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Professional Master's Diploma in Aerospace Design Management

Three adults talking in the Student Learning Centre on campus

The most heavily regulated and scrutinized of all transportation industries, commercial aircraft manufacturing requires the best talent there is. That’s why we created the Professional Master's Diploma in Aerospace Design Management (PMDip). As part of our program, you’ll take our aircraft certification classes in the evenings after work and become the engineer that every aerospace company craves—a leader with an indispensable view of the system as a whole.

The PMDip is well-suited for you if you are a:

  • Technical staff member employed in the aerospace sector looking to upgrade your knowledge of aircraft certification, systems integration, manufacturing processes, reliability and safety, and you do not want to commit to the time and expense of a full master's degree.
  • Technical staff member employed in the aerospace sector and you want more in-depth training than what is provided by your corporation.
  • Technical staff member employed in the aerospace sector looking to gain further knowledge as a preparation for career advancement.
  • Technical staff member employed in the aerospace sector (within a small- or medium-sized corporation) and you need further training to interact more effectively with government and larger corporations on aircraft manufacturing and design contracts.
  • Professional with a technical background hoping to enter the aerospace sector and are looking for additional specific training to give yourself an edge.

An undergraduate degree in either Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering is required. A minimum GPA or equivalent in the last two years of undergraduate study of 3.00 (B) is also required.

Once you have successfully completed all four courses and passed the report submission, you will have earned a Professional Master's Diploma in Aerospace Design Management.

  1. For September 2023 (Fall) admission, domestic and landed students can apply up to August 1st, 2023. Admission for international candidates for September 2023 (Fall) is now closed.
  2. The Winter (January) 2024 application portal is now open, and we are accepting applications from both domestic and international candidates. The deadline to apply for domestic students is December 1, 2023. The deadline to apply for international students is July 7, 2023.  

Aerospace Engineering Graduate Program
 416-979-5000, ext. 2790
aerograd@torontomu.ca

Primary contact for general information and administrative questions.

Dr. Paul Walsh
 416-979-5000, ext. 7729
paul.walsh@torontomu.ca

Primary contact for queries related to your previous work experience and your expectations of the program.

Rose Ghamari

“The courses offered in the PMDip provided me with the right expertise and knowledge, which helped me excel and stand out in my daily work. This program was a perfect complement to my undergraduate degree and allowed me to continue developing my professional network while still maintaining my full-time job in the industry.”

Rose Ghamari, Design Engineer at Bombardier Aerospace
Aerospace Engineering PMDip '15

Required Courses

All PMDip courses were created in consultation with the Canadian aerospace industry and in accordance with aircraft certification regulations required by federal law—so you can be confident that the skills you acquire are in demand. Our program consists of the following four courses, with each one running one day per week for 12 consecutive weeks from September to April. A typical program of study would have students taking AE8141 and AE8202 in the Fall term, and AE8200, AE8201 and AE8203 in the Winter term. As many of our students work full time, courses are held in the early evening.

Aircraft Certification

This course will give you an understanding of the aircraft certification process in Canada, the oversight structure, and the relationship between aircraft certification in Canada and jurisdictions throughout the world. The course will concentrate on the regulatory role of Transport Canada, and the design approval structure within large aerospace manufacturers in Canada.

Aircraft Safety & Reliability

Assessing aircraft reliability is an integral part of the aircraft certification process. This course provides an understanding of Reliability, Maintainability and Safety (RMS) principles, and highlights their roles in aircraft design for certification of airworthiness. The course covers the mathematics of reliability analysis, failure modes, and fault-free analysis. Safety assessment procedures are examined in the context of real-world examples.

Aircraft Systems Integration

This course introduces the integration of many key systems found in the design of an aircraft. Flight control systems, propulsion systems, hydraulic systems, electrical systems, environmental systems, avionic systems and safety systems will all be examined. The course also considers system integration in the context of aircraft reliability and the certification process.

Advanced Aircraft Manufacturing

Aerospace manufacturing systems will be introduced at both the system and the machine level in this course. Conventional systems cover job shops (low quantity and high variety, such as aircraft assembly), manufacturing cells (medium quantity and medium variety, such as wing assembly), and transfer lines (high quantity and low variety, such as turbine blades manufacturing). Emerging systems cover reconfigurable systems that can be changed from one type of conventional system to another, while the machine level includes computer-controlled machines and robots. The course project will focus on automation of manual processes using robotic technologies.

Diploma Report

In addition to the successful completion of these courses, you will also need to submit a final report on a topic of your choosing that encompasses one or more themes of the diploma program. You may develop an analysis or review of a specific topic that relies on knowledge of aircraft certification, reliability, systems integration, manufacturing, or a combination of these subjects. If you have direct industrial involvement, you may develop a topic related to your own personal experience. Details of the report length and format are provided by the graduate program assistant upon registration.