Search for programs and certificates

Engineering professional programs offer application-focused, graduate-level education taught by renowned faculty, with curricula guided by industry leaders.

Students benefit from the expertise of UW Engineering faculty, who are leaders in their fields, and from the diverse backgrounds of classmates. The degrees and certificates in engineering are developed in partnership with regional industry leaders to give you access to important contacts and expertise.

To learn more about research-driven master's degrees and Ph.D. programs, please explore options on our graduate admission page.

Engineering graduate programs and certificates

Aerospace Composite Structures

Hexagonal grid over a carbon fiber background.

This four-course certificate program will give you proficiency in designing modern aircraft and aerospace composite structures. You'll study the mechanics of composites, learning key concepts like anisotropy and orthotropy that differ from metals' isotropic behavior. The program introduces micromechanics to estimate lamina elastic properties and strength. It then presents lamination theory in-depth for structural design applications. You'll learn laminate-level and micromechanical failure criteria and apply them to structural integrity problems. Finally, you'll explore damage and fracture mechanics for composites, comparing them to metal counterpart theories.

Contact: aeropro@uw.edu

Aerospace Control Systems

Cockpit dashboard featuring navigation screens and various control buttons and dials.

This four-course certificate program will give you a specialized understanding of aerospace systems and control for aircraft, spacecraft, and related systems. Through an intensive curriculum, you'll acquire knowledge and practical skills to design, analyze, and optimize control systems. You'll comprehensively explore flight dynamics and navigation. The program strongly emphasizes safety and reliability in aerospace systems and control, ensuring you graduate well-prepared to address these critical considerations professionally. Additionally, you'll participate in a culminating experience that integrates the analytical tools you've learned for the complete engineering system design cycle.

Contact: aeropro@uw.edu

Master of Aerospace Engineering (MAE)

The Master of Aerospace Engineering (MAE) is a multidisciplinary professional graduate degree for recent graduates as well as working professionals. The MAE emphasizes the applied skills and experience needed in industry. The MAE is a terminal, coursework-only degree (does not lead to a Ph.D.). This degree is meant to be completed part-time in three years.

This program is offered online only; courses meet synchronously online in the evening.

Contact: aeropro@uw.edu 206-543-8919

Modern Aerospace Structures

A commercial airplane from below against a partly cloudy sky.

This four-course certificate program will give you a solid foundation for designing and analyzing modern aerospace structures. You'll cover general concepts, theory, and applications of solid mechanics, including elastic, plastic, and viscoelastic constitutive equations applied to practical examples. You'll learn finite element (FE) theory for structural analysis, diving into element technology, interpolating functions, constructing element stiffness matrices, and assembly. You'll apply this theory using commercial FE software. The program covers analyzing fatigue behavior of metallic aerostructures, acquainting you with structural integrity and durability concepts. Finally, subject matter experts from academia and industry will present and discuss design examples of practical aircraft components and structures.

Contact: aeropro@uw.edu

Stacked Master’s Degrees in Engineering

Designed for working engineers looking to enhance their skills or advance their careers, stacked degrees offer a flexible, strategic pathway with industry application in mind. All stackable certificates are available part-time, with online and hybrid options. With 12 stackable graduate certificates across seven engineering disciplines, you can choose to study emerging topics, highly specialized areas, or both. Then synthesize your coursework with an applied capstone project that demonstrates your skills.

Contact: engr-professional@uw.edu

Types of professional programs

Affiliated Certificates are affiliated with a department's existing professional master’s degrees. These certificates can be taken as standalone credentials, or students can apply their graduate credits toward an existing master’s degree in the department. To earn credit, a student must enroll as a Graduate Non-Matriculated Student and work with an adviser in the department to ensure credits apply.

Stackable Graduate Certificates are designed to build toward specific stacked master’s degrees. Credits earned through these may apply to other master’s programs, but students must work with an adviser to discuss applying credits toward a non-stacked master’s degree. These certificates can also be standalone credentials.

Professional Master’s Degrees exist in all departments within the College of Engineering and are designed to support the needs of working professionals. Each program has an established curriculum and may include elective courses. These master’s degrees generally do not require original research or a thesis to graduate.

Stacked Master’s Degrees are a new offering. These degrees are earned by completing two qualifying stackable certificates and an applied capstone project. They are designed so that students can earn meaningful credentials in focused areas of engineering as they progress toward their master’s degree. They also provide students marked stopping points if they need time off before continuing toward their master’s degree.