Connect AP to Majors and Careers

Aerospace engineering majors learn how to use math and science to design and develop aircraft, spacecraft, and missiles. They also study such topics as aerodynamics, orbits, launch, flight controls, and engines.

For thousands of years, people enviously watched birds coast through the skies and wondered how they did it. But in the last one hundred years, flying on this earth has become as unremarkable as walking, and space travel is no longer the stuff of science fiction.

As an aerospace engineering major, you’ll learn the basics that helped the Wright brothers and others conquer the age-old problem of flight. You’ll learn how to apply these ideas to developing new types of air- and spacecraft  that are better, safer, and stronger. You’ll find out how space flight works and dream up new ways of exploring galaxies unknown.

Applied physics students learn how to use physics to solve career-oriented problems. They combine studies in physics and math with courses in related majors, such as chemistry, engineering, and computer science.

If your head is in the stars and your feet are on the ground, consider a degree in applied physics. You’ll start by studying some of the same science that other physics majors learn, from the formation of the solar system to the pull of a magnet. But you'll build on your foundation by concentrating on the practical applications of physics.

Other physics majors are typically prepared for graduate school in the field. But the focus in applied physics is usually on entering a career with a bachelor's degree or going to graduate school in non-physics fields that range from engineering to medical and law school. The keyword in this major is flexibility.

Through the study of mathematics, physics, and computer science, computer engineering majors learn to analyze, design, and develop computer hardware and software.

Some of us drive cars with little knowledge of how they work. Others wouldn’t dream of driving a car without understanding exactly how it’s powered, how it gets them from point A to point B, and how to fix it when it breaks down.

Computer engineering students have the same philosophy about computers. They want to know how computers work and what they can do to make them smarter, faster, and more efficient. 

As an electrical engineering major, you’ll study electricity: how it works, how it’s generated, and how it’s used to power everything from lightbulbs and radios to cell phones and robots. You’ll also learn how to design your own electric-powered projects.

Imagine a blackout. You’re in the dark and without the gadgets you normally take for granted. There’s no better time to appreciate electricity.

As an electrical engineering major, you’ll go far beyond an appreciation of the awesome powers of the electron. You’ll learn how to harness that power and use it to perform a few miracles of your own invention.

As a mechanical engineering major, you’ll learn the science behind machines and the energy that makes them work. You’ll also apply what you learn by creating your own machines.

Machines may not have taken over the world as imagined in some science fiction, but they are certainly a big part of life today.

Students of mechanical engineering learn about the machines that bring convenience and excitement to our lives. They study the physics that make roller coasters loop and planes fly. They learn about the properties of materials that can withstand the heat of the sun and the cold of outer space. And they discover the secrets behind control systems such as the cruise control in the family car.

Nuclear engineering majors study radioactive materials and radiation and learn how to use them in areas such as power, nuclear medicine, and industry.

It wasn’t long ago that scientists first began to split the atom, releasing nuclear energy in a process called fission. Now nuclear energy is used to supply electricity to homes all over the world and may someday be used to power rockets twice as fast as a space shuttle.  And in medicine, radiation plays a big role, making possible everything from x-rays to treatments that destroy cancer cells.

Of course, nuclear energy also creates problems, such as the radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. As a nuclear engineering major, your studies will go beyond the basics of fission and the benefits of nuclear energy to include its challenges.

Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy. Topics covered include classical and modern theories, electricity and magnetism, and relativity.

How does the universe work? What are atoms made of? While the first question is about the biggest of things, the second asks about the unimaginably small. Yet both questions fall under the scope of physics. 

Physics majors seek to understand the laws that govern the universe. From gigantic stars trillions of miles away to the subatomic particles within our own bodies, physics takes on matter and energy in all its forms.