Best Aerospace Engineer programs in Texas, 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.
42 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 6,458 people a year. The job pays a median of $130,270 in Texas across about 6,750 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Texas that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 14.1901In Texas → | 3,567 | 55.2% | 38 | $70,724 | $24,833 |
| 2 | CIP 14.1001In Texas → | 2,288 | 35.4% | 34 | $77,636 | $25,000 |
| 3 | CIP 14.0201In Texas → | 595 | 9.2% | 8 | $72,210 | $25,000 |
| 4 | Astronautical Engineeringmain feeder CIP 14.0202In Texas → | 8 | 0.1% | 1 | $72,210 | $25,000 |
Top 25 schools in Texas
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 25 of the 42 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 1,407 | Mechanical Engineering | $77,785 | 84% | — | 57% |
| 2 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 947 | Mechanical Engineering | $82,227 | 89% | — | 27% |
| 3 | Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 510 | Mechanical Engineering | $73,268 | 69% | — | 73% |
| 4 | The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 451 | Mechanical Engineering | $61,113 | 76% | — | 65% |
| 5 | University of Houston Houston, TX Public · 4 feeder programs | 441 | Mechanical Engineering | $74,043 | 65% | — | 74% |
| 6 | The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 359 | Mechanical Engineering | $69,188 | 54% | — | 80% |
| 7 | The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 340 | Mechanical Engineering | $62,393 | 50% | — | 100% |
| 8 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 231 | Mechanical Engineering | $60,924 | 51% | — | 94% |
| 9 | The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 228 | Mechanical Engineering | $64,313 | 53% | — | 87% |
| 10 | University of North Texas Denton, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 219 | Mechanical Engineering | $68,173 | 61% | — | 72% |
| 11 | The University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 129 | Mechanical Engineering | $64,977 | 54% | — | 94% |
| 12 | Prairie View A & M University Prairie View, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 109 | Mechanical Engineering | $66,678 | 43% | — | 79% |
| 13 | Baylor University Waco, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 103 | Mechanical Engineering | $75,726 | 80% | $35,682 | 51% |
| 14 | Rice University Houston, TX Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 99 | Mechanical Engineering | $82,899 | 95% | $13,264 | 8% |
| 15 | Texas A&M University - Kingsville Kingsville, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 90 | Mechanical Engineering | $56,135 | 42% | — | 91% |
| 16 | Lamar University Beaumont, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 89 | Mechanical Engineering | $68,359 | 37% | — | 86% |
| 17 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Electrical and Electronics Engineering | $72,990 | 55% | — | 89% |
| 18 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 70 | Mechanical Engineering | $79,280 | 84% | $33,246 | 63% |
| 19 | The University of Texas Permian Basin Odessa, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 56 | Mechanical Engineering | $65,167 | 40% | — | 95% |
| 20 | LeTourneau University Longview, TX Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 55 | Mechanical Engineering | $63,073 | 59% | $24,186 | 38% |
| 21 | Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 55 | Mechanical Engineering | $66,404 | 40% | — | 89% |
| 22 | El Paso Community College El Paso, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 52 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 24% | — | — |
| 23 | West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 47 | Mechanical Engineering | $78,028 | 55% | — | 99% |
| 24 | Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 44 | Mechanical Engineering | $48,585 | 48% | — | 90% |
| 25 | University of Houston - Clear Lake Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Mechanical Engineering | — | 52% | — | 91% |
All 42 schools in Texas
Every school in Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station | Public | 1,407 | 3 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Public | 947 | 3 |
| Texas Tech University | Lubbock | Public | 510 | 2 |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson | Public | 451 | 2 |
| University of Houston | Houston | Public | 441 | 4 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington | Public | 359 | 3 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | El Paso | Public | 340 | 3 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg | Public | 231 | 2 |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio | Public | 228 | 3 |
| University of North Texas | Denton | Public | 219 | 2 |
| The University of Texas at Tyler | Tyler | Public | 129 | 2 |
| Prairie View A & M University | Prairie View | Public | 109 | 2 |
| Baylor University | Waco | Private not-for-profit | 103 | 1 |
| Rice University | Houston | Private not-for-profit | 99 | 3 |
| Texas A&M University - Kingsville | Kingsville | Public | 90 | 2 |
What aerospace engineers earn in Texas
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $134,960. Texas pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Texas
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 Texas
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 Texas.
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 3,567 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 55.2% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, Aerospace. Together they graduate about 6,458 people a year in Texas.
How much do aerospace engineers earn in Texas?+
The median is $130,270 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.5% 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 Texas?+
42 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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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