BS in Aeronautical Science

What is an Aeronautical Science Degree?

Florida Tech’s BS in Aeronautical Science prepares students for technical jobs in the aviation industry. Our College of Aeronautics has been consistently recognized as offering one of the best university-based aviation programs in the country.

The aeronautical science degree is available as either a flight or non-flight major. Choosing aeronautical science without flight provides a strong foundation in applied math and science for a career in a technical aspect of aviation, while Aeronautical Science—Flight prepares you for a career as a professional pilot.

This degree is very versatile, offering even more with these two additional options:

• Prepare for a career in military aviation and participate in Army ROTC
• Specialize in air traffic control and be ready to apply to the FAA Academy upon graduation

A Faculty of Renowned Aviation Experts — and Personalized Attention

Studying aviation at an aeronautical university like Florida Tech gives you the benefits of a larger school (such as world-class faculty members and a high-quality curriculum) in a close-knit academic community offering small class sizes and one-on-one time with professors. The campus atmosphere is relaxed, and studying here is a very personal experience, making us a unique aeronautical university.

Florida Tech’s faculty members have established experts in all aspects of aviation. The faculty is largely comprised not only of pilots, but also experts in at least one other area, such as aviation law, safety, avionics, and environmental science. Other professors are experts in airport consulting; design and management; airline or general aviation management; as well as aviation human factors, meteorology, and air traffic control.

Located in the Heart of Florida’s High-Tech Corridor — with Year-Round Flying

Florida Tech is the perfect place for a BS in Aeronautical Science. The 130-acre campus is located on the Space Coast (so named because of the presence of NASA and the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral just north of us), minutes away from the Indian River Lagoon, the most diverse estuary in North America. We have ideal weather conditions for flying year-round.

The area also has the fifth largest high-tech workforce in the country, with more than 5,000 high-tech corporations and government and military organizations located nearby. This workforce also provides an abundance of internship and employment opportunities.

Florida Tech is just over the causeway from the Atlantic Ocean with its 72 miles of beautiful beaches, and a short trip to the Florida Keys or the Orlando theme parks. We also have a rich campus life that includes a wide range of intramural and collegiate sports, clubs, and social activities.

Build Lasting Professional Relationships through Campus Organizations

Beyond the classroom, aeronautical science degree majors participate in academic organizations like Collegiate Aviation Business Executives (CABE), a student chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives, the Falcons Intercollegiate Flight Team, Women in Aviation (WIW), student government, and over 100 other campus-wide student organizations.

CABE focuses on aviation jobs outside of the cockpit, helping students grow by facilitating a networking relationship with students and the aviation business world. Members of CABE have the unique opportunity to travel to many events including professional conferences, seminars, airport tours, networking events, and airshows.

WIA is an organization made up of women and men dedicated to the advancement of women in aeronautics. WIA takes part in networking activities and lectures to promote women in all fields and help them obtain aeronautical college internship positions and career opportunities.

Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) Accredited

Florida Tech's Aeronautical Science and Aeronautical Science - Flight programs are accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) until 2022.

Peerless Study and Internship Opportunities

Students can participate in aeronautical science internships that provide enhanced learning opportunities beyond classroom work. Florida Tech students take internships over one or more summers or semesters. These internship opportunities offer exposure to major and minor airlines and aeronautical organizations such as including JetBlue Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Melbourne Orlando International Airport, where students gain specialized experience in airline operations and a variety of aviation businesses, as well as attend valuable development courses such as aircraft systems.

These aeronautical college internship experiences are great for networking in the industry and provide specialized experience in airline operations and aircraft systems training. Interning students also learn about flight dispatch, recordkeeping, and the various large computer systems and programs employed by the airline.

Get the Skills You Need—With a Competitive Edge

Interested students can take part in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) program. ATC students gain hands-on experience with industry-standard air traffic control programs. The ATC specialization meets the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program and is FAA-approved. Graduates of the AT-CTI program may be eligible to bypass the Air Traffic Basics Course covered during the first five weeks of qualification training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. FAA Academy training consists of option-specific (terminal or en route) initial training.

At Florida Tech, students learn high-level software and programming skills and gain experience in aviation programs and applications used around the world. Using computer-aided design (CAD) programs, students can complete projects in designing airports and airport terminals and conduct experiments such as noise studies.

Florida Tech’s aeronautical college students are regular competitors in the National Intercollegiate Flight Competition and win many awards, including safety awards. In fact, our students have won more safety awards than any other competing university.

Additionally, Florida Tech allows advanced placement credit if you have an FAA Private Pilot Certificate or higher. Evaluation and placement are done during orientation week.

It All Started With 37 Cents

Florida Tech was founded in 1958 as "Brevard Engineering College." It all started as an idea in the mind of Jerome P. Keuper, a visionary physicist working at Cape Canaveral.

As university lore would have it, Keuper expressed his desire to create a scientific and technological university to a friend over drinks at a local pub. Overhearing the conversation, a fellow patron pushed 37 cents in change across the bar and said, “There’s your first donation, Jerry. Now, go and build that college.”

So, Keuper did. And what started with 37 cents as a night school for the early “missilemen” of the U.S. space program is now a comprehensive national research university recognized worldwide for excellence in preparing students for careers of the future.

Core Values

• Research for the Benefit of All Humankind
• Education for a Lifetime of Success
• Global Citizenship for a Better World

Mission Statement

Florida Institute of Technology’s mission is to provide high-quality education to a culturally diverse student body in order to prepare students for entering the global workforce, seeking higher-education opportunities, and serving within their communities. The university also seeks to expand knowledge through basic and applied research and to serve the diverse economic, cultural, and societal needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.

In support of this mission, we are committed to:

• Promoting student development by fostering and sustaining a productive institutional culture of assessment that leads to the continuous improvement of academic and administrative programs
• Developing an organizational culture that values and encourages intellectual curiosity, a sense of belonging and shared purpose among faculty, students, and staff, and the pursuit of excellence in all endeavors
• Recruiting and developing excellent faculty to become leaders in their respective fields and internationally recognized scholars
• Achieving recognition as an effective, innovative, technology-focused educational and research institution
• Recruiting and retaining an excellent, highly select, and culturally diverse student body
• Continually improving the quality of campus life for all members of the university community
• Providing personal and career growth opportunities for both traditional and nontraditional students and members of the faculty and staff
• Securing and maintaining professional accreditation for all appropriate programs

We Are Florida Tech

What we are is a private, coeducational, residential, research-intensive, doctoral-granting university located in Melbourne on Florida’s sunny “Space Coast.” But who we are is so much more. We are a community of researchers, scholars, and learners hailing from all around the world. We are engineers, aviators, innovators, leaders, educators, athletes, and astronauts. We have the brains of rocket scientists and the hearts of Panthers. We are Florida Tech.

We Are Relentless

Florida Tech is a university of leaders and learners—a diverse community of students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are united in the relentless pursuit of greatness.

We Are International

Students from more than 90 countries worldwide choose to live and learn at Florida Tech, making us a truly global university. When we say #YouAreWelcomeHere, we mean it.

We Create The Future

One of the primary tenets of Florida Tech’s mission is advancing science and technology for the benefit of Earth and all of its inhabitants. So, that’s what we do.

We Have Panther Pride

You may feel it the first time you visit the campus, the day you graduate, or at some point in between. But when you do, you’ll see that Panther Pride is more than school spirit. It’s a family.

We Make Connections

Florida Tech is proud to be part of the Brevard County community and welcomes its neighbors to explore the many personal, professional, corporate, and cultural opportunities we have to offer.

We Are STEM

There's a reason Florida Tech is known as Florida's STEM University™. To put it simply: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are in our DNA. This makes STEM a driving force behind who we are, what we do, and why we exist.