Mr. Quinlan is the 100th student to earn a Masters or Doctoral from one of NIA’s nine member universities since NIA’s Graduate Program began in the Fall Semester 2003. Twenty-six of these students have earned Ph.D. degrees. NIA typically has between 50 and 60 full-time graduate students and 30 to 40 part-time graduate students enrolled in the program.
“NIA was created to complement NASA’s mission through cutting-edge aerospace and atmospheric research, developing technologies and training the next generation of scientists and engineers” said Dr. Robert Lindberg, NIA President and Executive Director. “We are proud to provide this unique opportunity for students such as Jesse to work along-side NASA’s leading scientists and engineers as they earn their graduate degrees.”
Students in this highly selective program are recruited from across the nation. Candidates apply for admission to both NIA and one of NIA’s member universities which include Georgia Tech, Hampton University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, the University of Maryland, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion University and the College of William and Mary.
Graduate students take classes at NIA, either taught onsite by resident faculty or received from any of the member campuses through NIA’s advanced distance learning facilities. By agreement between the member universities, students may assemble a customized course of study including up to 50% of their coursework from any of NIA’s associated universities with at least 50% of their classes from their home university where they will earn their degree. University residency is satisfied in the rich research environment of the NIA/NASA campus.
Most NIA graduate students perform their thesis and dissertation research at NASA Langley Research Center at the co-direction of a NASA mentor and their university faculty advisor.
Mr. Quinlan observed,“This combination of state-of-the-art research and first-rate academic instruction makes the NIA program unique among graduate education institutions."
Degrees, which are granted by member universities of the NIA consortium, have been awarded in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Engineering Science and Mechanics, Atmospheric and Planetary Science and related disciplines.
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