OU to launch commercial space certificate for Spring 2024

Oct. 29—The University of Oklahoma's Price College of Business is about to launch a new graduate certificate program that will catapult students into the field of commercial space.

Students will be able to apply to the school's Commercial Space Applications certificate for the Spring 2024 semester. Applicants will have to have a bachelor's degree before they can take classes.

The 12-hour hybrid program will offer four classes online and two in-person, including a weeklong international experience at Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy.

Shad Satterthwaite, director of executive business programs in aerospace and defense at the business school, said the addition contributes to the mission of the university.

"In Oklahoma, aerospace and Defense is the second largest economic sector," Satterhwaite said. "We're an energy state, and I think we always will be, but the fastest growing and second largest is aerospace and defense."

He said the state has five military bases and a spaceport in Western Oklahoma which attract businesses like Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and with growth in satellite technologies, the demand for private aerospace services continues to rise.

"Satellites now have become so cheap to manufacture and to launch. They don't need to be as big and bulky, and so a lot of companies are getting into that," Satterhwaite said. "It is relatively inexpensive compared to what it was, even a decade ago."

Prior to the creation of private space industries, Satterhwaite said NASA used to exclusively launch these missions

"What's happened over the last several years is that the private sector is really stepping up. NASA now contracts [sending satellites into space] to SpaceX, a private company," he said. "In the last couple of years, we've seen these billionaires involved in their own space race, between Virgin Galactic with Richard Branson, SpaceX with Elon Musk and Blue Origin with Jeff Bezos."

He said the university's new certificate will help graduates to get into the business of space, whether they are setting up their own "mom 'n' pop shop" selling parts to aeronautics companies, or whether they want to lead these larger organizations.

"Here in Oklahoma, we have a lot of aerospace engineers who work for Boeing and other companies, but as these companies start to grow, we want to provide them with management experience," Satterhwaite said.

Laku Chidambaram, senior associate dean of Academic Programs, Price College of Business, said the addition of the certificate is an extension of the school's executive MBA in Aerospace and Defense, which the school launched three years ago.

"It's one of the four strategic pillars for OU, aerospace and defense, and it also is an important part of the economy for the state of Oklahoma and for the country as a whole," Chidambaram said.

He said Oklahoma's aerospace industry was worth $550 billion last year, and it is growing at a rate of 8% every year.

"We are the only school in the nation as far as we could tell that offers a certificate in the commercial space application," Chidambaram said. "This is focused on the business side of space, which is the fastest growing segment of the economy."

Students will take a class with Jim Bridenstine, former NASA administrator appointed during the Donald Trump administration and Oklahoma native.

"Activities in space continue to improve life on Earth, defend nations and make new discoveries," said Bridenstine. "Commercial markets are responding quickly and leaders in government and industry are attempting to keep pace."

Chidambaram said the university is looking for recent graduates, as well as career professionals who are seeking to add training and experience to their résumés.

"Four of the six courses are online, so they will be taught by faculty live. This way, you won't have to give up your day job," he said. "There are two classes you'll have to meet in-person, including the study abroad experience in Italy."

The Politecnico di Milano, he said, is one of the highest ranked universities in Europe, and students will have the chance to visit companies, aerospace, and defense sectors.

Brian D. King writes for the Norman Transcript.

Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.