Student Advising
Aerospace Engineering Advising
Advising Tips/Forms
Major Advisor for the College of Engineering
If you wish to discuss course planning, to go over your Master Plan, or need Major Advising, please contact your Major Advisor. For our department, you can request an appointment with Sarah Hershberger through the SDSU EAB system.
If you are new to the system, you can find directions on how to request an appointment through SDSU Navigate
Undergraduate Department Advisors
Department advisors are available to help with questions about career paths, professional development, undergraduate/graduate research opportunities, and technical electives.
- A-C: Ahmad Bani Younes
- D-F: Jun Chen
- G-I: Luciano Demasi
- J-L: Gustaaf Jacobs
- M-N: Joseph Katz
- O-P: Qi Wang
- Q-R: Margherita Capriotti
- S-U: Pavel Popov
- V-Z: Satchi Venkataraman
AE Faculty Advisers Office Hours Spring 2025 (PDF)
Student advising is a crucial component of academic success. Students benefit from advice on course selection and sequencing, receive mentoring from advisors, and are able to identify academic issues early on and find resources to help them succeed. Your "MyMAP" is a guide to completing your degree requirements in four years. Course sequencing of MyMAPs aligns with the courses offered each semester, adheres to all prerequisite requirements, and maximizes any overlap between General Education and preparation for the major courses.
The Master Plan and Advising Record is used to facilitate advising. Please fill out the Master Plan (PDF) with the courses you have taken and the courses you plan to take in the upcoming semester prior to seeing your major advisor. Information on advising and the master plan is distributed in the required course for the program: AE 123 or The Aerospace Engineer (offered in the Fall). The AE 123 Instructor requires student to meet with the major advisor for to complete the Master Plan for their catalog year for additional credit in the course. Students provide a signed copy of the Master Plan to the major adviser or department office.
Change of Major Policy
If you wish to change to the major status in AE from another major, pre-major, or undeclared status, you will need to satisfy the requirements provided here: Criteria for Change to Major Status in Aerospace Engineering (PDF)
If you meet the criteria, complete the Change of Major Interest Form
AE 499 Special Study Course Policy (PDF)
Students who intend to take AE499 without replacing an elective do not need to follow this procedure.
The procedure is designated only for the students who actually replace 3 units of elective course with the AE499 course. Only 1 elective course can be replaced with the AE499 enrollment. Please review the document policy (PDF) in the title above for the rules of the policy.
Aerospace Engineering Curriculum
2024-2025 Aerospace Engineering Curriculum
2023-2024 Aerospace Engineering Curriculum
2022-2023 Aerospace Engineering Curriculum
2021-2022 Renovated Aerospace Engineering Curriculum
If you are in a previous catalog year, please note you cannot move into the new curriculum until you are ready to graduate. Please see the instructions below.
In the semester you are ready to graduate, you will select "Apply to Graduate" in Webportal. You will need to choose to graduate in the current catalog year. The update will then be applied to your Degree Evaluation, and Evaluations will send you a copy by mail. They will point out any remaining issues that need to be resolved in order to graduate. It would be best practice to keep notes on the changes with our guides below.
As of Fall 2022, an additional prerequisite is now required for AE 440 "Aircraft Stability and Control I": AE 331 "Feedback Flight Control" (new course added to the 2021/22 curriculum).
AE 440 now has the prerequisite requirement of both AE 303 "Experimental Aerodynamics" and AE 331. However, please note that AE 331 will not be enforced as a prerequisite for AE 440 for Fall 2022. However, AE 303 will be enforced and you are required to complete AE 331 if you are graduating under the 2021/22 catalog year.
Starting in Catalog 2021-2022 which goes into effect in Fall 2021, a renovated Aerospace Engineering curriculum will be offered. The new AE curriculum will require 123 units to graduate as opposed to 140 in the current curriculum. Below is a summary of the major changes in the new AE curriculum:
- PHYS 197, ME 240 and ME 350 are no longer required (The content from ME 240 and ME 350 will be included in other AE courses).
- A new sophomore programming course AE 260 with aerospace content emphasis replaces ME 202. AE 260 will be taught in spring semesters and requires MATH 150 and 151 (grade C or better) as prerequisites.
- A new junior course in Control Systems, AE 331, is required. AE 331 will be taught in fall semesters and requires EE 204 and AE 280 as prerequisites.
- AE 310, Aerospace Structural Analysis, is now replaced by a new 4-unit course, Mechanics of Aerospace Structures and Materials (still designated as AE 310), and will still be offered in spring semesters.
- AE 515 is no longer required; it will be a technical elective.
- Three GE course requirements have been removed (a total of 9-unit reduction):
- Area D Exploration in Social Sciences
- Area D Exploration in Natural Sciences
- Area E Lifelong Learning and Self-Development
- One GE course requirement has been added: Ethnic Studies (V.)
In addition, there are some course offering schedule and prerequisite changes in the new curriculum:
- AE 301 is moved to spring semester, and requires AE340 as a prerequisite
- AE 320 is moved to fall semester
- New AE 310 course prerequisites include AE 260, CHEM 200 or 202, and CIV E 301 or ME 304 (but removes ME 240 as a prerequisite); In Spring 2022, ME 202 is accepted as a replacement for AE 260 as a prerequisite for AE 310 for any students who have passed ME 202 before Spring 2022.
- AE 302 no longer requires AE 301 and ME 350 as prerequisites; it will require AE 340 as the prerequisite and concurrent registration of AE 301.
Please carefully consult the suggested roadmap and curriculum guide for the new curriculum.
Recommendation to Freshmen (Catalog 2020-2021)
The freshman year in the new curriculum is unchanged. Therefore, all freshmen in 2020-2021 should follow the new curriculum in their sophomore year and beyond in course registration. In the year when you are ready to graduate, declare that you will graduate under the Catalog of that year which will have the new curriculum.
All freshmen should meet their advisers to revise their Master Plans if they have already filed one under the current curriculum.
Recommendation to Sophomores (Catalog 2019-2020)
It is strongly recommended that all current sophomores transition into the new curriculum in 2021-2022. This means that they should register for AE331 (the new Control Systems course), AE320, AE340 in Fall 2021, among other courses (see the curriculum roadmap). It should be stressed that starting in Fall 2021, if students do not meet the prerequisites of an AE course at the time of registration, the system will not allow them to register. Hence it is critically important to make sure you cover all the prerequisite courses for the future semester(s).
It is necessary for all sophomores who choose the new curriculum to meet their advisors soon to make sure that they have a revised Master Plan.
For those sophomores who wish to remain in the current curriculum of the Catalog 2019-2020 when they enrolled, please keep in mind that:
- AE 301 will be taught in Spring 2022, not Fall 2021
- AE 320 will be offered in Fall 2021, not Spring 2022.
- AE 310 will be a 4-unit course in Spring 2022 instead of a 3-unit course
- All the prerequisites for AE courses in the current curriculum will continue to be required, including ME 202, ME 240, and ME 350 (although you can take AE 260 to replace ME 202)
- PHYS 197 is still required
- AE 515 is still required
- The GE reduction does not apply to the current curriculum – the students still need to take the 9 units of GE courses in Areas D and E to graduate
Recommendation to Current Juniors and Seniors
Current juniors can choose to use the new curriculum to graduate. If they do, they can file a RAAR form to use ME 202 to replace the new AE 260 in the new curriculum. But they should realize that a new course AE 331 is required in the new curriculum that will be taught only in Fall semester, and there is no substitute that can be used for the course. Still, juniors opting to graduate under the new curriculum will benefit from the reduction of GE courses and the removal of AE 515 from the required courses in the new curriculum if they have not already taken those courses.
It is necessary for all juniors who choose the new curriculum to meet their advisors soon to make sure that they have a revised Master Plan.
For seniors in their last year, it is likely more logical to graduate under the current curriculum.
Questions?
If you have questions regarding the new curriculum, please contact the Chair of Aerospace Engineering Department, Prof. Ping Lu ([email protected]), or the Department Coordinator, Nicole Brokaw-Powers at [email protected] For questions about your MAP and course planning, please contact your advisor.
COE Virtual Student Success Support
College of Engineering - The Center for Student Success in Engineering
The Center for Student Success in Engineering physical space will be closed for the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters due to the situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19). Our peer advising, Internship, and tutoring student support services are still available for students virtually.
Advising:
If you wish to meet with your program adviser, please use SDSU EAB Navigate to request an appointment with our major adviser: Sarah Hershberger.
Internship/Resume/Career:
Schedule a Virtual Internship advising appointment with Bianca Portal.
Student Affairs:
Students can also schedule a virtual appointment with Theresa Garcia, our Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
