But what if they’re more interested in engineering? Surveys of college engineering students consistently find NASA to be one of their top ‘dream jobs’ upon graduation. Let’s look at where some of their engineers attended college.
NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center consists of the folks who evaluate whether projects NASA is working on meet the strict safety standards necessary for very challenging missions. Here’s where the top engineers in that important office studied as undergrads.
NASA Engineering and Safety Center Leadership
Office of the Director
US Air Force Academy
New Mexico State
U Houston
Southeastern Massachusetts U
Principal Engineers
US Naval Academy
Purdue
U Florida
U Colorado–Boulder
Integration Office
Northwestern
Chief Engineers
Iowa State
U Arizona
U Akron
Penn State
U Puerto Rico
Cal Poly–Pomona
U Alabama
Longwood College
U New Mexico
Technical Fellows
U Illinois (3)
Vanderbilt
U Alabama
St. Louis U
U Massachusetts
Virginia Tech
William and Mary
U Cincinnati (2)
Southeastern Massachusetts U
U Central Florida
SUNY–Buffalo
Western State Colorado U
Albion College
U Houston
U Connecticut
Source: nasa.gov
(last updated 3/31/2021)
And while we’re at it, let’s look at where NASA’s currently active astronauts studied, too. It appears that “I want to be an astronaut when I grow up” will likely become a frequent refrain from kids again in the coming years.
Currently active NASA astronauts
US Military Academy (6)
US Air Force Academy (4)
U San Diego (2)
UC Santa Barbara
Washington U in St. Louis
Albion College
LeMoyne College
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Tulane
Davidson
Brown
Oregon State
St. John’s U (MN)
Harvard
Southeastern Massachusetts U
U Kansas
US Naval Academy (5)
MIT (3)
U North Carolina Chapel Hill
U Washington
The Citadel
CSU Fullerton
Purdue
U Illinois
North Carolina State
UCLA
Boston U
UC San Diego
Rice
Rensselear
Tennessee Tech
Stanford
Source: nasa.gov
(last updated 3/31/2021)
As with students who are interested in business, those headed for careers as rocket scientists—and rocket operators—also seem more likely to find success based on who they are than on where they’ve done their studies.