Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

School of Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Graduate Program (S.M., Ph.D., Sc.D.)
Field: Aircraft Systems Engineering
Date: September 4, 2007
1. Introduction and Purpose
The graduate program in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at M.I.T.
provides educational opportunities in a wide variety of aerospace-related topics through
academic subjects and research. The purpose of this document is to provide incoming
masters and doctoral level students guidance in planning the subjects they will take
during their graduate program. The suggestions outlined here are to be understood as
guidance and not as a mandatory, rigid framework. The final decision as to which
subjects are taken and in what sequence is to be decided between each student and their
academic advisor and/or doctoral committee. In addition to these recommendations, the
official S.M. and doctoral degree completion requirements must be taken into account
during the design of a graduate program1.
2. Motivation for studying Aircraft Systems Engineering
Aircraft, both manned and unmanned, have become an indispensable part of the fabric of
our lives. Aircraft fulfill a number of roles from transporting passengers and/or cargo, to
surveillance, fire fighting and a number of military and other roles. The main challenges
in present and future aircraft design are, among others:

Dramatic reduction of fuel consumption, noise emissions and emissions of

NOx, particles and other chemical species from the exhaust stream
Unmanned area vehicle design and operations, with focus on coordination
of large numbers of UAVs, operation in open as well as in crowded or
hostile environments
Design of low cost, safe and increasingly capable aircraft such as small
business and leisure jets, roadable aircraft etc.
Designing military aircraft (transport, tankers, fighters,) for increasingly
uncertain future operations

Refer to the S.M., Ph.D. and Sc.D. degree requirements in Aeronautics and Astronautics section of the
MIT Bulletin, or to http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/academics/grad/index.html

Figure 1: (left): Blended-Wing-Body (BWB) design, (right): Multiple unmanned

areal vehicles (UAV) for coordinated flight.
3. What is Aircraft Systems Engineering?
Aircraft are extremely complex products comprised of many subsystems, components
and parts. They are but one system operating within global air transportation or defense
system of systems. The conception, design, production, operation and maintenance of
aircraft are influenced by many factors including technical, economic, political,
organizational, financial, and regulatory.
The engineering of aircraft as a system requires methods, tools, and processes
which can successfully address these many complexities. Systems Engineering and
Systems Architecting are the fundamental disciplines embodying these methods, tools,
and processes. Systems Architecture addresses the overall strategy for developing system
level requirements which meet users needs, meet investors expectations, incorporate
knowledge from past experience, and satisfies regulatory and other constraints. Systems
Engineering on the other hand is the process used to develop integrated physical or
software components such that the resulting system or product meets the system level
requirements.
The word system is contextual in nature. For example, an avionics product can be
considered as a system, or as a subsystem of the aircraft system, or as comprised of a
number of other subsystems. To apply Systems Engineering and Architecting
techniques, one must decide what constitutes the system. To provide a framework,
consider the following levels
Level 1 The air transportation system (aircraft, airports, air traffic management ...) or
the air defense system (aircraft, satellites, missiles, ground stations....)2
Level 2 The aircraft and/or related systems (trainers, manufacturing systems,
maintenance systems...)

For more information consult the document dedicated to Air Transportation Systems.

Level 3 Major aircraft subsystems or subassemblies (flight control, propulsion

hydraulic, power, flap, landing gear....)
Level 4 Components (radar, pumps, nacelles, control surfaces.....)
Level 5 Parts (fittings, fasteners, blades.....)
Figure 2 shows the complexity of a typical military aircraft, depicting primarily levels
2, 3 and 4 of the F/A-18C, which is currently in operation with the U.S. Navy, USMC
and international customers.

Figure 2: Cross-sectional view of the F/A-18C aircraft.

The focus of Aircraft Systems Engineering is primarily on Level 2 - the entire
aircraft. Level 1 is addressed in our departments Air Transportation Systems program,
while Level 3 is the focus of many of our other programs. Although presented as a clean
hierarchy herein for the sake of brevity and clarity, it is often the interactions of the
various (sub)-systems and/or levels that introduces complexity and a set of key issues that
the systems engineer must examine. The systems engineer must, at least, be aware of the
levels immediately above and below the levels in which they work and consider the
interactions caused by their work within their specific level of consideration.
From a historical perspective, the field of systems engineering developed well after
aircraft were invented. This has led to an evolutionary lexicon in the aircraft industry. In
some aircraft companies, the words systems engineering is applied to Level 3
subsystems such as flight control, hydraulic, etc. However, the entire aircraft should be
viewed as a system, and systems architecting and engineering methods applied to its
definition, design, production, operation and maintenance. This tends to be the case more
for military than commercial aircraft. It is emphasized that within the MIT program,
systems engineering is applied to Level 2 for the entire product life-cycle from
conceptual design to operation and maintenance, as well as with interactions with Levels
1 and 3.
4. Educational Goals in Aircraft Systems Engineering
With this in mind, we state the educational goal of the program as follows:

The overall educational goal of the MIT Program in Aircraft Systems Engineering is
to provide students with a foundational understanding of the systems
engineering/architecture process and methodologies required to transform fundamental
technical, economic and societal requirements into an integrated product solution.
Successful graduates of the program will have achieved the following specific
objectives.

They will have gained a fundamental understanding of systems engineering and

architecture.

They will have developed a working knowledge base of internal and external factors
related to integrating an aircraft as a system.

They will have acquired relevant experience applying systems engineering concepts,
processes and methodologies in an aircraft context.

They will have generated research contributions to the current aircraft systems
engineering body of knowledge.

To achieve this goal, each student should develop an educational plan with their
academic advisor and/or doctoral committee following the guidelines outlined below.
5. Educational Plan in Aircraft Systems Engineering
The following plan is focused on the S.M. program, but also serves as a starting point
for the doctoral program.
Upon matriculation in the program, each student should develop an educational plan
which meets their individual learning objectives, expectations of their advisor, financial
aid requirements, schedule and, of course, the department requirements. The plan should
integrate subjects, practical experience, thesis research, and seminars to gain the
maximum educational benefit in the time available. The guidelines given below should
be used to develop the students educational plan.
Learning Objectives: A starting point is for the student to develop learning objectives
for their graduate studies. The objectives should address what the student expects to
learn from subjects, research, exposure to engineering practice, as well as what the
student expects to do upon completion of their graduate degree. Consideration should be
given to measures which will determine if the learning objectives have been
accomplished. It is expected that the learning objectives might evolve as the student
becomes aware of new opportunities.

Exposure to Engineering Practice: Systems engineering and architecting is best

studied in the context of real applications. For this reason, the faculty expects that
students will gain an exposure to the practice of systems engineering before completing a
graduate degree, and that this will be integral with research and course work.
Given the varied background of each student and their studies, this exposure can
take one of several forms. Students coming from industry or government employment
may have already received such exposure. Another possibility strongly recommended by
the faculty is a summer internship in industry or government labs during which
substantial progress can be made on thesis research. While there is no guarantee that
internships will be available, the faculty will work with students to develop such
possibilities. It can easily take six months to identify and develop a suitable topic,
internship sponsor, and internship objectives. Another possibility is substantial site visits
for case study based research.
Whatever form of exposure to engineering practice is suitable, students should
discuss this with their advisors as part of the initial planning for their educational plan.
Research: The S.M. degree requires submission of a thesis which presents
original findings for some topic. The doctoral degree requires defense of a thesis with an
original and substantial contribution to the field. Ideally, the thesis project should
incorporate knowledge from course work, exposure to practice, independent research,
and interaction with an advisor(s) to provide an integrated educational experience. The
faculty expects that S.M. and doctoral research in aircraft systems engineering will
contribute to the body of knowledge of the field.
The thesis project should be initiated during the first semester by identifying a
thesis advisor and topic, as well as familiarization with background literature or previous
studies. For students supported by research assistantships, this often happens naturally.
Fellowship or self-funded students should also begin the thesis process their first
semester. Students who are uncertain how to proceed should meet with the Sector head
soon after registration day.
Whether students start in September or February, they should be well prepared for
full time research during their first summer. Research in Aircraft Systems Engineering
frequently involves working with real aircraft systems or data from such systems. Such
research may be time consuming and involve travel to industry or government sites
during IAP and summer. Adequate plans should be made in the educational plan for such
activities.
Most students give at least one professional level presentation of their thesis
research at MIT seminars or external conferences. A significant number of thesis
projects are reported in a professional conference paper or journal article. These activities
contribute to the overall educational experience of the student.

Seminars: An additional opportunity for achieving the educational goals of the

program is to attend one or more weekly seminars run by various labs and programs.
Students are expected to participate in such opportunities.
6. Courses related to Aircraft Systems Engineering
For students focusing on Aircraft Systems Engineering, the faculty recommend that
the required 66 units of graduate subjects be allocated as follows:
Two header (core) subjects in Aircraft Systems Engineering and Architecting
16.885J
16.886J

Aircraft Systems Engineering

Air Transportation System Architecting

Alternates if needed for schedule or other reasons:

16.880/ESD.33J
16.882/ESD.34J

System Engineering
System Architecture

Follow-on (elective) subjects aligned with students learning objectives and research
interests. Some examples of possible combinations for representative learning objectives:
A focus on system design: two subjects from
16.888J
Multidisciplinary Systems Design Optimization
16.863J
System Safety
15.783J
Product Design and Development
16.862
Engineering Risk-Benefit Analysis
16.882
System Architecture
A focus on lean enterprise value processes
16.852J
Integrating the Lean Enterprise
16.451J
Seminar in Social Science Research Methods
One from
15.874
Systems Dynamics for Business Policy
16.861
Engineering System Analysis for Design
A focus on airframe technologies, two subjects from
16.110
Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics
16.221
Advanced Structural Dynamics
16.31
Feedback Control System
16.511
Aircraft Engines and Gas Turbines
A focus on aircraft information systems, two subjects from
16.31
Feedback Control System
16.355
Concepts in Engineering of Software

16.410
16.453J

Principles of Autonomy and Decision-Making

Human Factors Engineering

Two mathematics subjects, one in Probability and Statistics and one in Optimization
Probability and Statistics - one from
1.151
6.262
6.431
18.443

Probability and Statistics in Engineering

Discrete Stochastic Processes
Applied Probability
Statistics for Applications

Optimization - one from

16.888J
6.251J
6.252J
15.093J

Multidisciplinary System Design Optimization

Introduction to Mathematical Programming
Nonlinear Programming
Optimization Methods

Sample schedules: With the above in mind, a few representative schedules for a
typical SM program for a student matriculating in September or February are shown
below. These schedules indicate the minimum number of subjects. Others can be added.
Doctoral students can use this sample schedules as a starting point for their own plan.
Each student should map out their own plan and refer to it and/or update it each semester.
A typical baseline schedule
Fall
Core Subj
Math Subj
Seminar
Initiate
Thesis

IAP

Research

Spring
Core Subj
Elec Subj
Seminar
Research

Summer
Internship

Research

Fall
Elec Subj
Math Subj
Seminar
Research

IAP

Spring

Research

Seminar
Write
Thesis

An alternate schedule with the core subjects in second year

Fall
Math Subj
Elec Subj
Seminar
Initiate
Thesis

IAP

Research

Spring
Elec Subj
Math Subj
Seminar
Research

Summer
Internship

Fall
Core Subj

Research

Seminar
Research

IAP

Research

Spring
Core Subj
Seminar
Write
Thesis

A possible schedule for a student involved in the Lean Aerospace Initiative3

Fall
16.852J
16.451J
Math Subj
Seminar
Initiate
Thesis

IAP

Research

Spring
Elec Subj
Math Subj
Seminar
Research

Summer

Research

Fall
Core Subj

Seminar
Research

IAP

Research

Spring
Core Subj

Seminar
Write
Thesis

A schedule for a student entering in February

Spring
Elec Subj
Math Subj
Seminar
Initiate
Thesis

Summer
Internship

Research

Fall
Core Subj
Elec Subj
Seminar
Research

IAP

Research

Spring
Core Subj
Elec Subj
Seminar
Research

Summer

Fall

Research

Seminar
Write
Thesis

7. Faculty and Staff with Interests in Aircraft Systems Engineering

Prof. Mark Drela

drela@mit.edu
Interests: Aerodynamics, aircraft design
Prof. John Hansman
rjhans@mit.edu
Interests: Aircraft safety, pilot-aircraft interfaces, aircraft systems
Prof. Wesley Harris
weslhar@mit.edu
Interests: Aircraft sustainment, aerodynamics
Prof. Paul Lagace
pal@mit.edu
Interests: Aircraft structures, manufacturing
Prof. Nancy Leveson
leveson@mit.edu
Interests: Safety, software, and systems engineering
Prof. Robert Liebeck
The Boeing Co. 562-593-6138
Interests: Aircraft design

robert.h.liebeck@boeing.com

Prof. Deborah Nightingale dnight@mit.edu

3

Research Assistants in Aero-Astro are limited to 27 units per semester. However, it is permissible to take
30 units one semester if the adjoining semester has 24 units. This is represented in the first year of this
plan.

Interests: Lean enterprise design and transformation, including the integration of

processes, information, technology and organizations
Prof. Ian Waitz
Room 33-408 617-253-0218 iaw@mit.edu
Interests: Environmental impact of aviation, thermodynamics, aircraft propulsion
Prof. Karen Willcox
Room 37-447 617-253-3503 kwillcox@mit.edu
Interests: Cost modeling, multidisciplinary system design & optimization, aerodynamics

Please consult the MIT Aero & Astro web-page for detailed faculty and staff interests:
http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/faculty/faculty.html