AE graduate student enrollment at all-time high

10/23/2017 Susan Mumm, Media Specialist

Written by Susan Mumm, Media Specialist

Aerospace Engineering at Illinois has experienced historic growth in its graduate student numbers.

Aerospace graduate students in front of Talbot Lab
Aerospace graduate students in front of Talbot Lab

The Department now counts a total of 198 students enrolled in graduate-level courses. A growth in the number of AE faculty members and their research programs have fueled the student growth, Department Head Philippe Geubelle maintained, adding that AE’s online professional master’s degree program also has boosted enrollment.

Of the total number of graduate students, 99 are pursuing on-campus master’s degrees through either the thesis, non-thesis or Aerospace Systems options. Another student has opted for the non-degree certificate program, and 29 additional students are enrolled for online master’s degrees, a program that has flourished since its introduction in Academic Year 2014-15. A total of 69 students are PhD candidates in AE at Illinois.

AE has addressed some of the issues arising from the growth in graduate student enrollment through a $320,000 remodel of a large space used for graduate student offices on Talbot’s third floor. Originally holding a maximum of 75 students that made up 14 faculty members’ research groups, the space has been reconfigured to hold 89 students that comprise 21 research groups. Old, mismatched and, in come case, broken furniture has been replaced with new.

“The lighting is much better and everything is crisp and clean,” said Kendra Lindsey, AE Administrative Aide, who supervised the project. “I am very pleased with the remodel. This has been a huge project but it has improved this graduate student area by 100 percent.”


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This story was published October 23, 2017.