Handbook

Engineering degrees offered by UNSW Canberra aim to provide outstanding engineering education to the future leaders of the Australian Defence Force and to civilian students to pursue excellence through contributions to the engineering profession, industry and the community.

The Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Aeronautical Engineering is of four years duration and the degree may be awarded at Honours Class I, Honours Class II, Division I or Honours Class II, Division II.  These Honours levels will be displayed on the final testamur.  Candidates who do not achieve Honours Class 1 or 2 will receive a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Aeronautical Engineering with no honours level displayed.

The engineering programs at UNSW Canberra have been granted full accreditation by Engineers Australia.

Aeronautical engineering is the study of the design, development, manufacture, maintenance and control of machines or vehicles operating in the Earth's atmosphere or in outer space.

The design of a flight vehicle is quite complex and demands a knowledge of many engineering disciplines such as aerodynamics, propulsion systems, structural design, materials, avionics, and stability and control systems. Maintaining and operating a flight vehicle requires an understanding of materials, reliability and maintenance, structural analysis for necessary repairs, together with knowledge of the disciplines within the design process.

Except for Electrical Engineering and those in the Chief of Defence Force Honours Program first-year engineering and technology students enrol in a common program taking foundation science and engineering courses. In second and increasingly in third and fourth years the programs diverge into their specialities although there are some courses that span across programs in all years. A key element in all years is the design stream which emphasises complex problem solving. Other streams such as aerodynamics, stability, control, thermofluids, structures, mechanics, materials and management often incorporate project based learning informed by academic research and industrial practice. Electives and a final year thesis enable students to pursue particular interests both within and outside the specialist discipline.

At the end of the program students are expected to meet the graduate attributes of the University and Stage 1 Competencies of Engineers Australia, ready to practise in their chosen profession and with the ingenuity and resourcefulness to meet rapid technological change.