A new graduate specialization open to all technical areas
Space is an emerging marketplace.
Morgan Stanley’s Space Team estimates that the global space industry will grow to over $1 trillion by 2040, thus creating opportunities in space access, satellite communications and navigation, deep space exploration, space colonization, earth observation, asteroid mining, space debris management, space tourism, space research and manufacturing. This requires the world’s brightest and most courageous minds who dare to think beyond the tangible everyday boundaries. UT Austin is at the center of actualizing this new economy for Texas.
The new graduate specialization in Space Tech Entrepreneurship is a program for M.S. and Ph.D. students that provides students with a multidisciplinary education synthesizing the fields of aerospace technology, business and entrepreneurship. The curriculum is robust, and graduating students will learn entrepreneurial methodologies and how to think about solving our space tech’s biggest problems.
M.S. candidates will earn a master’s degree in aerospace engineering. Ph.D. candidates can also earn an M.S. degree or participate in the program through additional coursework. The program is provided by Launch Texas and administered through the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in collaboration with the Texas Innovation Center.
When you apply online to the ASE graduate program you will be able to check a box to express interest in Launch Texas. Checking the box does not commit you joining, but rather tells us that you would like to receive more information before formally applying. Further questions on the specialization can be directed to professor Noel Clemens at clemens@mail.utexas.edu.
Space Tech Entrepreneurship Curriculum
Engineering: Anchoring with core aerospace engineering courses like astrodynamics, systems engineering, guidance, navigation and control, robotics, autonomous systems and remote sensing
Business: Providing business instructions with upper-division courses like finance, management and marketing
Entrepreneurship: Practical training courses focused on innovation and tech commercialization with practicums to launch a startup or work with existing startups
- For M.S. students, instruction is provided with a 10-course curriculum over 3 to 4 semesters.
- For Ph.D. students, the program provides additional instruction in business and entrepreneurship that dovetails to your dissertation focus and degree.
Scholarships and Fellowships
- Eligible incoming M.S. candidates can apply for awards of up to $20,000.
- Near the end of your program of work, both M.S. and Ph.D. candidates are eligible to apply for the Space Tech Commercialization Awards that provide funding for assisting with prototyping, scale-up and exploration and launch of a startup endeavor.
