3 Innovative universities for mechanical and aerospace engineering

The world runs on technology, and it’s not going to stop any time soon.

That’s exactly why the fields of mechanical and aerospace engineering continue to be in demand. In fact, jobs for aerospace engineers are set to grow by 6% from 2023 to 2033, which is faster than the average field. For mechanical engineers, jobs are set to grow by an even quicker rate of 11%, with 19,800 job openings projected each year.

After all, there’s just as much beauty in these fields as there are opportunities to advance your career and make a difference in this world. When you design, manufacture, control, and test machines like robots and spacecrafts, you’re essentially in control of a product that could shift the landscape of how our world functions. That also means looking at energy efficiency and environmental impact; conserving our world to remain safe and healthy for future generation.

However, to advance to higher positions within those fields, you do require qualifications like a master’s degree or PhD. So, if this is your calling, we’ve listed three universities that provide quality mechanical and aerospace engineering postgraduate programmes.

North Carolina State University is home to the 27th best graduate engineering school in the US (US News & World Report 2024). Source: North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

Changing the healthcare scene with improved medical treatment methods. Harnessing energy efficiency through natural resources like the wind and ocean. Building vehicle designs for transportation across land, water, air, and space. A lab space of 248,291 square feet.

Well, North Carolina State University serves this catalogue as a reality.

It is the 27th best graduate engineering school in the US (US News & World Report 2024). As an R1-classified research institution, the university is home to invention and innovation. This is the same place the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) lives. One of the most prominent in the country, and the largest in the state, MAE is fittingly located in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, Raleigh-Durham.

For graduate students determined to build distinguished careers in mechanical and aerospace engineering, the MAE offers two tracks to realise this: the MS in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, and the PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.

The faculty and staff at MAE aim to serve the greater good through cutting-edge research and cross-disciplinary education. Whether it’s healthcare, energy efficiency, transport, the safety and security of engineered structures, the manufacturing and design of materials, or educating future engineers, the department has the programmes that ready students to take on an ever-changing world.

It’s the pinnacle of engineering at NC State. They work to upscale modern science technology that eases the lives of people in North Carolina and across the globe. Opportunities for students stretch wide open with an onslaught of industry partnerships. Think big names like NASA, Honda Aircraft, Pratt and Whitney, and more.

MAE students have an entire support system backing them, going well beyond the expert faculty body. They’ve got a dedicated graduate programme staff to provide one-on-one mentorship and a whole host of transformative professional development programmes. Apply to the graduate programmes at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering today.

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering emphasises five research areas. Source: University of California, Irvine

University of California, Irvine

Students who want to inspire change and generate new ideas for the engineering field should join the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. In this department, they will gain research experience that stimulates knowledge, discovery, and creativity development. This is where they get to blend engineering fundamentals they learn in lecture halls with hands-on design experience, which often leads to further research opportunities in laboratories.

The department has five research areas, namely Dynamics and Controls, Mechanics of Materials and Structures, Fluid Dynamics and Propulsion, Systems and Design, and Thermal and Transport Sciences. Students will work with the department’s educators, faculty members, and teaching staff, who are experts in their fields. This ensures that they learn from the best in the industry, in addition to using cutting-edge experimental and computational facilities provided by the department.

For example, doctoral candidate Sumner Norman is exploring robotics-based therapies to help stroke victims. “I see an entirely different side to these technologies,” he says. “The main goal of my research is to demonstrate that machines and humans can work well together.” Meanwhile, UCI doctoral student Bin Xing is part of a team creating a machine-learning framework representative of structure and chemistry called the neuron map to search and identify materials with optimal compositions to improve the performance of energy systems.

Such breakthroughs take place in a university is located in the heart of beautiful Orange County, nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego and just minutes away from SoCal’s sunny shores. Amusement parks, cultural centres, art theatres, and many other places are within driving distance from the university. Experience the combination of the natural outdoors and the bustling city where you can study, work, live and play in one of the safest cities in the US.

Students at University of Texas at Austin engage in many interdisciplinary research and expand their understanding of mechanical engineering principles. Source: University of Texas at Austin/Facebook

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering has 14 undergraduate and graduate programmes ranked in the top 10. It holds the seventh spot in US News and World Report’s Best Graduate Engineering Programme in the US and Academic Ranking of World Universities’ 10th Best Engineering Programme in the World.

The school has one of the nation’s largest and strongest engineering communities, with 280 tenure/tenure-track faculty members, 680 staff members, 8,000 students, and 70,000 alumni living worldwide.

Cockrell School of Engineering’s alumni are part of numerous high-profile positions, including former US Secretary of State to the former Senior Vice President of Apple — it is what makes the school part of a globally respected community of engineers. This also opens the door to various working experiences, as the school is committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship between companies and the Cockrell School’s intellectual and material resources.

Industry engagement is a big part of  Cockrell School of Engineering’s teaching. With over 6,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students, the school advertises student recruitment, matching talented engineering students with an organisation’s needs through the Cockrell School’s Engineering Career Assistance Center (ECAC). There is a range of student projects and programmes to take advantage of, too.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International