A new 30 credit master’s program in Aerospace and Systems Engineering will be offered in spring 2026. Though the program is not yet available, interested students have started taking the required courses already offered.
The interdisciplinary program will feature classes from six different departments: mechanical engineering, industrial systems engineering, physics, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and environmental science.
Professor Terry Hart, a scholar of mechanical engineering and a former NASA astronaut, proposed the program and developed its curriculum.
He said eight of the program’s 40 courses available are brand new and will be taught by visiting lecturers, experts working in aerospace and space systems engineering who can provide different perspectives of the industry.
Hart said he believes this program is a necessary next step for Lehigh because of the recent economic expansion of the aerospace industry.
According to CNBC, defense and aerospace companies have been raising their outlooks of demand for the remainder of 2025.
“The whole aerospace industry has just been taking off, particularly on the space side,” Hart said. “Recently, there’s been just so much activity, both on the Department of Defense and also the commercial side.”
To accommodate working graduate students, the master’s program can be taken on campus or remotely.
Keegan Gagnon, ‘26, plans to start his master’s of aerospace and space systems engineering full-time in spring 2026 but will finish his studies remotely while working for Northrop Grumman, an aerospace company in Maryland.
This semester, Gagnon is taking the course Fundamentals of Aircraft Design, which will go toward his master’s degree.
Gagnon said he enjoys designing and engineering aircrafts, and as he continues to pursue his degree, he’s excited to take classes like space propulsion systems.
“There’s a lot of very interesting courses out there,” Gagnon said. “I’m excited to really get involved and learn a lot from all of them.”
Gagnon said he’s impressed with the program’s interdisciplinary approach, which he believes will prepare him to collaborate with other engineers at Northrop Grumman.
He also said the interdisciplinary design allows for master’s students to take approved electives in electrical, industrial systems, materials science and electrical engineering.
Hart said he believes that in aerospace, even more than in other industries, it’s important to learn as many topics as possible because it’s an interdisciplinary field.
“The whole sense of teamwork in aerospace is particularly important in not just designing a vehicle, but operating mission control centers,” he said. “(The control centers are) filled with engineers who know how to work with each other to solve the problems that they’re having.”
Students outside of the program are also excited about its potential impact on campus culture.
Hana Hussain, ‘26, the president of LU Aero, a student-run aerospace engineering group, said she appreciates the growth of aerospace at Lehigh and the potential of the master’s program, especially because the university has a solid foundation in the field with expert faculty.
“We obviously have (Hart) who is an incredible asset and a great person in general to learn so much about aviation from,” Hussain said.
Nathaniel Dudko, ‘26, originally planned to pursue the master’s program, so he has taken some of the graduate courses required for it.
He now intends to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, but he said he’s still enthusiastic about the opportunities the new program offers.
“When I was looking at jobs, (they’re) becoming increasingly scarce for undergraduates,” Dudko said. “There seems to be a greater emphasis on experience, and, so, doing a master’s or (a) four plus one gives you more.”
A major feature of the program is its use of guest lecturers who teach from their careers in the industry. Hart incorporates his own experience as a NASA astronaut and telecommunications officer into his coursework.
“We all learn from stories,” Hart said. “I try to bring those stories into the classroom, and it just makes it more interesting to teach and to learn.”
He said he specifically tries to weave in his experiences with mechanical and electrical engineering, flying and airplanes, spacecraft operations, and business marketing from throughout his career into his teaching.
Hart said his advice to students interested in the program would be to follow their passions.
“Our job on the faculty is to enable all to let them pursue their passions, and then by the time they graduate, they should be full-blown engineers with all the skills they need to pursue that passion in their careers,” he said.