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Program at a Glance

Program
Online Certificate
College(s)
College of Engineering and Computer Science
12
Credit Hours
Best Engineering University 2023
Most Innovative University 2022

Expand your knowledge of guidance, navigation, control and dynamics

Become an highly qualified engineer in concepts of dynamics, guidance, navigation and control (GNC) through this joint certificate between Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
As a burgeoning expert in navigation, you will help guide a growing aerospace industry with the development of technology for terrestrial and extra-terrestrial navigational, stability and control systems.

The skills you learn within your online graduate certificate in guidance control and dynamics will empower you to make bold decisions that make an immediate impact in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Recognizing the amplified demand for talented aeronautics professionals, the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the 2020 median salary for qualified aerospace engineers as over $118,000 a year.

Through UCF Online, you’ll have access to flexible course structures and study topics in areas such as dynamics, systems control, guidance and navigation, flight dynamics, and control systems. Get started today.

Engineer working on a thruster.

Highlights

Number 1 icon
UCF is the No. 1 supplier of graduates to the aerospace and defense industries in the US.
Money icon
The annual median pay of aerospace engineers is $118K according to BLS.

Application Deadlines

Fall
July 1
Spring
December 1

Ready to get started?

Course Overview

GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION AND CONTROL

Learn about inertial and GPS navigation techniques, explicit and implicit guidance formulations, as well as control applications in aircraft, missile and space vehicles.

Study the dynamics of particles, rigid bodies, and distributed mass systems. Topics include: Hamilton’s principle, Lagrange’s equations, Numerical methods, and Mechanisms.

This elective course teaches you aerodynamic principles as applied to stability and control of aerospace vehicles. Generalized vehicle performance. Small disturbance dynamic stability and control response.

Skills You'll Learn

  • Gain the knowledge and skills in the areas of GPS navigation and guidance.
  • Understand the latest modeling and mathematical methods used in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
  • Learn how to synthesize theory and application to make an immediate impact in the aerospace, mechanical and electrical engineering industries.

Career Projections

45,800

Annual Job
Openings

3.60%

Job Growth
Between
2019 - 2029

Source: Lightcast™ . 2023

Career Opportunities

  • Architectural and Engineering Managers
  • Aerospace Engineers
  • Mechanical Engineers
  • Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians