Delta State University, in Cleveland, Miss., saw the recent Women in Aviation, International convention as the perfect place to tout its Department of Commercial Aviation, which offers degrees in flight operations and aviation management.
Julie Speakes is chair of the department. “Delta State offers four-year degrees, along with a 30-hour, online Masters of Commercial Aviation,” she said. The school will add a logistics degree this fall. Applicants are not required to submit GRE scores, nor is a thesis required.
Speakes noted the advantages of a Delta State education, including it being a small program with a low student/teacher ratio. “You start flying only two weeks into the program, and there’s no out-of-state tuition,” she said. “We know our students really well, and we have a strong reputation in the industry.”
The school is located two hours south of Memphis, Tenn., which means students have access to good flying weather, said Speakes. “We are well supported by the airport and the state of Mississippi, and we’re the only aviation program in the state,” she said. Students fly out of Cleveland Municipal Airport.
Tuition for up to 19 credit hours, for undergrad and grad school, is $3,006 per semester. Flight training ranges from $8,859 for private pilot single-engine to $15,300 for commercial multiengine training.
The school has a Cessna fleet of 24 aircraft, including 152s and 172s, said Speakes. Delta State also has three Diamond DA42s it uses for multiengine training, she added. “Right now, we have 100 students. Our flight fees are competitively priced and tend to be lower than our competition.”
Benét J. Wilson
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