seeking a cross-disciplinary academic program with topics in aerospace. The required courses are carefully selected to ensure that students seeking the Aerospace Minor at MSU have the requisite math and science background to engage in specific applications to aerospace. The Aerospace Elective Courses were developed to provide students with the minimum background of specific topics applicable to aerospace. These are Materials and Structures (needed for development of aerospace systems; structures, hardware, sensors, system packages, etc.), Thermo/Fluids (needed for an understanding of aeronautical systems, momentum equations relevant to propulsion systems, environmental needs, etc.), and Focused Topics (a series of focused and advanced topics applicable to aerospace. These courses include design, dynamics and control, Computer Aided Design (CAD), space science, etc.) The Certifying Officer for the Aerospace Minor is the current MSU Lysle A. Wood Distinguished Professor, and students with questions are encouraged to seek him/her by contacting the MSU Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department.

The MSU Aerospace Minor = 19 required credits + 12 minimum elective credits = 31 minimum course credits for the Aerospace Minor; In some cases, this may be accomplished within the maximum 128 credits for certain B.S. degrees at MSU (with the Aerospace Minor inclusive). Students who have less than 19 course credits will fill the additional minimum 28 course credits with approved Aerospace Minor elective course credits.   Students seeking a degree in ME or MET cannot use EMEC 368 as a Professional Elective for their major degree requirements.

Notes: The following constraints will be imposed on Aerospace Minor Courses:

  • IF A COURSE (or redundant equivalent) IS A SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED COURSE FOR THE STUDENT'S MAJOR DEGREE PROGRAM, IT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AS AN AEROSPACE MINOR ELECTIVE.
  • Additional Clarification: Elective courses in a student's major degree program are not considered as required courses and can, therefore, be used as Aerospace Minor electives. Pre-requisites for courses will be enforced.
  • An appeal to include additional classes for the Aerospace Minor can be made if the student/instructor can make a cogent argument as to how the course is relevant to aerospace. That includes relevant 5xx-level and 6xx-level classes.
  • All academic policies relevant to MSU are in effect for the Aerospace minor; in particular, all courses used to fulfill the minor must have a grade of C- or better. 
Required Courses
or acceptable substitute for Aerospace Minor courses listed below *
M 171QCalculus I3-4
or M 165Q Calculus for Technology I
M 172Calculus II4
or M 166 Calculus for Technology II
PHSX 220Physics I with Calculus4
or PHSX 205 College Physics I
PHSX 222Physics II with Calculus4
or PHSX 207 College Physics II
EMEC 368Introduction to Aerospace3
Credit Sub-Total17-19
Aerospace Minor Courses
Students take one course from each category below, plus one additional course from any of the three categories (Materials and Structures, Thermo/Fluids, Focused Topics).12-16
Materials and Structures
Choose at least one from the following:
EE Material Science
Engineering Materials
Polymeric Materials
Friction and Wear of Materials
Manufacturing of Composites
Composite Materials
Finite Element Analysis
Mech Behavior of Materials
Aircraft Structures
Thermo/Fluids
Choose at least one from the following:
Transport Analysis
Applied Thermodynamics
Fluid Mechanics
Fluid Dynamics
Fundamentals of Heat Transfer
Advanced Thermal Systems
Thermodynamics of Propulsion Systems
Introduction to Combustion
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Principles of HVAC II
Fluid Power Systems Design
Focused Topics
Choose at least one from the following:
Signals and Systems Analysis
Introduction To Feedback Controls
Intro To Microfabrication
Intro to Modern Control
Mobile Wireless Communications
Microcontroller Applications
Optical Design
Electro-Optical Systems
Laser Engineering
Multidisciplinary Engineering Design (non-Engineering majors only)
Introduction to Mechatronics
Advanced Mechanics of Solids
Introduction to Computer Integrated Manufacturing
Ergonomics & Human Factors Engineering
Introduction to Simulation
Project Management for Engineers
Statistical Quality Control
CAE IV--Design Integration
System Dynamics and Control
Acoustics, Engineering and the Environment
Micro-Electromechanical Systems
Computerized Numerical Control and Computer-aided Manufacturing Technology
Design for Manufacturing and Tooling
Industrial Processing Automation and Controls
Advanced Optics
Astrophysics
Laser Applications
Total Credits31
*

Acceptable substitute is defined as meeting the pre-requisites for the specific course in Aerospace Minor courses listed above, or as allowed by the instructor as an acceptable pre-requisite for the given Aerospace Minor course.