Aviation Safety (MS)

Summary

Aviation Safety aims to enhance career opportunities for individuals in positions directly or indirectly relating to aviation safety and security. The degree is relevant for students who want to pursue a graduate degree in Aviation Safety after graduation or those working in the aviation industry and want to study systematic and comprehensive safety knowledge and skills. The program emphasizes applying aviation safety knowledge to real-world applications, cultivating aviation leaders and professionals, advancing students’ careers further and quicker, and providing flexible and affordable advanced education. 

Catalog Year

2024-2025

Degree

Master of Science

Major Credits

30

Total Credits

30

Locations

Online

Career Cluster

Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics

Apply

Program Requirements

Common Core

This course provides students with a basic understanding of the general principles and concepts of safety and helps students develop a safety conscience. It is designed to help students better understand the role of safety in aviation and how these general principles and concepts relate to various roles within the aviation industry. Emphasis is placed on managing safety through regulatory guidelines, industry initiatives, and airline crew operations.

Prerequisites: none

This course studies the role of humans in all aspects of the aviation industry. It is intended to provide students with a solid understanding of human factors concepts, principles, issues, solutions, and needs. Applications of these concepts are demonstrated in different aviation domains (e.g., cockpit, ATC, aviation maintenance). The course explores the effective interactions among people who work across organizational, geographical, temporal, and cultural boundaries, as a means to design effective socio-technical systems.

Prerequisites: none

This course focuses on Safety Management Systems (SMS). Students will acquire a foundation of four components in SMS (safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance, and safety promotion) and learn how to design, develop, and implement SMS in an aviation organization to manage organizational safety and prevent organizational accidents.

Prerequisites: none

Research/Methods Course(s)

This course is designed to equip students with techniques and skills to identify research problems, and apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods to solve research problems in the aviation field. The course develops students¿ understanding of research questions, literature review, methodology, and reporting results, recommendations, and conclusions.

Prerequisites: none

This course exposes students to the latest research in the aviation safety area. Current aviation safety problems encountered by an aviation professional working in the industry are identified, analyzed, interpreted, and solved. The course requires students to review and synthesize literature, critically analyze data by using quantitative or qualitative research methods, present research findings, and propose recommendations for industry practitioners.

Prerequisites: none

Restricted Electives

* A total of 30 credits is required for the program.

Choose 3 - 6 Credit(s).

This course addresses the application of safety management principles and techniques to air transportation operations. Topics include flight operation safety, cabin safety, ground safety, transportation of dangerous goods, and organizational safety culture promotion. FAA regulatory requirements and industry standards are included throughout the course. Students will gain complete and updated knowledge of the current safety management issues and best practices for air transportation.

Prerequisites: none

This course covers aviation maintenance safety policies, procedures, and practices in use throughout the aviation industry. The course develops students¿ understanding of the influence and role of the regulatory agencies in aviation maintenance safety, the role of maintenance safety in relation to the overall safety management program in an organization, and mechanics¿ safety responsibilities in their areas of operation.

Prerequisites: none

This course introduces students to both commercial and generation aviation airport operational safety and security. The course focuses on compliance with regulations as they pertain to airport operations and the best practices that can be implemented in the airport environment. Specific topics include: airport certification, airport emergency plan (AEP), airport rescue and fire fighting, runway safety, wildlife management, winter operations, ground vehicle operations, airport threats, and security measures, security-related incidents response and departmental cooperation. Students will learn how to plan, coordinate, implement, and monitor preventive security measures at airports.

Prerequisites: none

Unrestricted Electives

Choose 9 - 12 Credit(s).

This course deals with the scheduled performance planning of multi-engine transport-category (Part 25) airplanes in commercial air transportation. Airplane performance theory and operational and structural limitations are reviewed. Maximum aircraft masses/weights are computed utilizing inverse mathematical methods before each takeoff so that performance margins specified in Part121 flight safety rules are unlikely to be exceeded in any phase of flight assuming sudden engine(s) failures. Measured, gross, and net performances are evaluated for various environmental and flightpath conditions. A fine balance between the required flight safety margins and the economy of air transportation is established based on the severity and the probability of failures.

Prerequisites: none

This course covers several major proactive safety programs monitored by FAA and NASA, such as the Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) and the Aviation Safety Action Plan (ASAP). Programs used by air carriers, such as the Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) and the Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA), are discussed. Additional organizational safety programs include: Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP), Internal Evaluation Program (IEP), and Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP).

Prerequisites: none

This course is designed to teach students the fundamentals required to conduct an aviation accident investigation. It covers all aspects of the aircraft accident investigation process, from pre-planning to report writing and follow-up work designed to avoid similar or related aircraft accidents. Students will learn how to collect, preserve, and reconstruct accident scene data, explore methods for determining probable causes, and discover solutions to problems faced during accident investigations.

Prerequisites: none

This course includes a series of case studies that illustrate the role of humans, software, hardware, and the environment in the failure of simple and complex systems. The case studies are drawn from many domains, including flight operations, ATC, maintenance, and airport operations. Students are given the opportunity to use system analysis techniques to evaluate common failure modes and explore the conditions conducive to system success or failure.

Prerequisites: none

This course is designed to increase students' knowledge of disaster preparedness and emergency response procedures and practices in both government and private organizations. It includes thorough coverage of all phases of the emergency management discipline, including preparedness, mitigation, response, and post-emergency recovery operations. Theory, practices, and techniques utilized in the response phase of aircraft crashes and emergencies are examined. Additional topics include elements of an emergency response plan, training requirements, the incident command system, and essential human services and support.

Prerequisites: none

This course reviews the development and implementation of the system safety discipline in numerous industries, especially aviation. This course emphasizes the utilization of safety resources in all phases of the life cycle of a given system. Topics include quantitative and qualitative techniques and tools for system analysis applied to accident prevention, analysis, and mitigation.

Prerequisites: none

The course covers the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of aviation training programs, from effective training materials to training methods for a given situation. In addition, this course equips students with the knowledge and skills to be the next generation of leaders in the air transportation industry. The course is designed to help students better understand the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion as team leaders.

Prerequisites: none

This course explores ethical issues and practical ways of resolving moral conflict and promoting ethical behavior in the aviation community. Since best practices in any workplace require making good decisions, the role of ethics, diversity, equity, and inclusion in good decision-making on personal, organizational, and social levels will be discussed.

Prerequisites: none

Capstone Course

Choose 1 - 4 Credit(s).

In this course, students will collaboratively or individually complete an aviation safety-related project under the close supervision of a faculty member. A faculty sponsor is required for this course. Group work is permissible with the approval of the supervising faculty member.

Prerequisites: none

The course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to apply aviation safety knowledge and skills to professional activities while gaining real-world experience. The internship incorporates professional experience with required periodic progress and a final report. Requires consent of instructor.

Prerequisites: none

This course involves intensive research activity associated with a master's thesis. Any student wishing to complete a master's thesis must obtain the permission of a faculty member. The research project should be conducted under the supervision of the student's advisor and thesis committee. Submission of a research paper, an oral defense of the research work, and approval by the thesis committee are required for thesis credits to be earned.

Prerequisites: none

Policies

In addition to the College of Graduate Studies admission requirements, the following are additional requirements for acceptance into Aviation Safety program:
  • A four-year bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university.
  • A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.70 (based on A=4.00 scale) for all undergraduate work.
  • A Statement of Purpose essay of approximately 300-500 words describing the applicant’s academic/professional background, the purpose of continuing graduate studies, and the long-term professional goals.
  • A current resume outlining the applicant’s educational and work experiences.
  • Official transcripts from each college or university at which the applicant has completed course work.
  • A minimum TOEFL iBT score of 61 or an IELTS band score of 5.5 is a requirement for international applicants.
  • No GRE scores are required to apply to this program.

Admissions into the Master of Science in Aviation Safety program are made on a holistic basis. Students are expected to have a basic academic and/or professional background in aviation. Students from a background other than aviation may still apply. Exceptions to this standard may be granted on a case-by-case basis

A full-time graduate student must be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) graduate-level credit hours during spring or fall semesters. The maximum course load for graduate students is 12 credit hours each semester. Any exceptions must be approved by the student’s advisor and the College of Graduate Studies.

Transfer Students: Up to 9 credit hours of graduate-level course work may be transferred from an accreditated college or university.