Master of Science - Engineering Physics

Program Description

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU) Master of Science in Engineering Physics program will provide students the opportunity to collaborate with the foremost experts in the field, many of whom have been awarded research grant funding for important research projects. Whether students have recently earned their undergraduate degrees, or have professional experience, the program is well suited in either situation. Students will graduate from the program with expertise in Applied Physics, as it pertains to Space Science and Engineering Physics.

The Engineering Physics faculty are committed to excellence in both teaching and research.  For example, three faculty are ERAU Outstanding Teacher Awardees.  Four others are ERAU Outstanding Researcher Awardees.  Five current faculty are National Science Foundation CAREER awardees, which the NSF describes as "the Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations."

The program specifically emphasizes scientific instrumentation, applied optics, remote sensing, spacecraft subsystems (power, altitude, and thermal control), and a wide variety of topics in space science and engineering. First-year core courses emphasize the heavily technical nature of the space sciences, such as Numerical Methods for Engineers and Scientists, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control, and Advanced Space Physics.

The Engineering Physics program is also heavily research oriented, with a majority of the faculty in the Department of Physical Sciences actively involved in scholarly activities in the space sciences and engineering. The research areas include experimental programs with satellite systems, sounding rockets, ground-based remote-sensing experiments, and a parallel program of theoretical studies in the areas of space systems engineering, upper atmospheric physics, space physics, and plasma and magnetospheric physics.

This program’s objectives are:

• Fundamental understanding of scientific and engineering approaches to conceiving and designing complex spacecraft systems.
• Development of the diverse set of research skills required to evolve the state of the art in the areas of space science and engineering.