Aerospace Engineering academic advisors strive to create a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive environment for all students. Advisors help students plan their course schedule, identify research, find professional opportunities, and understand their options so students can make appropriate choices from among the many available opportunities.
The Program Director of Student Services and Undergraduate Programs Coordinator are available in the department to assist you in your academic career. If you have any questions regarding the advising system, please contact anhentz@umd.edu.
The updated assigned faculty advisor list is sent each semester via email to the undergraduate student listserv. Note that first-year students are advised by staff members, all other students are assigned to a faculty advisor.
Advising For Multiple Major Students
Multiple Major students must have their registration cleared by both departments under which they are studying. If you have questions, please contact Aileen Hentz anhentz@umd.edu.
Advisor Appointment:
All students are assigned a specific registration date (you may view this date on Testudo: Appointment and Registration Status). Students should try to schedule a meeting with their assigned advisor at least 2 weeks PRIOR to this assigned registration date. If you are unable to get in touch with your faculty advisor, please contact Aileen Hentz anhentz@umd.edu. Note that you should be able to view your assigned advisor via the email that is sent each semester with the updated list as well as important advising reminders.
Be prepared for each meeting with your advisor. Review your degree progress at u.achieve and bring an updated copy of your graduation plan, a printed copy of your unofficial transcript, and a list of courses you plan to take the following semester.
Any concerns you are not able to discuss with your advisor, you may discuss with Dr. Robert Sanner (rmsanner@umd.edu) or Dr. Aileen Hentz, Program Director Academic & Student Services (anhentz@umd.edu).
Advising Office
3179 Glenn L. Martin Hall Bldg #088
4298 Campus Drive
College Park, MD 20742
Student Responsibilities in the Advising Process
The benefits associated with our faculty advising program are many; it also entails a number of obligations on the student’s part. You are responsible for preparing for each advising session and providing certain information to your faculty advisor. By complying with these responsibilities, your advisor is better able to guide and facilitate your development thus allowing you to get more out of the program.
Keep your faculty advisor informed about your academic progress and professional development.
Meet with your faculty advisor every semester PRIOR to attempting to register for the next semester. Failure to do so will delay your registration as all engineering students are required to be advised prior to registration each semester.
All students are assigned a specific registration date (you may view this date on MyUM under the Academics & Testudo tab). Students should meet with their faculty advisor at least 2 weeks PRIOR to this assigned registration date.
Be prepared for each meeting with your advisor. Review your degree progress at u.achieve and bring an updated copy of your graduation plan, a printed copy of your unofficial transcript, and a list of courses you plan to take the following semester.
While your advisor is there to provide guidance and structure, you are ultimately responsible for fulfilling your degree requirements and graduating in a timely matter. These responsibilities include making decisions about your class schedule, whether or not to pursue specific educational options, which CORE electives to take, etc.
Any concerns you are not able to discuss with your advisor, you may discuss with Dr. Robert Sanner (Undergraduate Program Director), or Aileen Hentz (Program Director, Student Services). If need be, you may also talk with an advisor in the Clark School's Office of Undergraduate Advising & Academic Support located at 1131 Glenn L. Martin Hall, 301-405-9973.
Additionally, as a college student, you are responsible for:
Monitoring your own academic progress
Knowing the degree requirements of the college and major of interest
Communicating with your advisor or department regarding issues and/or concerns about academics or student life
Learning and understanding your course material
Attending classes
Managing your time
Becoming familiar with resources on and off campus
Understanding and adhering to university policies, as well as the Academic Policies of the Clark School
Academic Support
Current students who are experiencing challenges with their coursework are encouraged to meet with an aerospace advisor to discuss their academic progress and strategies for success.
The aerospace department offers the following academic support:
Individual Tutoring
UMD’s chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau, the national aerospace honors society, offers free tutoring for all major required courses including 100 and 200 level MATH, PHYS, CHEM and ENES courses as well as 200 and 300 level ENAE course. This is a free service and no appointment is necessary. Please visit the SGT website for the tutoring schedule or contact aero_undergrad@umd.edu for more information.
Group Tutoring
The Aerospace Academic Match program is designed to help UMD Aerospace students succeed in major required courses. Academic Match combines the benefits of group studying with those of peer tutoring by pairing a tutor with a small group of no more than 5 aerospace students. The groups meet for 2 hrs/week at the same day and time for the entire semester. Course subjects vary each semester based on tutor availability. If you are interested joining a group or becoming a tutor, please contact aero_undergrad@umd.edu for more information.
The Clark School of Engineering offers additional academic support through their Keystone Center. The Keystone Center is located in room 1116 of the J.M. Patterson Building. Hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7-10 pm as well as Sunday evenings from 4-10 pm.
Please visit tutoring.umd.edu for a comprehensive list of university-wide services.
General Education Requirements
General Education at University the University of Maryland
Through the General Education program you will discover that education at the University of Maryland is a campus-centered experience, and one that reaches from the campus classroom and lab to across the globe. As a student you will engage with that larger universe by acquiring new skills and understandings. General Education exposes you to different disciplines, improves your fundamental academic skills, and strengthens your commitment to using knowledge and abilities to better yourself and others.
The General Education program will assist you in preparing for a new "multiverse" of learning, and for the demanding and constantly changing world beyond graduation. It provides necessary skills and basic knowledge, complements and expands the university's course offerings, and connects you more fully to the intellectual community of the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, the nation, and the world beyond.
All aerospace students must receive permission to enroll in any required ENES course including:
ENES100
ENES102
ENES220
ENES232
After a student has met with his or her assigned advisor, he or she may email to request permission to register for any of the above ENES courses.
Faculty advisors can issue permission to enroll in ENAE courses including permission to enroll in aerospace research credits such as ENAE398H and ENAE499.
If students want stamps for any courses outside of Aerospace (ENAE) that are not listed above, they should be referred to the department that teaches the course.
Permission to Enroll in Another Institution
All current University of Maryland students wishing to take a course off campus must submit a Permission to Enroll (PTE) form. Students majoring in engineering must have the form approved by the A. James Clark School of Engineering PRIOR to registering for the course at the other institution.
Undergraduates who wish to know if courses will transfer should:
Speak with Registrar if they are missing credit for any outside courses for which they submitted transcripts
u.achieve: Transfer credits are listed in blue, lowercase letters and numbers
In order to view transfer course equivalencies for UMCP courses, visit Testudo.
For more information, visit the Permission to Enroll in Another Institution section on the Clark School's Forms & Requests page.
University of Maryland's Degree Audit System
u.achieve is the University of Maryland's unofficial degree audit system which helps students and advisors evaluate academic progress towards completion of their degree. Students should check their degree navigator audit each semester, and if they notice a discrepancy, they should contact their faculty advisor.
General Education 4-Year Plan [xls, xlsx, pdf] (admitted Fall 2012 - Fall 2021)
Guidelines for Double Majors/Degrees
A student seeking a double major/degree should complete the Double Major/Degree application. The order of obtaining signatures from each department and college should be:
Primary Department
Secondary Department
Secondary College
Primary College
Requirements
A student must be enrolled in the major program from which he/she plans to graduate when registering for the final 15 hours of a 120 credit baccalaureate program
Students must file this application no later than one full academic year before their expected date of graduation
If two colleges are involved with the application process the student’s primary college will be responsible for the maintenance of records, exceptions to policy, and certification of CORE requirements
Final approval of a double major or double degree program must be obtained from each of the appropriate departments and college(s)
Effective Spring 2005: All Engineering (ENXX), Basic Sciences and Technical Courses must be completed with a grade of 2.0 or better
The Senior Technical Elective must be a 300/400 level class, technical in nature, which is taken outside the department. Business, management, etc, classes cannot be used to satisfy this degree requirement; the course must focus on math, engineering, or scientific skills.
The technical content of the class should be equivalent to the 300/400 level classes within Aerospace. This generally requires that the class shows evidence of utilizing some combination of at least sophomore level skills from PHYS260/270, MATH241/246/240/461, ENES220/232, or equivalent.
Other courses (such as those in CMSC) may also be acceptable if they require logical/technical skills equivalent in rigor to these classes. Courses which require only a Freshman level skill set (i.e. only MATH140/141, PHYS161, ENES100/102, or similar) will generally not be acceptable as a Senior Technical Elective without substantial evidence of more advanced technical content.
Other classes may be approved by the department on a case-by-case basis. If you take a class which is not pre-approved on u.achieve, but has been otherwise reviewed and approved by the department, it will be applied to your degree during the Senior Audit process each spring.
Please note the following:
Courses in other departments may require approval from that department before you can register. The Aerospace department cannot grant these permissions. You will need to contact the undergraduate director in the applicable department directly to request permission.
Other departments may have enrollment caps on their classes, or limit the number of non-majors who can register, to ensure that their own students are able to complete their degrees. The fact that a course is approved as a Technical Elective by Aerospace does not guarantee that space will be available should you choose to register for it.
The list of approved non-ENAE technical electives is subject to continual review and modification as course content may change over time. The fact that a course may have been accepted in previous years is not a guarantee it is currently accepted. Refer to the list as the authoritative guide to currently acceptable classes before you register.
If a course does not appear on the list of approved non-ENAE technical electives, do not assume that you can take it and have it retroactively approved. Such approval is unlikely to be granted, and you would then need to take another course. It is your responsibility to make sure that you only register for a pre-approved elective.
You may petition that a course be added to the list of acceptable electives. Use the Request for Unlisted Technical Elective form to submit a petition that a course be considered as a Technical Elective. Use the guidelines above when deciding if a course should be considered. Courses which fall outside these guidelines are unlikely to receive approval.
Do not register for an unlisted class unless, or until, you have received written approval from the Undergraduate Director or Assistant Director.
Make sure you complete the Senior Audit, listing your intended Technical Elective, at least a semester before you register for this course.
Registration
Review your transcript (it can be obtained from Testudo) along with the aerospace engineering Curriculum Sheet [pdf].
Review the Courses page to make sure you are well prepared to enroll in your proposed courses.
Check the schedule of classes on Testudo and select a manageable schedule (no more than 18 credits). VENUS, the Virtual Electronic Network University Scheduler, is the best and quickest way to schedule your courses.
Confirm your registration date and time, make sure you are financially eligible to register, and do not have other types of registration blocks by checking Testudo. Check with the Health Center to make sure you do not have an immunization block (301-314-8184).
Students are responsible for scheduling and completing appointments with their AE advisor every semester prior to your registration date. Students receive an email letting them know how to arrange an appointment with their advisor; most advisors place a sign-up sheet on their office door.
Two Semesters from graduations - remember, you must complete a Senior Audit with your advisor two semesters prior to your planned semester of graduation. This should be approved before you will be allowed to register for either ENAE481 or 483.
