by Cara Ramer
Employment of aerospace engineers is projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency projects an average of 3,800 openings for aerospace engineers each year.
Cedarville’s new 12-credit-hour concentration will provide students with specialized aerospace coursework while building on the university’s established mechanical engineering curriculum. Students will learn from faculty whose backgrounds in the U.S. Air Force, higher education and the aerospace industry bring experience in military aerospace systems, engineering research and commercial applications into the classroom. Relationships with alumni and professionals at companies including GE Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Honeywell and TURBOCAM will also give students exposure to career paths and technological developments across the aerospace industry.
The concentration will emphasize both lecture-based and hands-on learning, providing opportunities for students to move beyond classroom theory through interactive build projects, interactions with aerospace professionals and site visits to leading aerospace research and manufacturing facilities.
The new concentration builds on Cedarville's 35+-year history of engineering education and its network of graduates working throughout the aerospace and defense sectors. Alumni have pursued jobs with the U.S. Air Force, defense contractors and commercial aerospace companies, careers that highlight the longstanding connection between mechanical engineering and aerospace applications.
"The university's decision to add a concentration stems from the convergence of three things," said Dr. Joe Miller, chair of mechanical engineering at Cedarville University. "We saw a growing international demand, current student interest, and a strong legacy of graduates contributing across many areas of the aerospace industry, including in national leadership positions."
Cedarville's location in southwest Ohio places the students near one of the nation's most historically significant aerospace regions. Dayton, known internationally as the home of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, is also home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Materiel Command. 
The broader region includes GE Aerospace operations in the Cincinnati area and emerging advanced-air-mobility companies in the Dayton-Springfield area. These organizations are part of an industry that connects higher education, military research, manufacturing and private-sector innovation.
"We're right in the middle of a historic and growing aerospace innovation corridor," said Miller. “Our goal is to use our location and partnerships in ways that benefit our students, faculty and the broader aerospace industry.”
The university also maintains academic and government partnerships that support aerospace education and research. Cedarville has connections with the Air Force Institute of Technology and participates in the Ohio Space Grant Consortium, part of NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project. The university also has education partnership agreements with the Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Sustainment Center.
As aerospace technologies continue to advance, Cedarville’s new concentration will give mechanical engineering students an opportunity to develop specialized knowledge while gaining practical experience and exposure to professionals in the field. The program is designed to prepare graduates to purposefully develop and lead solutions to aerospace engineering challenges in Ohio, across the United States and throughout the global aerospace industry.
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,542 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.
