.. always thought it was a matter of what the Institution figured would get it the most funding ? .. and, as we all know, a year or so out for a graduate and the thing is irrelevant. I figure that about 1 percent of my undergraduate studies had any direct relevance to the real world.
Ours was aero eng and, as I recall, we did 2-3 courses in orbital mechanics during years 3 and 4, various courses in supersonics and hypersonics .. and so it went on, ad infinitum .. with several of us deciding that sailing was more fun anyway.
But, then again, chaps like ChristiaanJ and me are in that benign class of folk fondly known as "old pharts" so our views on all these new-fangled things are probably irrelevant.