How do I join?

To be counted as an official branch member, you have to be a member of AIAA national first. You can do this in two ways: sign up for the AIAA membership yourself, or let us do it for you. To sign up for AIAA national membership go to http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=181. After you receive your membership in the mail, just fill out the branch membership form and give it to us (note that you only have to fill out the top if you already have your AIAA member ID). You can either email us the form at aiaaucla@gmail.com  or give it to us at our next meeting. You can also fill out the form in its entirety, include the dues, and we'll take care of the rest. National membership requires $20 in dues anually.

What are the benefits of student membership?

• It looks great on a resume!
• Off-campus activities, including plant tours (such as SpaceX and Lockheed Martin's Skunkworks) and section meetings with major companies (such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman). Check out our calendar!
• Great opportunities to network with various engineering professionals, as well as other students
• Workshops to help you succeed at career fairs, internships, and future occupations.
• Be placed in our resume book, which is distributed to local companies each year.
• Student competitions, such as AIAA's Design/Build/Fly.
• Student discounts to all AIAA professional conferences and section events.
• Member discounts, including 30-40% off new textbooks from the AIAA.
• For being a student member, your first year of professional membership is free!
• Subscription to AIAA's Aerospace America magazine and access to the AIAA Student Journal.
• Annual dues are only $20 a year — a price that won't break the bank!

I am not an aerospace major, but can I still join?

Definitely! We welcome members of every major who have an interest in aviation or space travel.

For your information, careers in aerospace are not limited to aerospace engineers. For example, NASA employs astronomers, business managers, biologists, doctors, software & hardware engineers, test pilots, physicists, publicists, and people of many other professions needed to carry out their missions.

What events does AIAA host?

We host everything from professional guest speakers, tours of industry facilities, career sessions with recruiters, assorted engineering projects, and the Design/Build/Fly competition. For details of upcoming events, check out the calendar.

I want to start my own aerospace project. Will you provide support?

Absolutely! We are more than willing to lend a helping hand to all self-starters. Whether it is your own project or one of AIAA’s numerous student competitions, tell us your ideas, and together we’ll get things started.

Does this require a lot of commitment?

As with all things, it depends on how much you want to do. Many of us have spent countless hours on past projects, but we also offer activities for members who simply enjoy attending our general meetings and events.