Admission into the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

High school students

Admission to Purdue for undergraduate study in engineering is handled by the Office of Admissions. Students coming to Purdue from high school will enter the First-Year Engineering Program, which gives students time to explore the different majors offered in the College of Engineering. Completing this broad-based coursework usually takes two semesters.

The Admissions Criteria page gives the requirements for freshmen.

The Undergrad Admissions FAQs page has answers to many common questions about admissions.

First-Year Engineering (FYE) students

Students who have completed the FYE requirements will transition through the College of Engineering's Enrollment Management Policy (T2M: Transition to Major) process. The T2M process happens three times a year—at the end of the Fall (December), Spring (May), and Summer (August) semesters.

If a student does not meet the guarantee conditions as laid out in the policy, they will undergo a holistic review. AAE requires at least 20 STEM credits completed at Purdue. GPA is one factor in this review, but there is no specific minimum. Other factors include whether a student has a history of taking courses repeatedly, and individual course grade history. Strong math grades are a positive factor.

For example: a student's GPA may be relatively low because they had trouble adjusting to college. The holistic review considers whether the student earned better grades after an adjustment period, even if the overall GPA is still low.

Students in other majors at Purdue (CODO)

Are you a current Purdue West Lafayette student who is thinking of changing your major? At Purdue, that's called a "Change of Degree Objective" (CODO), and you start the process by reaching out to your current academic advisor for guidance. Once you have talked to your current academic advisor, please email the AAE Undergraduate Advising Office (aaeugrad@purdue.edu) with your request.

Your specific CODO requirements depend on the semester that you entered Purdue University-West Lafayette. This semester is formally known as your catalog term and is indicated on your MyPurduePlan worksheet. On the CODO web form, please select the academic year in which you began classes at Purdue for your CODO requirements. (You can find your catalog term on your MyPurduePlan worksheet.)

Transferring from outside Purdue

If you have college credit already, you may be eligible to transfer to Purdue. The Transfer Student Checklist will help you understand the process and how to apply to your major of choice. The College of Engineering has its own transfer criteria, with each major in turn also having specific requirements. AAE only admits transfers for Fall semesters. In general, students need a GPA of at least 3.7 to be eligible for transfer to AAE.

Two guides are available to help you determine whether your college credit will transfer. The Engineering Course Equivalencies at Indiana Public Colleges guide covers engineering credits from Indiana Public Colleges. All other transfer credits are covered in the Transfer Credit Course Equivalency Guide. Students who have had college credit transferred to Purdue (through the Admissions Office), and would like it to be evaluated for applicability to the BS-AAE degree should contact the AAE Undergraduate Advising Office.

To speak with an AAE Academic Advisor regarding your interest in transferring, please contact the AAE Undergraduate Advising Office.