Aerospace Honors Program

The Aerospace Engineering Honors Program at the University of Maryland provides a rigorous and comprehensive education for a career in technical leadership and scientific or engineering research.

Honors Handbook

2026 Aerospace Engineering Honors Graduate Akemi Takeuchi

2026 Honors Graduate Akemi Takeuchi with Department Chair Alison Flatau, faculty advisor Dr. Mary Bowden, and Professor Norman Wereley.

Honors course work encompasses the required curriculum for all University of Maryland Aerospace Engineering students, but at an advanced level. Students also have the opportunity to engage in a number of independent research projects.

Why is Maryland's Aerospace Engineering Honors Program special?

Classes are limited to a small number of students, which facilitates discussion and close interaction with faculty
Research opportunities are an integral part of the program, providing students with hands on experience during their under undergraduate education

Students are invited to join the Aerospace Engineering Honors program the summer before their sophomore year after completion of 30 credits and successfully passing the required first year major required courses. Students are reviewed based on their UMCP cumultaive GPA. Historically, the top 15-20% of the sophomore level class is invited to join the program. Admission to the Aerospace Engineering Honors program after sophomore year is limited - transfer students and/or students with compelling situations who meet the GPA expectation after sophomore year may email the honors faculty director for consideration.

To earn the Honors Citation, students must complete the required ENAE honors courses and successfully complete their research project and presentation. The Honors Citation is awarded at graduation and the title of "Honors Student" is earned during senior spring semester, after completing the research project. Successful completion of the Aerospace Engineering Honors Citation will be noted on your diploma.

In the sophomore, junior, and senior years, students will take honors versions of core aerospace engineering courses, which go into greater depth than the standard program. In the junior and senior year, students will enroll in elective courses and complete an honors research project under the supervision of a faculty advisor. In the senior year, students will write a scholarly paper and present their research findings at an annual student conference.

The curriculum is designed to prepare our students for the world of engineering and emphasizes design and hands-on engineering. This program is intensive and is intended only for the top undergraduates in the Department of Aerospace Engineering.

All Aerospace Engineering undergraduate students will be evaluated after completion of 30 credits and registration for ENAE283, Introduction to Aerospace Systems.

Provisional acceptance into the Program by the Undergraduate Committee will be based on their UMD cumulative grade point average, and progress towards a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Typically, students will have at least a 3.87 GPA, although the GPA cutoff may be higher in any given year.

Historically, the top 10-15% of the Aerospace Engineering sophomore-level class is invited to join the Aerospace Honors Program.

Students must have completed the following coursework (or its equivalent) to be considered for invitation to the program:

MATH140 & 141, Calculus I and II
CHEM135 Chemistry to Engineers or CHEM113 Chemistry II
PHYS161 Physics I
ENES100 Introduction to Engineering Design
ENAE100 The Aerospace Engineering Profession (may be waived for transfer students)
ENAE202 Aerospace Computing
2 Gen Ed program requirements (6 credits, 3 credits of which should be Academic Writing)

Upon posting of spring semester grades, the Honors Program Committee meets to review all eligible students. An email invitation is sent to the prospective honors students inviting them to join the program. This invitation directs students to complete the acceptance form then switch their ENAE283 registration to ENAE283H; both sections are offered at the same time in the schedule of classes.

Note: Students who are internal or external transfer students may still be considered even if they have not yet completed ENAE202.

Honors sections of these aerospace engineering courses are offered.

To earn the Honors Citation, students must successfully complete ENAE311H, ENAE423H , and 3 credits of ENAE398H. Students must also successfully complete ENAE283H unless they receive a special exception. Students also have the option to take ENAE457H in addition to their other ENAE honors courses.

ENAE 283H - Foundations of Aerospace I:
Introduction to the fundamental disciplines of aerospace engineering, and the systems concepts that integrate these into conceptual designs for flight vehicles. Course covers the foundations of aerodynamics, propulsion, aerospace materials, flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, vehicle stability and control.
ENAE410H - Compressible Aerodynamics:
Fundamentals of aerodynamics. Elements of compressible flow. Normal and oblique shock waves. Flows through nozzles, diffusers and wind tunnels. Elements of the method of characteristics and finite difference solutions for compressible flows. Aspects of hypersonic flow.
ENAE423H - Vibration and Aeroelasticity:
Dynamic response of single and multiple degrees of freedom systems, finite element modeling, wing divergence, aileron reversal, wing and panel flutter.
ENAE457H - Space Propulsion and Power (optional):
Thermodynamic cycle analysis, aerothermochemistry of fuels and propellants, operating principles of rocket, ion, and other exoatmospheric power units.
ENAE 398H - Honors Research Project:
Undergraduate honors research project conducted under the direction of an AE faculty member in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the College of Engineering Honors Program.

Research projects take you to places that you have never been before.

Take a dive to view robots assembling space structures in simulated micro-gravity
Test new fluids for dampers in the dynamometer testing facility
Develop flight hardware that could be launched to the International Space Station
Spin some rotor blades in the hover stand to determine stability

While students are encouraged to reach out to faculty earlier in the program, before the last day of classes of Spring semester of their Sophomore year they must submit a completed Project Approval Form to the Undergraduate Programs Coordinator.

In order to graduate with honors, students must complete an Application for Graduation Honors to ensure that they have met all the honors program requirements.

This includes, but is not limited to:

completing all required ENAE honors courses,
completing ENAE honors research paper and final presentation,
uploading a copy of your final ENAE honors research paper in DRUM (Digital Repository at the University of Maryland under the collection titled: Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses), and
filling out the application for graduation honors form.