Easily among the most demanding of disciplines, these three subjects have acquired greater importance than ever before because of its links to defence. The course content varies a great deal across universities, depending on the focus of courses. There are different combinations of the three among the courses offered. Further, some prepare students for a PhD programme and an academic career while others emphasise the practical dimensions as they prepare students to work in industry. The rigour, of course, is the same, as the margin for error is zero.

William A Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Washington, offers a Master of Aerospace Engineering (MAE) as “a multidisciplinary professional graduate degree for recent graduates as well as working professionals. The MAE emphasizes the applied skills and experience needed in industry and differs from the Master of Science in Aeronautics & Astronautics (MSAA), which emphasizes preparation for independent, academic research. The MAE is a terminal, coursework-only degree (does not lead to a PhD). This degree is meant to be completed part-time in three years”.

(https://www.aa.washington.edu/admissions/grad/mae)

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, School of Graduate Studies, offers a Master in Aeronautical Engineering. As they say, “It is the official program of UC3M providing, at a time, full professional accreditation as Aeronautical Engineer in Spain and an internationally-focused high-level education enabling individuals to develop their professional career in all sectors of the aeronautical and space industries, agencies, and research centers”.

(http://www.uc3m.com/ss/Satellite/Postgrado/en/Detalle/Estudio_C/1413464989855/1371211096495/Master_in_Aeronautical_Engineering)

Imperial College, London, offers a slightly different MSc Advanced Aeronautical Engineering, which “provides multidisciplinary training in aircraft technologies for reducing environmental impact and life-cycle costs”.

(https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/aeronautics/advanced-aeronautical-engineering/)

Washington University in St. Louis offers a MS in Aerospace Engineering. This is a highly technical course with a thesis requirement.

(http://mems.wustl.edu/graduateprograms/Pages/ms-in-aerospace-engineering.aspx)

Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, offers a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering with a very clear focus: “In order to achieve the levels we aim for, the MSc programme requires that you specialise and choose a specific direction within the domain of aerospace engineering. Since all of the faculty’s teaching and research activities centre on aerospace vehicles, the range of choices available focuses entirely on aircraft and spacecraft”.

(http://www.tudelft.nl/studeren/masteropl/masteropleidingen/aerospace-engineering/)

UCLA engineering offers a very highly technical Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering (http://www.mae.ucla.edu/).

RWTHAACHEN University, Germany offers an Aeronautical Engineering and Astronautics MSc, which intends “to provide a broad education to future mechanical engineers so they can go on to find employment in all technical areas of industry not only in research and development but also in production and sales”.

(http://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Vor-dem-Studium/Studiengaenge/Liste-Aktuelle-Studiengaenge/Studiengangbeschreibung/~bkoe/Luft-und-Raumfahrttechnik-M-Sc-/lidx/1/)

The Royal Astronomical Society claims as its goal “advancing astronomy and geophysics”. It describes the subject as “Astronomy and Planetary Science”.  Some universities call it Astrophysics. Some have very highly specific descriptions such as the one from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, which offers a Master in High Energy Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology (http://www.uab.cat/web/universitat-autonoma-de-barcelona-1345467954774.html/) or the one from Luleå University of Technology, which offers a Master Program in Earth’s Atmosphere and the Solar System (http://www.ltu.se/?l=en0). The University of Nottingham offers a Master’s in Physics and Astronomy. Boston University offers a MA in Astronomy (and a PhD), with students normally drawn from astronomy, physics or another physical science.

The Department of Space Studies of the University of North Dakota offers a Master of Science and PhD programmes defined as multi-disciplinary “and include disciplines such as planetary science, space engineering, life support systems, space policy and law, space history and space-related aspects of business and management” (http://www.space.edu/).

The Radboud University offers an MSc in Physics and Astronomy (http://www.ru.nl/english/).  Lund University offers an MSc in Astrophysics (www.lunduniversity.lu.se)

An unusual course is a MA in cultural astronomy and astrology from The University of Wales, seeking to understand the “ways in which human beings attribute meaning to the planets, stars and sky, and construct cosmologies which provide the basis for culture and society” (http://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/ma-cultural-astronomy-astrology/).