COLORADO SPRINGS— The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is the fifth university to partner with US Space Command.
"The hope is that we can provide them some opportunities to grow their workforce as well as help them with some research projects," said the College of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Dean Micheal Corl, Ph.D.
The aerospace engineering major became an option fall of 2022. Right now, there are about 35 students. A master's program is in the works for the fall of 2023.
The new building will provide more classrooms and research labs. Construction is on schedule to begin classes in January 2024.
"It's a growing industry and they don't have the workforce that they need so we're trying to provide those folks for them," said Corl.
One student who is minoring in aerospace engineering said he hopes it will start his career in national missile defense.
"I don't think they did the major when I enrolled at UCCS but I think I would've gone for the Aero major had it been an opportunity," said UCCS senior Matt Terry.
As a mechanical engineering major, he said the two go hand-in-hand.
"I think mechanical engineer[ing] is a great way to branch off into other stuff because as an engineer, you never stop learning and I think that's really cool," said Terry.
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