Best Aerospace Engineer programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment
Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture.
18 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,187 people a year. The job pays a median of $128,960 in Michigan across about — jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Michigan that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Michigan page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 14.1901In Michigan → | 1,898 | 59.6% | 17 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
| 2 | CIP 14.1001In Michigan → | 950 | 29.8% | 15 | $77,636 | $25,000 |
| 3 | CIP 14.0201In Michigan → | 339 | 10.6% | 2 | $72,210 | $25,000 |
Top 18 schools in Michigan
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 18 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 860 | Mechanical Engineering | $82,823 | 93% | — | 16% |
| 2 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 435 | Mechanical Engineering | $80,259 | 81% | — | 85% |
| 3 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 402 | Mechanical Engineering | $74,922 | 68% | — | 92% |
| 4 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 293 | Electrical and Electronics Engineering | $80,623 | 58% | — | 88% |
| 5 | University of Michigan - Dearborn Dearborn, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 293 | Electrical and Electronics Engineering | $78,942 | 58% | — | 56% |
| 6 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 173 | Electrical and Electronics Engineering | $78,738 | 58% | — | 81% |
| 7 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 170 | Mechanical Engineering | $68,260 | 58% | — | 85% |
| 8 | Kettering University Flint, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 169 | Mechanical Engineering | $79,307 | 71% | $30,880 | 79% |
| 9 | Lawrence Technological University Southfield, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 96 | Mechanical Engineering | $77,321 | 61% | $32,679 | 56% |
| 10 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 91 | Mechanical Engineering | $75,777 | 67% | — | 83% |
| 11 | Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Mechanical Engineering | $76,823 | 48% | — | 72% |
| 12 | Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 39 | Mechanical Engineering | $69,862 | 59% | — | 90% |
| 13 | University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 34 | Mechanical Engineering | $78,552 | 67% | $16,109 | 75% |
| 14 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 46% | — | 80% |
| 15 | University of Michigan - Flint Flint, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Mechanical Engineering | $74,974 | 40% | — | 70% |
| 16 | Lake Superior State University Sault Ste Marie, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Mechanical Engineering | $77,229 | 51% | — | — |
| 17 | Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Electrical and Electronics Engineering | — | 64% | $19,806 | 52% |
| 18 | Muskegon Community College Muskegon, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 28% | — | — |
All 18 schools in Michigan
Every school in Michigan with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Public | 860 | 3 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Public | 435 | 2 |
| Michigan Technological University | Houghton | Public | 402 | 2 |
| Oakland University | Rochester Hills | Public | 293 | 2 |
| University of Michigan - Dearborn | Dearborn | Public | 293 | 2 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | Public | 173 | 2 |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Public | 170 | 3 |
| Kettering University | Flint | Private not-for-profit | 169 | 2 |
| Lawrence Technological University | Southfield | Private not-for-profit | 96 | 2 |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Public | 91 | 2 |
| Saginaw Valley State University | University Center | Public | 59 | 2 |
| Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant | Public | 39 | 2 |
| University of Detroit Mercy | Detroit | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 2 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti | Public | 27 | 1 |
| University of Michigan - Flint | Flint | Public | 27 | 1 |
What aerospace engineers earn in Michigan
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $134,960. Michigan pays below the national figure.
Metro areas in Michigan
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Aerospace Engineers page.
How to become a Aerospace Engineer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Michigan
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Aerospace Engineers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 14.0201Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General
- 14.0202Astronautical Engineering
- 14.0299Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, Other
- 14.1001Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- 14.1901Mechanical Engineering
Common questions
Answers for people weighing aerospace engineers programs in Michigan.
What degree do you need to become an Aerospace Engineer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Mechanical Engineering, which awarded 1,898 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 59.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Aerospace Engineer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, Aerospace. Together they graduate about 3,187 people a year in Michigan.
How much do aerospace engineers earn in Michigan?+
The median is $128,960 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.4% below the U.S. median of $134,960. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for aerospace engineers growing?+
BLS projects a +6.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Michigan?+
18 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do aerospace engineers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Design Engineer, Systems Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Flight Test Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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