The Fast Track program is tailored for high-achieving undergraduate students who wish to extend their knowledge and gain an edge by earning a Master of Engineering degree.
Fast Track allows qualified students to earn up to nine hours of credit toward their aerospace engineering undergraduate and graduate degrees. The nine hours shall consist of 600-level aerospace courses, which will count as undergraduate technical or design electives while reducing the Master of Engineering course load. Consequently, through Fast Track, a student can earn a Master of Engineering degree in two semesters beyond their undergraduate degree.
Advantages
- Participate in graduate studies earlier.
- Courses taken (max nine hours) meet requirements towards two degrees (worth 18 credit hours) while only paying for nine credits of graduate coursework.
- Earn your Master of Engineering degree in two semesters beyond the Bachelor of Science degree.
Requirements
- Must have at least an overall undergraduate grade point average of 3.5.
- Be committed to graduate studies at Texas A&M University in aerospace engineering.
- Have completed the application process through the advising office prior to starting senior technical electives.
Program Details
Students can earn a maximum of nine hours of graduate credit to be used towards both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. This is achieved by completing 600-level courses during their senior year and earning graduate credits while fulfilling undergraduate requirements through Credit by Examination (appropriate paperwork is processed by aerospace engineering advising office).
In addition, students may complete additional graduate courses (beyond the nine credit hours of Fast Track courses) and reserve them solely for their graduate program while still an undergraduate student. The Reserve Undergraduate Course for Graduate Credit form is used for this purpose and should be completed and given to the AERO Advising Office (HRBB 750) for processing. These courses should be included in the student’s Fast Track Planning Worksheet.
How to Enroll?
Students begin this process by visiting with a departmental undergraduate advisor (HRBB 750) to review their progress and explore possibilities for Fast Track. Students will obtain a Fast Track Planning Worksheet from the undergraduate advising office. This will normally be done no earlier than the second semester of the junior year in the curriculum. It should be done with at least two semesters remaining.
Approved AERO/MEMA Graduate Courses and their Undergraduate Equivalents
Aerodynamics and Fluids
- AERO 601 - Advanced Aerodynamics (AERO 472)
- AERO 676 - Aerothermochemistry (AERO 435)
Dynamics and Controls
- AERO 622 - Spacecraft Dynamics and Control (AERO 424)
- AERO 627 - Principles of Structural Dynamics (AERO 424)
- AERO 651 - Human Spaceflight Operations (AERO 451)
- AERO 655 - Helicopter Aerodynamics (AERO 455)
Materials and Structures
- AERO 603/MEMA 602 - Continuum Mechanics (AERO 404)
- AERO 604 - Aerospace Structural Design (AERO 405)
- MEMA 613 - Principles of Composite Materials (AERO 406)
- AERO 615 - Computational Fluid Dynamics for Aerospace Applications (AERO 415)
- MEMA 646 - Introduction to the Finite Element Method (AERO 430)
Systems, Design and Human Integration
- AERO 614 - Human Performance in Aerospace Environments (AERO 414)
- AERO 651 - Human Spaceflight Operations (AERO 451)
Note: Other graduate courses may be considered on a case-by-case basis (e.g., AERO 689 Special Topic courses).