Georgia Institute of Technology's Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering is one of the most respected aerospace programs in the US, benefiting from Georgia Tech's broader top-10 engineering reputation and direct proximity to a genuine aerospace and defense employment corridor, Lockheed Martin, Delta Air Lines, and NASA all recruit heavily from Georgia Tech. For international applicants targeting aerospace specifically, Georgia Tech offers rare scale: it's large enough to run dedicated aerospace research facilities and specializations, while still costing meaningfully less than private research universities with comparable aerospace rankings.
This guide walks through what it takes to get into Georgia Tech's BS in Aerospace Engineering and its MS in Aerospace Engineering: acceptance realities, cost, requirements, English-test rules, and what graduates go on to do.
Acceptance Rate
Georgia Tech does not publish a separate acceptance rate for Aerospace Engineering at either the undergraduate or graduate level. What's actually published, and how it applies here:
- Undergraduate, university-wide: Georgia Tech's overall admit rate for the Fall 2026 first-year class was about 12.8% (more than 8,700 admitted from nearly 68,000 applicants). This is a university-wide figure across all majors, not specific to Aerospace Engineering.
- Undergraduate, nonresident/international: Georgia Tech has separately reported a considerably lower nonresident admit rate around 9% and an international-specific rate closer to 8% in recent cycles, so international applicants should expect meaningfully longer odds than the blended 12.8% headline figure.
- Georgia Tech's own prep notes single out Computer Science and Computer Engineering specifically as receiving disproportionately more applications relative to seats than the university average; Aerospace Engineering is highly selective within Georgia Tech's applicant pool but is not called out as being under the same acute oversubscription pressure as CS, so treating the 8-9% international figure as a reasonable working estimate for Aerospace specifically is defensible, while acknowledging it is not a published Aerospace-specific number.
- Graduate: Georgia Tech does not publish an aggregate graduate acceptance rate at all; admission is fully decentralized by department, and no Aerospace-specific figure is available.
Bottom line: treat any Aerospace-specific percentage you see cited elsewhere as an unverified estimate, and apply with a profile competitive for Georgia Tech's selective international applicant pool overall, since no dedicated Aerospace Engineering figure exists to plan against.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
Undergraduate (most recently published official figures, international/out-of-state):
| Cost Item | Amount (USD/year) |
|---|---|
| Tuition (international/out-of-state) | $34,484 |
| Living expenses (Atlanta) | $20,828 |
| Total estimated cost of attendance | $55,312 |
Across a four-year BS in Aerospace Engineering, total undergraduate cost runs roughly $220,000 before any scholarships. Most of Georgia Tech's merit scholarship pool skews toward domestic applicants, so international undergraduates should not assume significant automatic aid.
Graduate: Georgia Tech does not publish a single institute-wide graduate cost-of-attendance figure. Most funded MS/PhD students in engineering departments, including Aerospace, secure tuition waivers plus a stipend through research or teaching assistantships rather than paying sticker tuition; self-funded MS students should budget close to the undergraduate international tuition rate plus Atlanta living costs, since Georgia Tech doesn't publish a separate self-funded graduate tuition schedule for Aerospace.
The application fee is $85.
Admission Requirements
Undergraduate BS in Aerospace Engineering, via the Common Application:
- Common Application, Secondary School Report, and official transcript
- Counselor recommendation
- Georgia Tech-specific short-answer questions
- SAT or ACT scores (test-optional policy in effect; confirm current cycle status)
- English proficiency test scores for applicants whose secondary education was not conducted in English, per University System of Georgia (USG) policy
- $85 application fee or fee waiver
- Georgia Tech does not publish a minimum GPA, but the middle 50% of admits scored SAT 1400-1550 / ACT 32-35
MS in Aerospace Engineering:
- Statement of Purpose, official transcripts from all institutions attended
- Three letters of recommendation
- Resume/CV
- TOEFL or IELTS scores (required unless exempt)
- GRE generally not required by most engineering MS programs (confirm with the School of Aerospace Engineering directly, since this has shifted across cycles industry-wide)
- $85 application fee or fee waiver
- Deadlines vary by department, generally December through March, with rolling decisions 6-10 weeks after a complete application
How to Get Into Georgia Tech's Aerospace Engineering Program
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Show a demonstrated, specific interest in aerospace, not just general engineering. Georgia Tech's short-answer questions reward applicants who can point to concrete prior engagement, robotics competitions, specific coursework, internships, or independent projects, rather than a generic "I love planes/rockets" narrative.
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Use test-optional status strategically. If your SAT/ACT falls below the 1400-1550 / 32-35 middle-50% range, weigh whether omitting the score altogether strengthens your file more than a below-range submission would.
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For graduate applicants, identify specific faculty or lab fit within the Guggenheim School. Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech spans multiple concentrations (aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, controls, and space systems); naming a specific area and relevant faculty in your Statement of Purpose signals genuine research fit.
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Weigh assistantship funding availability early if pursuing a master's or PhD. Since most funded graduate positions in engineering departments come with tuition waivers and a stipend, confirming funding prospects for your specific research area before committing to a self-funded path can materially change total program cost.
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Clear the TOEFL/IELTS Institute minimum with room to spare, especially Speaking, since funded graduate roles typically involve direct interaction with faculty and undergraduates.
English Proficiency Requirement (IELTS/TOEFL)
Georgia Tech has not published a dedicated IELTS or TOEFL requirement article or general guide for Gabble to link to, so here are the numbers directly from Georgia Tech's own published policy:
Undergraduate: Georgia Tech's own dedicated international English-language-requirements page was not retrievable at the time this data was compiled, and University System of Georgia (USG) policy does not publish one identical numeric minimum across all its institutions. Confirm the current specific threshold directly with Georgia Tech undergraduate admission before testing.
Graduate:
- IELTS: Institute minimum 7.0 overall, with Reading, Listening, and Speaking each at least 6.5 and Writing at least 5.5
- TOEFL: Institute minimum 90 total, with at least 19 in each of the four sections. Georgia Tech does not accept ETS "MyBest Scores" (superscoring across test dates); a single sitting must meet the minimum
- Waiver: available for applicants holding a prior degree from an institution where English is the official language of instruction, subject to department approval
- Individual departments may set a higher bar than this Institute-wide floor, so confirm directly with the School of Aerospace Engineering
Career Outcomes
Georgia Tech does not publish graduation-rate, employment-rate, or salary figures broken out specifically for Aerospace Engineering, but its published recruiter data (undergraduate and graduate, university-wide) is unusually well-aligned with aerospace specifically:
- Top recruiters (undergraduate, university-wide): NASA, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Georgia Pacific, with NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Delta being especially direct aerospace/aviation-sector matches for this program
- Top recruiters (graduate, university-wide): Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, NASA, McKinsey & Company
- Georgia Tech's Aerospace program benefits from Atlanta's status as a major aviation hub (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta's headquarters) and the university's long-standing NASA and defense-contractor research relationships, giving graduates direct access to a recruiting pipeline that's unusually concentrated in the exact sector this degree targets.
FAQ
Does Georgia Tech publish a separate acceptance rate for Aerospace Engineering? No. Georgia Tech's published rates (12.8% overall undergraduate, roughly 8-9% for nonresident/international applicants) are university-wide, not specific to Aerospace Engineering. Treat these as the closest honest proxy, since no Aerospace-specific figure is published.
What IELTS or TOEFL score do I need for Georgia Tech's graduate Aerospace Engineering program? The Institute-wide minimum is TOEFL iBT 90 (at least 19 per section) or IELTS 7.0 overall (Reading/Listening/Speaking at least 6.5, Writing at least 5.5). Individual departments may require more, so confirm with the School of Aerospace Engineering.
Is the GRE required for Georgia Tech's MS in Aerospace Engineering? Most engineering MS programs, including Aerospace Engineering, do not require the GRE in recent cycles, but this has shifted industry-wide, so confirm current departmental policy before applying.
How much does Georgia Tech's Aerospace Engineering program cost? Undergraduate international tuition is $34,484/year, with total cost of attendance around $55,312/year. Graduate cost varies by funding status: funded MS/PhD students generally have tuition waived plus a stipend; Georgia Tech does not publish a separate self-funded graduate tuition figure for this program.
Does Georgia Tech's Aerospace Engineering program lead to strong industry placement? Yes, directionally, based on Georgia Tech's published recruiter lists. NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Delta Air Lines are all named among Georgia Tech's top recruiters, and Atlanta's status as a major aviation and aerospace-adjacent employment hub supports this program's placement prospects specifically, even though Georgia Tech doesn't publish Aerospace-specific placement statistics.
Is Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering harder to get into than MIT's Aeronautics and Astronautics program? Both are highly selective, and neither publishes a directly comparable department-specific acceptance rate. Applicants should treat both as reach programs and apply with an equally strong, aerospace-specific narrative to each rather than assuming one is meaningfully easier based on Georgia Tech's somewhat higher university-wide admit rate.