Aerospace Engineering

About the Program

Leonardo da Vinci wrote, “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward. For there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Perhaps, like da Vinci, you’ve always been obsessed with airborne machines: Gliders and lighter-than-air craft. Fixed-wing airplanes and jets. Autogyros and helicopters. Or even rockets, satellites, and spacecraft. Aeronautical engineers generally design aircraft to fly within the Earth’s atmosphere, while astronautical engineers design the technology for spacecraft to fly beyond the atmosphere. Either way, the sky’s the limit.

Major Program

At Berkeley Engineering, we offer a modern aerospace engineering major that combines comprehensive topical coverage, technical rigor and practical relevance. This major has been designed from the ground up for students who aspire to become leaders in an emerging era of aerospace technologies, including sustainable aviation, autonomous flight and space exploration. With a UC Berkeley aerospace engineering degree, you can find employment in industry — such as multinational corporations that design and manufacture aerospace systems at scale, or mid-size and small private companies that develop targeted technologies — or in federal government agencies such as NASA, the FAA or federal defense organizations.

The aerospace engineering degree program began instruction with an inaugural freshman class in Fall 2022. 

Minor Program

To declare your intention to pursue the Aerospace Minor, please use your Berkeley email address/calnet ID and fill out the following application to declare form.

Non-Mechanical Engineering major students can declare their intention to complete the minor after completing prerequisite courses MEC ENG C85 Introduction to Solid Mechanics, MEC ENG 106 Fluid Mechanics, and MEC ENG 132 Dynamic Systems and Feedback. Mechanical Engineering majors are allowed to overlap prerequisite courses. Students must have a minimum overall grade-point average of 3.0, as well as a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 in the prerequisite courses, in order to be admitted to the minor program.

Visit Program Website

Major Requirements

For more detailed information regarding the courses listed below (e.g., elective information, GPA requirements, etc.), please see the College Requirements and Major Requirements tabs.

General Guidelines

1. All technical courses taken in satisfaction of major requirements must be taken for a letter grade.

2. A minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for all work undertaken at UC Berkeley.

3. A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for all upper division technical courses taken in satisfaction of major requirements.

For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

For a detailed plan of study by year and semester, please see the Plan of Study tab.

Lower Division Requirements

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Choose one of the following: ASTRON 7A, ASTRON 10; BIOLOGY 1A + BIOLOGY 1AL, BIOLOGY 1B; CHEM 1A + CHEM 1AL, CHEM 1B, CHEM 3A + CHEM 3AL, CHEM 3B + CHEM 3BL, CHEM 4A, CHEM 4B; MCELLBI 32; PHYSICS 7C. Some of these courses require prerequisites and would therefore be more appropriately taken in a later semester.

Students must complete the Upper Division Core Requirements and four Technical Electives. 

Upper Division Core Requirements

¹

MEC ENG 132 is only offered during fall semesters.

Technical Electives

Students must take four elective courses total from the areas listed below, two from one area and an additional two from another. 

Minor Requirements

Students can receive an aerospace minor by successfully completing the following courses:

Non-Mechanical Engineering majors can declare their intention to complete the minor after completing prerequisite courses MEC ENG C85, MEC ENG 106, and MEC ENG 132. Mechanical Engineering majors are allowed to overlap prerequisite courses.

Students must have a minimum overall grade-point average of 3.0, as well as a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 in the prerequisite courses, in order to be admitted to the minor program. All students pursuing the minor must take all 6 courses (the 3 prerequisite courses and the 3 upper division courses) to complete the minor. Students must have a minimum of 2.00 grade-point average in the minor courses at graduation. Completion of the minor cannot delay graduation.

College Requirements

Students in the College of Engineering must complete no fewer than 120 semester units with the following provisions: 

1. Completion of the requirements of one engineering major program of study. 
2. A minimum overall grade point average of 2.00 (C average) and a minimum 2.00 grade point average in upper division technical coursework required of the major.
3. The final 30 units and two semesters must be completed in residence in the College of Engineering on the Berkeley campus.
4. All technical courses (math, science, and engineering) that can fulfill requirements for the student's major must be taken on a letter graded basis (unless they are only offered P/NP). 
5. Entering freshmen are allowed a maximum of eight semesters to complete their degree requirements. Entering junior transfers are allowed five semesters to complete their degree requirements. Summer terms are optional and do not count toward the maximum. Students are responsible for planning and satisfactorily completing all graduation requirements within the maximum allowable semesters. 
6. Adhere to all college policies and procedures as they complete degree requirements.
7. Complete lower division technical courses before enrolling in upper division technical courses. 

Humanities and Social Sciences (H/SS) Requirement

To promote a rich and varied educational experience outside of the technical requirements for each major, the College of Engineering has a six-course Humanities and Social Sciences breadth requirement, which must be completed to graduate. This requirement, built into all the engineering programs of study, includes two Reading and Composition courses (R&C), and four additional courses within which a number of specific conditions must be satisfied. See the humanities and social sciences section of our website for details.

Class Schedule Requirements

• Minimum units per semester: 12.0
• Maximum units per semester:  20.5
• Minimum technical courses: College of Engineering undergraduates must include at least two letter graded technical courses (of at least 3 units each) in their semester program. Every semester students are expected to make normal progress in their declared major. Normal progress is determined by the student's Engineering Student Services Advisor. (Note: For most majors, normal progress will require enrolling in 3-4 technical courses required of your current major each semester.) Students who are not in compliance with this policy by the end of the fifth week of the semester are subject to a registration block that will delay enrollment for the following semester. 
• All technical courses (math, science, engineering) that satisfy requirements for the major must be taken on a letter-graded basis (unless only offered as P/NP).

Minimum Academic Requirements

• Students must have a minimum overall and semester grade point average of 2.00 (C average). Students will be subject to suspension or dismissal from the University if during any fall or spring semester their overall UC GPA falls below a 2.00, or their semester GPA is less than 2.00. 
• Students must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.00 (C average) in upper division technical courses required for the major curriculum each semester.
• A minimum overall grade point average of 2.00 and a minimum 2.00 grade point average in upper division technical course work required for the major are required to earn a Bachelor of Science in the College of Engineering.
• Students must make normal degree progress toward the Bachelor of Science degree and their officially declared major.

Unit Requirements

To earn a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, students must complete at least 120 semester units of courses subject to certain guidelines:

• Completion of the requirements of one engineering major program of study. 
• A maximum of 16 units of special studies coursework (courses numbered 97, 98, 99, 197, 198, or 199) is allowed to count towards the B.S. degree, and no more than 4 units in any single term can be counted.
• A maximum of 4 units of physical education from any school attended will count towards the 120 units.

• Passed (P) grades may account for no more than one third of the total units completed at UC Berkeley, Fall Program for First Semester (FPF), UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), or UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) toward the 120 overall minimum unit requirement. Transfer credit is not factored into the limit. This includes transfer units from outside of the UC system, other UC campuses, credit-bearing exams, as well as UC Berkeley Extension XB units.

Normal Progress

Students in the College of Engineering must enroll in a full-time program and make normal progress each semester toward their declared major.  Students who fail to achieve normal academic progress shall be subject to suspension or dismissal. (Note: Students with official accommodations established by the Disabled Students' Program, with health or family issues, or with other reasons deemed appropriate by the dean may petition for an exception to normal progress rules.)

UC and Campus Requirements

University of California Requirements

Entry Level Writing

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by satisfying the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR). The UC Entry Level Writing Requirement website provides information on how to satisfy the requirement.

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions (AH&I) requirements are based on the principle that a US resident graduated from an American university should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

Campus Requirement

American Cultures

The American Cultures requirement is a Berkeley campus requirement, one that all undergraduate students at Berkeley need to pass in order to graduate. You satisfy the requirement by passing, with a grade not lower than C- or P, an American Cultures course. You may take an American Cultures course any time during your undergraduate career at Berkeley. The requirement was instituted in 1991 to introduce students to the diverse cultures of the United States through a comparative framework. Courses are offered in more than fifty departments in many different disciplines at both the lower and upper division level.

Plan of Study

For more detailed information regarding the courses listed below (e.g., elective information, GPA requirements, etc.), please see the College Requirements and Major Requirements tabs.

¹

Choose one of the following: ASTRON 7A, ASTRON 10; BIOLOGY 1A + BIOLOGY 1AL, BIOLOGY 1B; CHEM 1A + CHEM 1AL, CHEM 1B, CHEM 3A + CHEM 3AL, CHEM 3B + CHEM 3BL, CHEM 4A, CHEM 4B; MCELLBI 32; PHYSICS 7C. Some of these courses require prerequisites and would therefore be more appropriately taken in a later semester.

²

The Humanities/Social Sciences (H/SS) requirement includes two approved Reading & Composition (R&C) courses and four additional approved courses, with which a number of specific conditions must be satisfied. R&C courses must be taken for a letter grade (C- or better required). The first half (R&C Part A) must be completed by the end of the freshman year; the second half (R&C Part B) must be completed by no later than the end of the sophomore year. The remaining courses may be taken at any time during the program. See engineering.berkeley.edu/hss for complete details and a list of approved courses.

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Students must take four technical elective courses total:  two from one of the areas listed on the Major Requirements page and two from another.

Major Map

Major maps are experience maps that help undergraduates plan their Berkeley journey based on intended major or field of interest. Featuring student opportunities and resources from your college and department as well as across campus, each map includes curated suggestions for planning your studies, engaging outside the classroom, and pursuing your career goals in a timeline format.

Use the major map below to explore potential paths and design your own unique undergraduate experience:

View the Aerospace Engineering Major Map.