I am graduating from COSC in March with a concentration in Psych. I am NOT a MATH wiz and have only the minimum of courses under my belt. I am great with systems and all things science. I have a special interest in space. They have an online degree in AERONAUTICAL SCIENCE with a dual concentration in Human factors/space studies. Nothing in the course work looks particularly daunting. Has anyone experience with these folks? Do you suggest I take a different tack given my math ignorance and dyslexia? (I'll hang up and listen to your reply)
Boy, are you in luck! I graduated from Embry-Riddle's Daytona campus with a BS in Aviation Computer Science and a minor in Space Studies back in 1999. In my junior year, I worked for the Aeronautical Studies department as a research assistant. In my senior year of my BS degree, I was working on a graduate research project with a batch of students that were in the Human Factors masters degree program. As such, I can give you a run-down on practically everything you asked about. First off, the coursework you are looking at is not engineer-specific. While a few of the classes may look math-heavy (ASCI 605, for example), they are not difficult in terms of quantitative skills. In other words, they don't expect you to have much working math knowledge beyond pre-calculus. None of these concentration areas are considered engineering fields, so the degree program is tailored to non-engineering students. Second, the space studies courses are a lot of fun, but a bit simple. About the hardest thing I remember tackling in those courses was basic celestial navigation. It's all very intuitive, and the emphasis is on learning the material, rather than packing your head full of facts that you'll just cough back up for a test later on. Most calculations are done on the computer within problem frameworks that have been set up for you. You just plug in the numbers and go. The general idea is that you can change a few factors of the mathematical model to learn what effects what and in what way. Typical problems are calculating a center of gravity between multiple gravitation fields and determining optimal Hohmann transfers. Third, the human factors courses are training for you to be a systems scientist. They teach formal research methods and controls, and they prepare you for a future career in human physiology R&D. ERAU happens to have some of the best aviation-based research scientists on the Daytona Beach faculty, so they'd be the best ones to learn from if you are crazy about planes and want to perform experiments in that field. Think of them as classes in scientific method and experiment management with a lot of systems analysis and human physiology, biology, and psychology thrown into the mix. From my experience, this material is not anywhere near as exciting as you think it might be. Still, I view the world from an engineer's point of view, so I see a lot of the psychology as being less than concrete due to the qualitative nature of the field. Personally, I'd suggest the "Space Operations Management" concentration area. Your background suggests that this would be a good fit. It's the study of human physiology, logistics, and technology pertaining to modern spaceflight and space operations. Any knowledge of science (particularly biology, thermodynamics, and kinematics) will aid you, but is not a requirement. Math requirements will top out at around advanced trigonometry (angular momentum comes to mind) and some statistics (1 and 2-tailed t tests, z values... that sort of thing). This is where you learn about topics like building space stations, chemical and plasma propulsion systems, effects of radiation upon living tissue, what those ceramic heat tiles on the space shuttle are actually made of, etc, etc. If you have specific questions about the space studies portion of the program, try contacting Dr. Lance Erickson at the ERAU Daytona Beach campus. He has a PhD in astronomy, and he was in charge of all things space when I was a student there. You can find his web page at http://faculty.erau.edu/ericksol/ . That's about it, I think. Andrew
WOW Thanks a bunch. I was in luck. That's more information than I could have imagined getting. I was hoping to do the masters degree as a distance program from home. Thanks again!
