Aviation Maintenance · California

California colleges that awarded Aviation Maintenance credentials

20 colleges in California reported conferring Aviation Maintenance credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2024-25, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 16 awarded a degree, and 4 awarded only a certificate. That is a record of credentials already awarded, not confirmation that a program is currently admitting.

Colleges and what they awarded

Largest first by credentials conferred in 2024-25. That order measures the size of the graduating class and nothing else: it is not a ranking, and the largest entry is often a certificate provider rather than the strongest degree program. The credential is labelled on every row for exactly that reason.

Colleges in California that conferred Aviation Maintenance credentials in 2024-25, with the number awarded and whether any was a degree.
CollegeCredentials awardedHighest level
Antelope Valley Community College District576Degree
West Los Angeles College109Degree
Reedley College95Degree
San Joaquin Valley College-Trades Education Center56Degree
Victor Valley College54Degree
Orange Coast College52Degree
San Bernardino Valley College47Certificate only
Chaffey College42Degree
Sacramento City College42Degree
Gavilan College35Degree
Universal Technical Institute-Southern California33Certificate only
College of Alameda32Degree
Mt San Antonio College29Degree
Cuesta College23Certificate only
California Aeronautical University22Degree
San Diego Miramar College14Degree
Solano Community College10Degree
City College of San Francisco3Degree
East Los Angeles College1Certificate only
Fullerton College1Degree

How much of this field is in California

Credentials awarded
1,276
Share of U.S. total
21%
Colleges awarding it
20
Awarding a degree
16

California colleges conferred 1,276 Aviation Maintenance credentials in 2024-25, which is 21% of the 5,998 conferred across the 37 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 20 colleges here, 16 awarded a degree and 4 awarded only a certificate. These counts measure the size of graduating classes, not program quality, and not how many students are currently enrolled.

What level those credentials were

  • Certificates: 79%, 1,013 credentials.
  • Associate: 20%, 250 credentials.
  • Bachelor's: 1%, 13 credentials.

Most Aviation Maintenance credentials awarded in California were certificates. The mix here is close to the national pattern for this field. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and the level a program awards is set by the program rather than by the student.

We measured how much this varies nationwide, and for most fields the credential level is set by the field rather than the state: is your major a certificate or a degree?

How concentrated it is. The single college with the largest reported graduating class in this field accounted for 45% of California’s Aviation Maintenance credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.

What these California colleges cost

Median net price across the 15 of these 20 colleges that report it, by family income. Net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid for the WHOLE college after grants and scholarships, so it is not the price of a Aviation Maintenance program specifically, and not a quote for any family.

0-30k
$6,859
30-48k
$6,097
48-75k
$8,263
75-110k
$9,816
110k+
$10,872

A family earning under $30,000 paid a median of $6,859 at these colleges, against $10,872 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every California college by income band.

What this evidence does and does not prove

This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.

How this list was built

From the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions collection, matched to each college on its exact federal program classification. A college appears only if it conferred credentials in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, which is what separates a running program from one that has already closed.

This page exists because its list of colleges is materially different from that of every closely related field in California — the fields a reader could otherwise mistake it for, such as two engineering disciplines, or nursing and practical nursing. Where a related field resolves to the same colleges, the second page would be the first one with its title changed, and CampusPin does not publish it. Sharing colleges with an unrelated field is different, and not a reason to withhold the page: in most states the same colleges award business, psychology and biology alike, which says something about the colleges rather than about the fields. We measured exactly how often that happens, and published the result: does choosing a major narrow your college list?

What Aviation Maintenance graduates go on to do

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Aviation Maintenance, ordered by projected annual openings. National figures: openings and pay do not vary by where you studied, and the crosswalk describes related fields rather than a required or guaranteed path.

Occupations associated with Aviation Maintenance, with median annual wage, projected annual openings, and the education most entrants hold.
OccupationMedian payOpenings / yrMost entrants hold
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians$78,68011,300Postsecondary nondegree award
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers$61,6802,800High school diploma or equivalent

Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). “Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already in the occupation, not a legal requirement, an admission rule, or a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.

Questions about Aviation Maintenance in California

How many colleges in California awarded Aviation Maintenance credentials?
20 colleges in California reported conferring Aviation Maintenance credentials to the federal IPEDS completions collection in 2024-25, 16 of them a degree rather than only a certificate. Together they awarded 1,276 credentials in the fields covered.
Does this mean these colleges currently offer Aviation Maintenance?
Not necessarily. Completions record credentials already awarded, so they confirm a program ran and graduated students. They do not confirm it is still admitting. Every college here also awarded in the prior year, which makes a closed program less likely, but confirm directly with the institution before it affects where you apply.
Is a college missing from this list?
Possibly. A new program with no graduates yet does not appear, and CampusPin matches the federal classification exactly rather than guessing, so a college filing under a neighbouring code is absent. Absence is never evidence a program does not exist.

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