AE Tips

1) Follow the Check Sheet – it’s carefully organized to assure prerequisites/corequisites are not missed and that you progress towards graduation quickly (129 credit hours are needed to graduate)

2) Follow the Check Sheet – missed prerequisites or corequisites for a Fall or Spring only class will result in, at least, a year’s delay in graduation (exceptions for missed prerequisites are not granted)

3) The handy diagram, or flow chart, on the check sheet shows how and when classes (e.g., prerequisites/corequisites) connect

4) Take your Technical Electives during your senior year, only after carefully considering career goals and consulting with your faculty advisor

5) Taking summer classes (especially GE’s) is a great way to lighten the Fall/Spring course loads

1) Note that a C-minus grade does not meet AE department “C or better” requirements

2) Grades of C or better are required in many AE courses (carefully check the WSU undergraduate catalog and the many check sheet notes)

3) All ME classes require C or better prerequisite grades

Be very careful to follow the General Education Program guidelines - all GE courses must be chosen from the approved list in the WSU Undergraduate Catalog

1) Students must complete three out of the following:

     (a) Undergraduate Research;

     (b) Cooperative Education/Internship;

     (c) Global Learning/Study Abroad;

     (d) Service Learning;

     (e) Leadership;

     (f) MultiDisciplinary

     (g) Entrepreneurship (visit the College of Engineering website for more Engineering + details)

2) Don’t wait until your senior year to complete the requirements (start and finish as soon as you can)

3) Make sure you complete and submit the required Engineering + forms (it’s not done automatically)

Choose one course from the following (some are > 3 hrs.):

Biology – 1_ _, 2_ _, 309, 310, 370, 5_ _ or above

Chemistry – 212, 5_ _ or above

Geology – 102, 111, 235, 3_ _ or above

Honors – 153B, 153T

Health Sciences – 290

Physics – 195, 196, 3_ _ or above

Math or Stat – upper division, with Math 242 or higher prerequisite

Technical electives allow you to either broaden or to enhance your technical knowledge. These courses must be taken from aerospace engineering - preferably during the senior year and only after carefully considering career goals and consulting with AE faculty.

Graduating students who have a strong commitment to integrity is a critical part of what we do at WSU. As a result, academic integrity is a serious issue.

AE students found responsible for or admitting to academic integrity violations are dismissed from the AE program when they have:

• A total of three Academic Integrity Committee (AIC) findings or admissions of responsibility, or
• One particularly egregious violation

Dismissed students are not eligible for AE department 400- or higher-level course enrollment, degrees, certificates, tracks, badges, competitions, clubs, organizations, employment, support, scholarships/fellowships/assistantships, awards, or lab access.

A full listing of the Student Academic Integrity administrative procedures can be found in the Academic Integrity Handbook. https://www.wichita.edu/about/student_conduct/ai.php

The Aerospace Engineering Honors program (https://www.wichita.edu/academics/engineering/aerospace/success/honors-program.php) calls upon our students to achieve greatness during their academic studies.  It is a program designed for the student to be more rather than to do more.  It is an extension of the Engineering+ program and allows for further differentiation.  Because it is a holistic approach that combines several areas to demonstrate excellence, it allows the individual student to tailor their program.  This is not a substitute for being a part of Honors College but rather a broader definition of excellence within our student body.

During the Fall and Spring semesters should you have a job, you will need to limit work hours to 20 hours a week with a maximum of 15 credit hours taken during the semester. In the summer term, if you are working 40 hours, 3 credit hours of a General Education class is what we recommend.

For every 3-credit hour increase in credits, you will need to drop work hours by 10 hours a week. This expectation will help you succeed academically, while also building your resume with work experience.

The material outlined below will help you complete your degree and move on to future success. I know many of the tips are incredibly obvious. Remember, however, you need to do the obvious (that’s why it’s obvious).

The best students:

• Follow the program plan of study without deviations

• See their advisor and register as soon as the process opens

• Carefully take electives that enhance their skills & match their career goals

• Attend every class (arriving early)

• Use their textbook and other references

• Take handwritten notes during class (even if there are online notes or handouts)

• Recognize that following lectures or examples doesn’t mean you truly understand the concepts (practice and experience is needed – do the homework!)

• Strive to really learn material and to apply it at higher levels

• Work on average 9-hours a week on each engineering class they take

• Study & do homework alone (not in groups)

• Meet with the instructor when they have questions or problems

• Submit assignments and take every exam on time

• Understand there are no short cuts (put simply – they work hard and get results)

• Take great pains to guard their work from inspection or copying by others

• Recognize it’s their responsibility to fully demonstrate their knowledge

• Try to do better than the minimum acceptable levels

• Understand they will not be doing homework and exams in a future job

• Are personably responsible for all that they do or don’t do

• Understand how to effectively use the library

• Think big and aim high

• Understand how to balance fun with everything else

• Are aware that there are many people to compete against

• Take a course only once

• Learn how to learn

• Pay attention to details

• Are creative and think about entrepreneurial opportunities

• Get involved in outside of class activities (e.g., AIAA, SWE, SAE, Rocket Club, NSLP, research, co-op, etc.)

 

The faculty, staff, and administration will do all they can to help you graduate successfully. The AE program is designed, optimized, and delivered with all the right elements to make you a capable and effective young aerospace engineer. Don’t forget that the entire process assumes active, serious, and thoughtful student involvement. Clearly, you also need to do your part.

Please take full advantage of your time here to learn all you can and to practice being better that the “other guy.” Learn, apply, and excel. Be a Shocker!

Feel free to share other suggestions and to talk with your advisor if you have any questions or problems.