Aerospace or EE?

[ReignOver]

I'm an upcoming senior at a large State University majoring in EE. I am very interested in control systems and their applications to flight dynamics. I have had a great internship experience in the aerospace industry that has caused this sudden interest and I would very much like to pursue a MS/Phd in this field. I understand a lot of graduate control classes are taught within Mechanical, Electrical and Aerospace departments depending on the University. My question is should I apply to an aerospace engineering or electrical engineering graduate program based on my interest? Would my application look significantly weaker compared to undergraduates with a background in aerospace? Do you think my profile is strong enough for these schools? I have attached my profile and the list of programs that I would be interested. Any advice or response is appreciated. Thank you

Undergrad Institution: Big State School (top 25 Engineering program)

Major(s): Electrical Engineering

GPA in Major: 3.44

Overall GPA: 3.60

Length of Degree: 4 and half years

Position in Class: Probably top 20%

Type of Student: US citizen

GRE Scores:

Q: 800

V: 660

W: 5.0

Research Experience: One semester under a Professor working on analyzing hybrid control systems

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Two internships at large telecommunications company, 7 month co-op at manufacturing controls and automation company, 1 internship at large aerospace company

LOR: Most likely from two EE professors and one employer

Applying for [ MS ] or [ PhD ] at

Stanford- EE/A&A

Georgia Tech- EE/AE

UMich- EE/AE

UMD- EE/AE

PSU- EE/AE

UCLA- EE/MAE

USC- EE/MAE

UC-Berkeley- EE

UW- EE/A&A

[jendoly]

"EE/controls/embedded avionics folks are worth their weight in gold", in the words of my advisor. I think your change in field would _not_ be a problem. (current Astro grad student, from MechE undergrad)

[AbaNader]

There is a big difference between 90% of controls area research and actual industrial practice. Most of the industrially relevant theoretic work in the field was largely completed by the time backstepping came onto the field (early 90's). With flight control, industry is 30-40 years behind the current theoretical state-of-the-art (for a simple reason: if it works, don't break it).

Most control theoretic research is so removed from industrial application that a PhD in control theory will not get you anywhere except academia. Even there, with tightening budgets, there is a reevaluation going on in terms of true value research. The mathematics is beautiful but when it stops bringing in money, you start having trouble.

Your best bet is either to stick to the EE departments and focus more on embedded systems, avionics, and the actually nitty gritty. Otherwise, if you really enjoy the theoretical work, try to make sure you have another card up your sleeve (like fluids, elasticity, EM, etc.) since most "cutting-edge" and applied control work in the future will be highly interdiscplinary/multidisciplinary. Instead of bringing the control guys in the end and giving them a ready mathematical model, more and more work at the cutting-edge is being done with the control experts in from the beginning. These types of control experts are difficult to find because they need to be brilliant in multiple areas and have supple neurons due to the constant learning.

Much more can be said on the topic.

[AbaNader]

This talk by Gary Balas is a good indicator of the state-of-the-art in flight control from the perspective of industry.