What is Aerospace Engineering?: Fees 2025, Subjects, Top Colleges, Admissions

Both Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering are good branches, but if you want to make a choice between one see the difference between them.

Aerospace Engineering is a rather more general field of engineering that includes the design, production and use of aircrafts, space crafts and other systems. Aerospace engineers are involved in numerous positions and many different fields, whether it be in the designing of a new airplane or the creation of a new propulsion system for a spacecraft. They also deal in the installation of avionic and other systems in aircrafts and space crafts. Aerospace engineers should have a good background knowledge and understanding of mathematics, physics and engineering mechanics, aerodynamics propulsion and thermodynamics.

Aeronautical Engineering is slightly more specific than aerospace engineering since it majorly deals with the construction of airplanes. Aeronautical engineers are involved in designing the specials of an aircraft, its controls, structure and power plant. They also must understand the layout of airport and other aviation related structures. Aeronautical engineers normally have a baseline preparation in arithmetic, physics and engineering mechanisms.

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Engineering courses

The BTech Aerospace Engineering course deals with the scientific field that is concerned with designing and building machines that fly, letting people move from the ground to the stars, and getting to explore outer space. The course provides detailed knowledge to the students about topics like jet propulsion, radar, aerodynamics, materials science, weapon systems, vehicle dynamics and control, and other aircraft and spacecraft software systems.

The BTech Aerospace Engineering course duration is 4 years, where students can actually think out of the box, explore, and innovate something new to the machine designs of aircraft and spacecraft systems after having a working knowledge of their structures.

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Aerospace Engineering courses

The Aerospace Engineering subjects taught in the classroom differ on the basis of the course level and the college offering the program. There are core subjects, elective modules, lab classes, and project work. Some general core Aerospace Engineering subjects covered in classes are given here –

• Aero Engineering Thermodynamics
• Aircraft Materials and Production Techniques
• Aircraft Structures
• Rocket Propulsion
• Space Mechanics
• Aircraft Stability and Control
• Flight Testing
• Aeroelasticity

You can refer to these Aerospace Engineering books to understand the complex concepts of the field. Here are a few books for beginners-

• Dynamics of Flight: Stability and Control by Bernard Etkin and Lloyd E. Reid
• Introduction to Avionics Systems by RPG Collinson
• Introduction to Aircraft Flight Mechanics by John D. Anderson Jr.
• Mechanics & Thermodynamics of Propulsion by Philip Hill
• Fundamentals of Aerodynamics by John D. Anderson

Here are some top Aerospace Engineering colleges in India with their average package.

Disclaimer: The above statistics are based on the latest available data.

An Aerospace Engineering aspirant must meet the minimum eligibility criteria to be able to pursue the course. Check the minimum eligibility criteria for Aerospace Engineering to get admission to Aerospace Engineering colleges in India:

• Minimum eligibility criteria for pursuing Aerospace Engineering are passing higher secondary or Class 12 with a minimum of 50 to 60 per cent marks  (55 per cent marks for SC/ST) in Science stream (Physics,  Chemistry, and Mathematics)
• Aerospace Engineering courses are also offered at postgraduate level as MTech Aerospace Engineering. For this, the candidate is required to have 55 per cent marks  (50 per cent marks for SC/ST) in Bachelor's degree  (BE/B Tech or equivalent)
• For admission to post-graduate and Doctoral courses and research,  GATE score is required
• Candidates with three-four year degree in Engineering, technical diploma, five-year Architecture, Postgraduates in Mathematics/Science/Statistics/Computer Applications are also eligible to pursue Aerospace Engineering
• If one aspires to join National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States (US), they must be informed that NASA recommends a degree in a variety of disciplines, including Biomedical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, Chemistry, Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Metallurgy, Optical Engineering, and Oceanography. PhD is highly recommended for those who want to join NASA.

No, there is no such age limit set by most of the well-known BTech Aerospace Engineering colleges in India for pursuing this course. But, mostly, the students who take admission to this BTech Aerospace Engineering programme are 18 to 25 years old at the time of admission.

Students who complete Class 12 with PCM subjects and secure at least 60% marks in the board exams are eligible for applying to the course. Further, they need to clear entrance exams conducted for admission to BTech Aerospace Engineering every year.

To pursue B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering in India, several entrance exams can act as a doorway to some of the best colleges in the country.

Students can check the number of colleges that accept particular exam scores and then decide the exam they would like to appear for accordingly:

Note: Some colleges accept multiple entrance exam scores.

The table below shows the top BTech in Aerospace Engg. colleges in India that accept JEE Main score along with their total tuition fee.

Note: The IITs also require valid JEE Advanced scores that serve as the final call for admission.

The BTech Aerospace Engineering course has witnessed increasing demand among students in the past few years because of its exclusive coursework that caters to aircraft and spacecraft enthusiasts. Talking about the difficulty level of the entrance tests for admission, they are usually considered difficult, requiring a good amount of preparation from your side.

But the level of difficulty also depends on the particular exam you are taking, individual preparation, previous year result statistics, and feedback. So, you should give your best and prepare well to get a seat at a decent college.

Well, that is completely your choice. If you feel that you want to get into the research zone where you get exposed to advanced concepts about aircraft, aerodynamics, avionics and other advanced software technology, you must go for a postgraduate degree (MTech) in the field of Aerospace Engineering. But, if you are satisfied with the knowledge gained in your bachelor's degree (B Tech), you can enter into the job market that will welcome you with open arms and excellent salary packages and other benefits. The demand for engineers in the aircraft and aerospace industry is very high because of the rising air passenger traffic nowadays, which has made airline companies demand more airplanes.

So, there is absolutely no need to worry about good opportunities, as they will be available to you both after graduation as well as post-graduation. The decision depends solely on your interests and plans.

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Aeronautical Engineering Courses

The Aerospace Engineering syllabus for BTech is a mix of both core and elective subjects. The core subjects are compulsory for you to study in each semester because they are meant to give you the foundational base for a successful career in this field.

Talking about the elective subjects, you get a lot of elective choices from 2^nd year onwards where you can select the subjects according to your interests and convenience. Some of the popular elective choices are given below:

• Applied Aerodynamics
• Advanced Aerospace Structures
• Advanced Propulsion Systems
• Structural Dynamics and Aeroelasticity
• Space Mission Design and Optimization
• Computer Integrated Manufacturing

Dear candidate, the Aircraft Stability and Control subject is of extreme importance for every aeronautical engineering graduate because it teaches you about the various ways in which an airplane could respond after facing some unforeseen disturbances, and further gives you an idea regarding different ways to tackle the same.

This information is crucial for the aeronautical engineer to put to use while designing and manufacturing the aircraft in order to install the required safety equipment and control systems in place.

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Engineering Courses

The BTech Aerospace Engineering syllabus incorporates core subjects, electives, practical lab work, and research projects. Sadly, the core subjects leave little to no scope for customization, as they are intended to teach you important, foundational concepts of the field that will give you basic understanding and help you make a career in the future.

Coming to the elective subject choices, you can choose them based on your interests and understanding; the ones that align with your future plans and are easy to grasp and score. So, you have some room for customization in the BTech Aerospace engineering electives.

There are more than 70 BTech Aerospace Engineering colleges in India, out of which, 7 are government colleges and 66 private colleges. If you wish to take admission in a popular government college, you can go for the IITs and NITs like IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, NIT Delhi etc. as they provide a very good learning space and remarkable placement opportunities after the completion of BTech Aerospace Engineering course.

Considering the private colleges, some of the best ones include SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chandigarh University, LPU, Amity University, SASTRA University, among others. You can go through their course syllabus, faculty, course fees, and other facilities to decide which one to go for.

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Aerospace Engineering Colleges in India

You can find some important parameters to choose the right college for BTech Aerospace Engineering course given below.

• Go through the detailed course fee structure for the course to see if it aligns with your financial goals and is pocket friendly.
• Infrastructure and teaching excellence are also important factors to ensure a fruitful academic ride.
• Look for the past college placement records, and check for the recruiters and salary packages offered during placements to ensure a strong career breakthrough.
• Get in touch with the college alumni and take their feedback to be sure and make the right decision.

BTech Aerospace Engineering offers a lot of earning opportunities for you where you can earn handsome salary packages. Some of the top recruiters for Aerospace Engineering graduates in India are listed here:

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
• Mahindra Aerospace
• Airports Authority of India
• Boeing
• DRDO
• ISRO
• National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)
• Indigo Airlines
• Tata Advanced Systems

After you complete the BTech Aerospace Engineering course from a decent college, you surely have the chance to get placed at a good company in the aviation and defence sector. Most of the popular colleges offering Aero courses have dedicated placement cells where they organize annual placement fairs and placement drives in the final year. Skilled and talented freshers can easily get healthy salary packages.

Yes. Though the BTech Aerospace Engineering curriculum at top institutions is framed in a manner to give you the best possible learning experience, knowledge, and skill set, additional certifications serve as the cherry on top. Certificates are synonymous with better earning opportunities, professional commitment, and increased marketability because recruiters look at you as a competitive candidate.

Extra certificates also help you stay updated regarding all the industry technological advancements and learn specialised skills in aerodynamics, propulsion, and avionics. You can find specialised certification programs across various online learning platforms.

For joining ISRO, students have to qualify the exam which is conducted every year. The recruitment for aerospace engineer in ISRO is also through entrance test. Candidates need to score good marks in order to clear the prestigious and competitive exam and work with the ISRO. The recruitment exam for ISRO is highly competitive and they attract the best minds from the country for their aerospace engineering team. Candidates must also have relevant years of experience and demonstrate skills which are required for the job profile.

You have both options available depending on the particular college you wish to apply to. Most of the top BTech Aerospace Engineering colleges release the application forms in the online mode on their university/college portal, which allows you to fill out the forms from the comfort of your homes.

Having said that some colleges may still follow the old approach of offline form filling at the college admission window. So, you should go to the official college websites to check their application methods and then apply accordingly. The basic steps are submitting copies of the relevant docs and paying the application fee.

The B Tech in Aerospace Engineering admission process can easily take up 3 to 5 months from the entrance exams to the final seat allotment process. This is because of the varied admission guidelines followed by the universities that have a lot of formalities involved, including entrance exams, college applications, exam result announcements, merit cutoff releases, counseling, seat allotment, fee payment, document verification, and final confirmation from your end.

Yes, of course. Almost all of the BTech Aerospace Engineering colleges in India provide some sort of marks relaxation to students belonging to the reserved categories like SC/ST/OBC/PwD, given you have a valid category certificate that is required at the time of the college application and final document verification. Usually, the marks criteria are relaxed by 5%. For the rest, you can check the college websites for accurate information.

Internships and practical experience are very important to enjoy a successful career after BTech Aerospace Engineering because they help you apply classroom learning to real world scenarios and give you an idea of the aerospace industry.

Internships on your resume give you access to better earning opportunities and salary potential as recruiters look at you as an asset with a good skill set. Also, practical experience reduces the gap between the academic space and professional space making the transition easy for you in the future.

Almost all of the colleges offering BTech Aerospace Engineering follow a balanced approach where the theory-based subjects are assessed through semester exams that are conducted after every 6 months, along with individual and group research projects and class assignments. The division may vary with more weightage being given to the semester exams, around 60 to 70%, and the remainder to the practical component.

Of course, yes. Aerospace engineers are primarily responsible for designing, building and testing spacecraft and satellites and making sure they can operate successfully in space conditions. The job responsibilities include structural design, avionics and systems, mission analysis and propulsion system handling. Aerospace engineers are hired by government space agencies like NASA, ISRO and private companies like SpaceX to design and develop their respective launch vehicles for various missions.