About Aerospace Engineering

Mission Statement

KUAE fosters a world-class community of choice for students, educators, researchers and industry partners by strategically aligning our teaching, research and service missions to prepare students for successful professional careers by providing them with foundational knowledge in and experience with aerospace engineering disciplines and interdisciplinary systems integration, while advancing the state-of-the-art.

• We are an international leader in undergraduate, graduate and continuing aerospace education, balancing theory and practice to best prepare our graduates for professional practice and for higher education
• We provide world class graduate and undergraduate research experiences focused on designing, simulating, building, testing and flying aerospace vehicles and systems, including  practical experience in applying aerospace fundamentals to interdisciplinary research and advancing knowledge.
• We invest in research infrastructure and select and develop outstanding and diverse students, faculty and staff to maintain an intellectually stimulating and collegial atmosphere in which to conduct globally significant basic and applied research
• We support the aerospace profession by educating the public through outreach, educating working professionals through the KU Aerospace Short Course program and advising policy-makers in government, industry and professional organizations.
•  We partner with the aerospace industry through directed research, internships and professional mentoring to ensure that our graduates are recognized and hired as those best prepared for professional success.

KUAE Strategic Goals

To support our teaching mission:

• Attract, develop and retain the highest quality students representing broad demographics
• Provide immersive, experiential learning opportunities integrated across the curriculum
• Expand the number and frequency of higher level graduate course offerings
• Attract, advance, and retain an outstanding and diverse technical staff to support cutting edge, holistic, education and research
• Achieve and maintain a state-of-the-art distance education capability to expand educational outreach to remote learners and increase access to remote expertise for local learners
• Develop and modernize facilities appropriate to providing intellectually stimulating curricular experiences

To increase the quality and volume of funded research:

• Attract, advance, and retain a diverse and continuously growing number of world-class faculty and research staff
• Attract and develop the highest quality graduate students representing broad demographics, with a particular emphasis on increasing the number of doctoral students
• Develop high quality, state-of-the-art research facilities appropriate to enabling globally significant basic and applied research
• Attract, advance, and retain an outstanding and diverse technical staff to support cutting edge, holistic, education and research
• Strategically target  and transition technologies of national importance to enhance interdisciplinary, collaborative research
• Expand partnerships with industry leaders in directed research 

To provide service:

• Be leaders in preparing our graduates for successful professional careers
• Be leaders in national and international technical and academic societies and editorial boards
• Expand the internationally renowned KU Aerospace Short Course and distance learning programs