The Kent State aeronautics program is expanding due to continued growth within the program.

The College of Aeronautics and Engineering saw the largest enrollment growth over the last year among Kent State’s colleges with more than 1,100 students enrolled last year in fall 2022. Along with the growth of the college, the aeronautics field continues to see a massive need for college graduates.

“COVID threw a wrench in a lot of things in the aeronautics industry,” said Stephanie Fussell, aeronautics program coordinator. “Airline pilots, maintainers and air traffic controllers were furloughed, which added to the underlying issue that there was and still is a great need for people in these positions.”

The aeronautics program currently only has one undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics. In addition, the college offers five different concentrations to go along with it: Aeronautical Studies, Air Traffic Control, Aviation Management, Professional Pilot and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Operations.

In fall 2023, the five concentrations of the aeronautics major will become separate major programs.

“The main reason for this is to benefit students,” Fussell said. “Not only does the college benefit from this for accreditation purposes, but it also benefits students when looking for a job after graduation.”

Along with the expansion of the aeronautics program itself, there will also be some much-needed renovations and improvements made to the Kent State airport hangar.

“These repairs and upgrades will extend the life of the building by at least 20 years,” Fussell said. “It also helps us meet some required assurances that the FAA needs to keep the building functioning and serving the community.”

There was already a huge demand for people in the aeronautics field, but now due to a need for people, massive corporations within the industry have started working closely with schools to get college students into careers.

“There is a great demand,” Fussell said. “Because of this demand, the industry is working with partners like Kent State to get students through the pipeline and into a career path upon graduation, while still getting all of the experience and background knowledge that they need.”

Students in the aeronautics program get the opportunity to sign up for partnerships with companies like Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and Delta. This gives students an immediate path to working for a major airline after graduation.

Students who decide to do their flight training off campus with other institutions can still do all their course work at the university.

“Not only does this allow us to expand our aeronautical studies program, but it also gives students the flexibility to decide how they learn, where they learn and when they learn,” Fussell said.

Adam Kring is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].