Aerospace Science and Engineering


Undergraduate Program in Aerospace Science & Engineering

The University of Toronto offers a comprehensive program of study in Aerospace Science and Engineering at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The undergraduate program is offered through the Division of Engineering Science, while the graduate program is offered at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). All Engineering Science students follow a common curriculum during the first two years, with emphasis on mathematics, science, and engineering fundamentals. The final two years in the Aerospace Option focus on aeronautics and space engineering, with courses delivered primarily by faculty from UTIAS.

The undergraduate aerospace curriculum reflects the diverse and dynamic activities associated with the aerospace industry in Canada and abroad. Students are exposed to courses associated with aeronautical and space sciences and engineering, and also gain practical experience in laboratory and design courses. Capstone design courses in fourth year include Space Systems Design, where student teams design hardware associated with a space mission, such as a Hubble telescope repair mission, or a Europa landing probe. Engineers from MDA Space Missions play a major role in the delivery of this course. In the Aircraft Design course, student teams design and build model aircraft with various configurations, which are then flown in a fly-off competition at the end of the term.

The aerospace field has progressed extensively since the record-setting flights by F. W. Baldwin and J. A. D. McCurdy  both University of Toronto engineering graduates  during the early 1900s. It has evolved into a multi-disciplinary activity that finds itself at the cutting edge of high technology research and development. Consequently, the field is rich with technological and engineering challenges in diverse areas such as hypersonic aerodynamics, multi-disciplinary optimization and space exploration. Students at the fourth year level will have opportunities to select courses and work on thesis projects related to the many specialized areas of active research at UTIAS.

While the undergraduate program prepares students for immediate entry into a professional engineering career, many students continue to the graduate level in order to enhance their qualifications and employment opportunities.

For further information regarding undergraduate aerospace studies please refer to the Engineering Science program in this Calendar, the Engineering Science website or the Engineering Science Office at 416-978-2903.

Graduate Program in Aerospace Science & Engineering

UTIAS offers graduate programs leading to research intensive MASc and PhD degrees and a professionally oriented MEng degree. Graduate research areas include aircraft flight systems and control, flight simulation, computational fluid dynamics, combustion and propulsion, aerodynamic shape optimization, experimental fluid dynamics, flow control, structural mechanics, advanced composite materials, multidisciplinary optimization of aircraft, multifunctional systems, spacecraft dynamics and control, autonomous space robotics, microsatellites, space mechatronics, plasma-materials interactions and materials for fusion reactors. Details regarding entrance regulations and courses of study are available in the School of Graduate Studies Calendar and on the UTIAS website.

Students who graduated in another branch of engineering, mathematics, physics or chemistry may be admitted to the graduate program. In those cases, the courses leading to the MASc or MEng degree will be arranged on an individual basis to make up for deficiencies in undergraduate training.