The graduate program in Aeronautical Engineering was initiated in September of 1951. Since the passage of Public Law 733 by the 83rd Congress (1954), degrees have been authorized for conferral by the Commander of Air University on persons who meet all requirements established by the Air Force Institute of Technology. Programs within the Institute were first accredited by the Engineer's Council for Professional Development (ECPD) in 1955. The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools now accredits the Institute through the doctoral level. The Graduate School of Engineering and Management's program in Graduate Systems Engineering was the first one in the country that was accredited at the advanced level by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET, formerly ECPD). Programs in Graduate Astronautical Engineering and in Graduate Aeronautical Engineering are also accredited by ABET. The highly interdisciplinary program in Graduate Space Systems is accredited through the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Graduate Materials Science program was new in 1998 and is not yet ABET-accredited.

At one time, the resident School of Engineering contained the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, and the Mechanics Department. In 1969, these were reorganized in two departments: the Aero-Mechanical Department, which gave emphasis to various aspects of the Mechanics of Fluids (e.g., aerodynamics, heat transfer, propulsion, and fluidics) and the Department of Mechanics which gave emphasis to solid mechanics, aircraft structures, Astrodynamics, and flight vehicle mechanics. A Systems Engineering activity was added to the Department of Mechanics in the 1970s. In 1977, these two departments were merged into the present single entity. This placed administrative control for three related curricula in Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Systems Engineering in the single department. In 1995, responsibility for the Space Operations program was transferred to the department. In 2001, the department added the Aerospace and Information Operations program. In 2002, a decision was made by the SECAF and the SECNAV to close the Aeronautical Engineering department of the Naval Post Graduate School and begin sending all Naval officers that require graduate education in Aeronautical Engineering to AFIT. The first naval officers to participate in that program took courses in Winter 2003. In 2002, a decision was made by SECAF and CSAF to send some Air Force Majors selected as candidates for intermediate service school to AFIT for a masters degree and professional military education in-residence credit. Therefore, the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics has developed five new one-year graduate programs in Aeronautics, Astronautics, Systems Engineering, Materials Science, and Space Systems to accommodate the new Intermediate Development Education (IDE) (formerly ISS) students. In 2003, the department combined the Space Operations and Aerospace and Information Operations programs into Space Systems program.

The programs of the resident Graduate School of Engineering and Management are a major factor in graduate education in aeronautical and Astronautical engineering in the United States. This scale of operation enables students in the resident Graduate School of Engineering and Management to select from a wider variety of courses and research topics than would be available in smaller institutions. No programs leading to degrees in mechanical engineering or engineering mechanics are currently available, but students with interest in these disciplines may pursue them as concentration within the aeronautical engineering program.

Three major areas of expertise can be identified within the Department. These are: (1) Fluid Mechanics and Energy Transmission, (2) Solid Mechanics and Structures, and (3) Dynamics, Systems, and Controls.

(1) The Fluid Mechanics and Energy Transmission Division provides courses and opportunities for research in aerodynamics, (compressible, incompressible, viscous and computational), propulsion (air-breathing, rocket, and non-chemical), and heat transfer (convection, conduction, and radiation).

(2) The Solid Mechanics and Structures Division provides course offerings and research programs covering such topics as applied mechanics (elasticity, plasticity, and continuum mechanics), structures (stability, shells, and finite element methods), structural dynamics (mechanical vibrations, wave propagation, and aeroelasticity), and structural materials (fracture mechanics, composite materials, and fatigue).

(3) The Dynamics, Systems, and Controls Division provides courses and research activities in aircraft flight mechanics (performance, stability, and control), astrodynamics (orbital mechanics and optimal trajectories) spacecraft attitude dynamics, systems (design and modeling of large scale systems, and weapons analysis), and robotics (manipulators, remote systems, and man-in-the-loop control).

As is true of the entire resident school, the faculty of the Department is approximately 50 percent military and 50 percent civilian. Approximately 10 percent of the AFIT students are officers from other services or allied countries or DoD civilians.

Full-time programs leading to the master's degree are typically 6 quarters long. Each student entering the department is assigned a class advisor who provides counseling in the selection of courses and in research opportunities within the department. The student selects a research topic and thesis advisor in the 2nd quarter and from that point on is expected to work closely with that member of the faculty both in research and in finalizing the plan of study.

Part-time students are advised by a single member of the department through candidacy in one of the degree programs and selection of thesis advisor. From that point on, their thesis advisor advises them and, in administrative matters, by the class advisor who advises them throughout their program.

IDE programs are 4 quarters long. Each student is assigned a class advisor who provides counseling on the selection of courses to complete the master’s degree.

An advisory committee is appointed to assist each doctoral student in planning a program of study and developing a research area.

Each curriculum within the Department is developed, monitored, and evaluated by a curriculum committee, selected by the Head. These committees provide the means for developing modifications in course offerings and research opportunities needed to support curricular requirements, and conversely, to provide the mechanism whereby developments in the sub-disciplines can be quickly reflected in curricular changes.

The school and academic departments are headed by the dean of the Graduate School of Engineering and Management and the department heads, respectively. The academic departments are listed below along with their Master of Science (MS) degree programs: