Flight Operations Curriculum

Curriculum Requirements

All bachelor's degrees require a minimum of 120 credit hours, inclusive of UD general education and major requirements and any elective courses.

The Flight Operations major includes a set of aviation core courses and aviation industry electives, as well as an aircraft track completion. The aviation core and foundation courses result in a minimum of 47 credit hours. Additionally, students must also complete the courses specific to the aircraft track and a minimum of nine credit hours of aviation industry electives. Completing the airplane track requires a minimum of 68 credits and the helicopter track requires a minimum of 66 credits.

Required Aviation Core Courses (47-49 credits):

  • AVI 131: Basic Ground School (6)
  • AVI 145: Safety and Ethics in Aviation (1)
  • AVI 214: Aviation Meteorology (3)
  • AVI 231: Ground School- Instrument (4)
  • AVI 232: Ground School- Advanced (3)
  • AVI 233: Air Transportation (3)
  • AVI 349: Aviation Safety Management (3)
  • AVI 401: Applied Aerodynamics (3)
  • AVI 434: Human Factors (3)
  • AVI 495: Aviation Senior Seminar (2)
  • FLI 131: Flight Training I (3)
  • FLI 132: Flight Training - Commercial Cross Country (2) or FLI 133: Flight Training - RW Turbine XC (4)
  • FLI 231: Flight Training - Instrument (3)
  • FLI 232: Flight Training - Commercial Maneuvers (2)
  • CIS 162: Fundamentals of Excel (1)
  • PRF 201: Career Development Strategies (1)
  • *MATH 150: Precalculus (4) OR Higher Level Mathematics or PHY 151: Gen Physics I and Lab (4)

Students are required to take a minimum of 9 credits from the following Aviation Industry electives:

  • *AVI 237: Helicopter Operations (3)
  • AVI 234: ATC Procedures and the National Airspace System (3)
  • AVI 241: Advanced Automation and Technology (3)
  • AVI 322: Aviation Human Capital and Employee Management (3)
  • *AVI 329: UAS Operations (3)
  • AVI 333: Aviation Security and Crisis Management (3)
  • AVI 337: Airport Management (3)
  • AVI 341: Aviation Law (3)
  • AVI 344: Corporate Aviation (3)
  • AVI 346: Airline Management (4)
  • *AVI 348: Fixed Base Operations (3)
  • *AVI 496: Aviation Colloquium (1-3)

* Course not approved for FAA-LOA Reduced Aeronautical Experience requirements.

Airplane Track (12 credits):

  • AVI 332: Advanced Aircraft Systems/CRJ (3)
  • AVI 435: Ground School - Multi-Engine (2)
  • AVI 447: Crew Resource Management and Advanced Systems (3)
  • FLI 334: Flight Training - Complex/High-Performance Aircraft (2)
  • FLI 435: Flight Training - Multi-Engine (2)

Helicopter Track (10 credits):

Students have the option of completing their instruction ratings by taking the following courses:

  • AVI 430: Fundamentals of Instruction (2)
  • AVI 431: CFI Aeronautical Knowledge (3)
  • AVI 432: CFI Instrument Ground School (2)
  • FLI 431: CFI Flight Training (2)
  • FLI 432: CFI Flight Training (1)

OR students may take the following courses to complete the Turbine Rotor-Wing training:

  • AVI 237: Helicopter Operations (3)
  • AVI 306: Aircraft Systems and Components (3)
  • FLI 133: Flight Training - RW Turbine Cross Country (4)


The Flight Operations degree airplane track is designed for a student to qualify for the Restricted-ATP. Students should consult with an aviation academic advisor to confirm they have the necessary FAA-LOA 60 credit hours. Students already having a private pilot certificate (without instrument rating) or transfer credits may need to choose additional FAA-LOA approved courses from the following electives to qualify for the Restricted-ATP. The FAA-LOA requires the instrument rating and commercial certificate must be earned (14 CFR 141) at the University of Dubuque.

FAA-LOA Elective Courses include:

  • AVI 234: ATC Procedures and National Airspace (3)
  • AVI 305: Avionics Systems (3)
  • AVI 306: Aircraft Systems and Components (3)
  • AVI 404: Air Traffic and Operations (3)
  • AVI 430: Fundamentals of Instruction (2)
  • AVI 431: CFI Aeronautical Knowledge (3)
  • AVI 432: CFI Instrument Ground School (2)
  • FLI 431: CFI Flight Training-Airplane (2)
  • FLI 432: CFII Flight Training-Airplane (1)
  • FLI 433: MEI Flight Training-Multi-Engine (1)
  • PHY 151: General Physics I and Lab (4)

The Flight Operations minor will result in a private pilot certificate with an instrument rating and consists of the following courses:

  • AVI 131: Basic Ground School (6)
  • AVI 145: Safety and Ethics in Aviation (1)
  • AVI 214: Aviation Meteorology (3)
  • AVI 231: Ground School - Instrument (4)
  • AVI 233: Air Transportation (3)
  • FLI 131: Flight Training 1 (3)
  • FLI 231: Flight Training Instrument (3)

Four-Year Plan of Study: Flight Operations - Fixed Wing / Flight Operations - Rotor Wing