Aviation Management major
Aviation Management: courses, careers, and where to study
Aviation Management trains students in the business and operations side of air travel, from airport and airline operations to ground, cargo, safety, and regulatory work.
Aviation Management is the business and operations discipline of the aviation industry, preparing students to apply technical knowledge and management skill to the running of airports, airlines, and aviation services. Coursework grounds students in airport operations, ground traffic direction, ground support and flightline operations, passenger and cargo handling, flight safety, and the body of regulation that governs the industry. The emphasis is on coordinating people, aircraft, and facilities efficiently rather than on flying or repairing the aircraft. This is a key distinction from a piloting-focused Aviation degree, which centers on operating aircraft from the cockpit, and from Aviation Maintenance, which centers on inspecting and repairing them. Aviation Management instead asks how an airfield, a terminal, or an airline schedule is planned, staffed, kept safe, and held to regulatory standards, treating the airport and the air carrier as complex operations to be managed.
The major is usually offered as a bachelor's program, often housed in a business or aviation school, and combines management and regulatory coursework with applied work in passenger and cargo operations, flightline and ground support, and aviation safety. Programs commonly include labs, simulations, or an internship at an airport, fixed-base operator, or carrier so students practice scheduling, ground handling, and compliance in realistic settings. It is worth being clear about credentials, because the closely related federal occupation reports a typical entry-level education of a high school diploma, yet the academic pathway into aviation management is generally a four-year degree, and the two simply describe different things. Any specific program's accreditation, and any certificate a particular operations or safety role may expect, should be verified directly with the school and the relevant aviation authority. Graduates work for airports, airlines, charter and cargo operators, ground-handling firms, and aviation service companies.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of transportation, storage, and distribution managers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $102,010 and projects employment to grow about 6.1% from 2024 to 2034; a high school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Aviation Management maps to CIP 49.0104, Aviation/Airway Management and Operations, within the TRANSPORTATION AND MATERIALS MOVING family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to the management of aviation industry operations and services. Includes instruction in airport operations, ground traffic direction, ground support and flightline operations, passenger and cargo operations, flight safety and security operations, aviation industry regulation, and related business aspects of managing aviation enterprises.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Aviation Management is awarded as
Of the 1,738 Aviation Management credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate22%388
- Associate11%186
- Bachelor's59%1,032
- Graduate8%132
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Airport operations and terminal and airfield management
- Ground traffic direction and flightline operations
- Ground support, ramp, and aircraft handling procedures
- Passenger and cargo operations and service coordination
- Flight safety, risk management, and safety management systems
- Aviation industry regulation and regulatory compliance
- Aviation scheduling, capacity, and resource planning
- Aviation business management, finance, and economics
- Customer service and operations within aviation services
Typical careers
- Airport Operations Manager
- Airline Operations Coordinator
- Ground Operations Supervisor
- Cargo Operations Manager
- Aviation Safety Officer
- Fixed-Base Operator Manager
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 transportation, storage, and distribution managers median $102,010).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Aviation Management, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $102,010 | 18,500 | +6.1% | High school diploma or equivalent |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 1 of these 1 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Aviation Management does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
The federal crosswalk associates only one occupation with Aviation Management. That is a statement about the field, not about its graduates: a breadth degree is not tied to a particular job, so the crosswalk has little to map. Graduates of this field work across many occupations, and what follows the degree depends far more on the skills and experience built alongside it.
Before you commit to a Aviation Management major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Aviation Management program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Aviation Management department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Aviation Management program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Aviation Management credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- Florida State College at JacksonvilleFL · 216
- Broward CollegeFL · 156
- Southern Illinois University-CarbondaleIL · 122
- Lewis UniversityIL · 102
- Auburn UniversityAL · 96
- Vaughn College of Aeronautics and TechnologyNY · 78
- Liberty UniversityVA · 66
- Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · 65
- University of North DakotaND · 64
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-WorldwideFL · 45
- CUNY York CollegeNY · 39
- Farmingdale State CollegeNY · 38
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Aviation Management credentials were awarded
2 states have a distinct enough set of Aviation Management colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Aviation Management schools by state
- Aviation Management in California
- Aviation Management in Florida
- Aviation Management in Georgia
- Aviation Management in Illinois
- Aviation Management in Maryland
- Aviation Management in Massachusetts
- Aviation Management in New York
- Aviation Management in North Carolina
- Aviation Management in Pennsylvania
- Aviation Management in Texas
Related majors
Aviation
Aviation trains students to fly and navigate fixed-wing aircraft, building the cockpit skills and federal certifications needed to work as professional pilots and flight crew.
Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain Management studies how goods, information, and money move from suppliers to customers, suiting students who like logistics, data, and operations.
Operations Management
Operations management trains you to run the day-to-day production and delivery work of a company, planning output, controlling quality, and keeping plants and processes efficient.
Business Administration
Business Administration is the most popular U.S. major, a broad foundation in accounting, finance, marketing, management, and economics that prepares graduates for nearly any industry.
Hospitality Management
Hospitality Management combines business fundamentals with the operation of hotels, restaurants, events, and tourism, suiting students who want to run guest-facing service businesses.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Aviation Management degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Management careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Aviation Management degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Aviation Management path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.