Top 100 Aerospace Engineering Universities In The World (2023)

Looking over a city from the cockpit as you make your final landing approach is a dream- one that brings a feeling of satisfaction. The top aerospace engineering universities are the best places to make that dream a reality; they are the best places to receive training in aviation- key to the development of flying as a science.

These institutions also training in maintenance of planes and other aircraft, as well as aircraft designs and construction. Because pilots carry the lives of their passengers in their hands, the training they receive is rigorous and extensive. Some of these prestigious institutions have very stringent entry requirements; they want to ensure that they accept the best qualified students who have the capacity to match the academic work required for these important courses.

While some are full universities with a diverse range of study options, others are dedicated to aviation and related studies.

Top 100 Aerospace Engineering Universities In The World

1. California Institute Of Technology

The California Institute of Technology has the head-seat when it comes to aviation in the world today. For a long time this has been one of the world’s most important places for the development of science and technology. This is a private research university, and it is located in Pasadena, California, USA.

This institution is responsible for many of the technological breakthroughs that have brought advancement to human society. The institution manages NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory.

Members of faculty of this institution have won all kinds of awards and presidential medals; this is the most decorated institution in terms of research and development of aeronautics technology. The acceptance rate is quite low, but students often go on to bag PhDs and become authorities in aviation.

2. Massachusetts Institute Of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology was established in 1861. It was the training ground for Buzz (Lightyear) Aldrin. The institution is one of the most notable in the world in terms of its contributions to science and technology- it has produced 100 Nobel laureates, 26 Turing Award winners, and 8 Fields Medalists, as well as numerous other award winners have been affiliated with MIT as alumni, faculty members, or otherwise.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT has a long history of working with the United States Air Force; it is a place where students can study the science of flying in an environment that motivates them through its rich history of the development of aviation.

3. Georgia Institute Of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology was established in October 13, 1885. It is one of America’s renowned institutions of higher learning, and one of the best known aerospace engineering universities in the world. This institution has satellite campuses in France, China, and Singapore.

An important aspect of this institution’s antecedents is that a vast number of startups have been created through the research work which has been carried out in its laboratories. This is because the institution pays special attention to entrepreneurship; it gives students the knowledge and training to help them start successful ventures.

Therefore students who wish to study aeronautics for the purpose of starting some flying related venture should find this institution more than adequate.

4. University Of Michigan

The University of Michigan was established in 1817. It is a leading institution when it comes to science and technology; the school has received 26 Nobel Prizes, and six Turing Awards, as well as several other awards. The awards have been received by the institutions’ alumni, members of faculty, researchers and so on.

This is a notable place for the study of aerospace and aeronautical engineering. The university also ranks highly in the areas of Electrical, Electronics, and Communications; Engineering; Entrepreneurship, and Biomedical Studies.

5. Stanford University

Stanford University is a prestigious center for learning; this private research university was founded 1891. This is a renowned institution that has made several important discoveries and contributions, as humanity has marched forward. This institution has received several awards, including Nobel Prizes for research in the fields of Nuclear Physics, Physiology, Medicine, and the development of vaccines.

Stanford University is where the original design of the internet was done; and it is the birthplace of several top internet based companies.

Stanford University has an excellent aeronautics department; it is very highly rated as a place to study the engineering principles that make flight possible.

6. University Of Maryland – College Park

University Of Maryland is a top institution of learning; it was established in 1856. As a top research institute for the development of flight technology, this institution receives funding from NASA, as well as from several other government bodies. The University of Maryland recently spent over $1.1 billion (as reported by the National Science Foundation) on research in a single year.

This is a great place for the study of flight; design of aircraft, as well as maintenance and operation of all kinds of flying machines.

7. Purdue University

Purdue University is one of the world’s highest ranking institutions for the study of Aerospace Engineering. This institution was established in 1869, and has grown to be one of the finest in the world. The stature of this university is proven by the number of accolades it has garnered over the years:

This institution is affiliated with 13 Nobel laureates, 1 Turing Award laureate, and 3 Pulitzer Prize winners. The university has also produced several distinguished personalities in many different fields of endeavor.

This university also has a broad range of other courses including agriculture, education, engineering, health sciences, and so on. Purdue University has produced 18 Olympic medalists, 2 heads of state, 3 U.S. governors, 3 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and 3 National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipients.

8. Beihang University

Beihang University is the premier university for the study of flight techniques in China, and the whole of Asia. This is a national public research university located in Beijing, which was established in 1952. The main emphasis of this university is aeronautical and astronautical engineering; the institution is dedicated to meeting the manpower needs of China in the area of civil aviation, and the engineering aspect of it.

The institution has a high enrollment rate; which means that students will be given a chance to prove themselves, rather than be turned away, as some institutions prefer to do.

9. Delft University Of Technology

Delft University of Technology is the foremost university for aviation related engineering in The Netherlands, and Europe as a whole. This university was established in 1842, and it is a public research university. This university was established to provide technical knowledge so as to develop industry in the country, and it has done remarkably well in this regard.

This university has received a few Nobel Prizes in its time. The university has done tremendous work in the area of developing flying vehicles, as well as electric cars, humanoid robots, and so many other things.

10. University Of Illinois (Urbana – Champaign)

The University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign is rated as one of the best places to learn how to fly, or maintain a plane. It is a public research university located in Illinois, USA. This institution was established in 1867, and has grown to fame and importance in the area of science and technology.

This is the home of Yahoo, Caterpillar, and so many other tech giants. The university has produced at least 30 Nobel Laureates, and 27 Pulitzer Prize awardees, among other accolades. The same fervor with which other courses are taught is applied to the aeronautical engineering department.

The following is a list of the top 100 institutions in the field of Aerospace Engineering in the world.

Position	Institution	Country	Acceptance Rate	Average SAT
1	California Institute of Technology	United States	7%	1555
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	7%	1545
3	Georgia Institute of Technology	United States	21%	1450
4	University of Michigan	United States	26%	1430
5	Stanford University	United States	5%	1495
6	University of Maryland – College Park	United States	51%	1375
7	Purdue University	United States	67%	1295
8	Beihang University	China	Enrolment 37,500
9	Delft University of Technology	Netherlands	65%	Enrollment 24,703
10	University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign	United States	63%	1330
11	Pennsylvania State University	United States	55%	Enrollment 40,363
12	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	United States	66%	1270
13	University of Cambridge	United States	21%	Enrollment 22,500
14	Northwestern Polytechnical University	China	47%	Enrollment 29,000
15	Ohio State University	United States	68%	1320
16	Tohoku University	Japan	41%	Enrollment 17,831
17	University of Texas at Austin	United States	32%	1340
18	National University of Defense Technology	China	Enrollment 17,500
19	University of Colorado Boulder	United States	84%	1240
20	University of Florida	United States	31%	1375
21	Naval Postgraduate School	United States	Enrollment 2,866
22	University of Washington – Seattle	United States	56%	1327
23	University of California	United States	14%	Enrollment 44,589
24	Cranfield University	United Kingdom	68%	Enrollment 4,500
25	University of Tokyo	Japan	35%	Enrollment 28,171
26	Princeton University	United States	6%	1510
27	Harbin Institute of Technology	China	45%	Enrollment 45,000
28	Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics	China	25%	Enrollment 29,000
29	Cornell University	United States	11%	1470
30	Texas A&M University – College Station	United States	63%	1270
31	University of Southampton	United Kingdom	84%	Enrollment 21,335
32	United States Air Force Academy – Colorado Springs	United States	13%	1325
33	University of California – Berkeley	United States	17%	1420
34	University of Glasgow	United Kingdom		Enrollment 32,500
35	University of Minnesota – Twin Cities	United States	70%	1350
36	Imperial College London	United Kingdom	15%	Enrollment 17,565
37	University of New South Wales	Australia		Enrollment 45,000
38	Tsinghua University	China		Enrollment 48,739
39	University of Stuttgart	Germany	71%	Enrollment 26,457
40	Johns Hopkins University	United States	11%	1515
41	Iowa State University	United States	88%	1160
42	Technical University of Denmark	Denmark	45%	Enrollment 7,500
43	University of Queensland	Australia		Enrollment 48,771
44	Indian Institute of Science	India		Enrollment 2,500
45	Old Dominion University	United States	95%	1065
46	Air Force Institute of Technology – Graduate School of Engineering & Management	United States	45%	Enrollment 1,129
47	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	United States	46%	1320
48	San Jose State University	United States	67%	1125
49	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China		Enrollment 47,000
50	Brigham Young University	United States	69%	1305
51	University of Virginia	United States	23%	1415
52	University of Sheffield	United Kingdom	14%	Enrollment 32,500
53	University of Notre Dame	United States	19%	1475
54	Technical University of Madrid	Spain		Enrollment 37,500
55	Sapienza University of Rome	Italy		Enrollment 100,155
56	Arizona State University – Tempe	United States	88%	1210
57	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	United States	57%	1400
58	Kyushu University	Japan	42%	15,959
59	University of Sydney	Australia	30%	Enrollment 63,602
60	George Washington University	United States	43%	1360
61	University of California – Davis	United States	46%	1280
62	Technion – Israel Institute of Technology	Israel		Enrollment 12,500
63	Harvard University	United States	5%	1520
64	Braunschweig University of Technology	Germany	45%	Enrollment 20,037
65	Polytechnic University of Milan	Italy		Enrollment 43,965
66	KTH Royal Institute of Technology	Sweden	45%	Enrollment 12,500
67	University of Cincinnati	United States	76%	1225
68	University of Oxford	United Kingdom	18%	Enrollment 27,500
69	University of Alabama in Huntsville	United States	77%	1300
70	Beijing Institute of Technology	China		Enrollment 27,000
71	University of Arizona	United States	85%	1220
72	Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne	Switzerland		Enrollment 11,449
73	University of Pisa	Italy	25%	Enrollment 49,108
74	Utah State University	United States	91%	1200
75	University of Southern California	United States	16%	1435
76	University of Toronto	Canada	43%	Enrollment 95,055
77	Carnegie Mellon University	United States	17%	1510
78	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Daytona Beach	United States	61%	1225
79	RMIT University	Australia		Enrollment 45,000
80	University of Surrey	United Kingdom	65%	Enrollment 16,900
81	Technical University of Munich	Germany	8%	Enrollment 44,000
82	University of Texas – Arlington	United States	88%	1150
83	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore		Enrollment 33,000
84	Missouri University of Science and Technology	United States	81%	1314
85	Auburn University	United States	85%	1240
86	Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich	Switzerland	27%	Enrollment 23,420
87	Australian National University	Australia	35%	Enrollment 22,500
88	Polytechnic University of Turin	Italy		Enrollment 32,500
89	California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo	United States	38%	1315
90	Loughborough University	United Kingdom	68%	Enrollment 17,500
91	University of Wisconsin – Madison	United States	57%	1360
92	KAIST	South Korea		Enrollment 10,249
93	RWTH Aachen University	Germany	10%	Enrollment 44,517
94	McGill University	Canada	47%	Enrollment 40,036
95	University of Alabama	United States	80%	1200
96	University of Kansas	United States	91%	1195
97	Federico II University – Naples	Italy		Enrollment 78,324
98	University of California – Irvine	United States	30%	1330
99	University of Tennessee – Knoxville	United States	78%	1222
100	University of Nottingham	United Kingdom	11%	Enrollment 32,500

Closing

The best aerospace engineering universities in the world are spread all over the world. This is a good thing because it ensures that institutions maintain their competitive edge; it allows them to follow different approaches in their research, so as to drive humanity forward through the discovery of new ways of doing things.