University of North Dakota Grand Forks |
Professors
Jensen, Lindseth (Graduate Director),
Marshall,
Smith, Watson
The
Aviation Department offers a graduate program leading to the Master of
Science degree. The M.S. in Aviation degree provides the necessary educational
background for aviation industry professionals to solve problems within
the field of aviation including the airlines, corporate aviation, general
aviation, and airport management. Graduates will gain an understanding
of the various complexities facing the industry through a breadth of aviation
industry related courses. In addition, graduates will gain an understanding
of statistics and research methods, and how they may be applied to research
and solve problems within the aviation industry. The graduate program will
provide the graduates with the knowledge and skill that prepare them for
the aviation industry, aviation related government jobs and for further
research and development in the field of aviation.
1.Bachelor’s
degree in Aviation/Aeronautics
OR
Bachelor’s
degree from an accredited institution and a minimum of 20 semester credits
of appropriate aviation related undergraduate work.
2.GRE
exam — General Test
3.Overall
undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or a GPA of at least 3.00 for the last two years
of undergraduate work.
4.Hold
a minimum of a Federal Aviation Administration Private Pilot Certificate
or its foreign equivalent.
5.Students
must submit a 2-3 page paper answering specific questions per departmental
guidelines. One of the questions will address the potential thesis or independent
study topic.
1.A
minimum of 30 credit hours for the thesis option or a minimum of 32 credit
hours for the independent study option. Approval of the thesis option will
be granted based upon alignment of research interests with departmental
faculty’s research interests and faculty availability.
2.Required
Core Courses are as follows:
AVIT
501General Issues in Aviation/Aerospace3
credits
AVIT
502Aviation Economics3
credits
AVIT
503Statistics3
credits
AVIT
504Research Methods3
credits
AVIT
595Capstone Course3
credits
AVIT
997/998Independent Study or Thesis2-4
credits
3.In
addition to the required core courses, students will select elective courses
from the following list to complete the degree.
AVIT
510Aviation Public Policy and Regulations3
credits
AVIT
511Aviation Information Technology3
credits
AVIT
512Aviation Environmental Concerns3
credits
AVIT
513Advanced Aviation Safety Management3
credits
AVIT
514Aviation Management Theory3
credits
AVIT
515Human Factors: Human Perception
in
the
Aerospace Environment3 credits
AVIT
516Human Factors: Memory, Learning,
and
Judgment3 credits
AVIT
517Airline Labor Relations and Law3
credits
AVIT
590Aviation Seminar1-3
credits
AVIT
593Individual Research in Aviation1-3
credits
501.
General Issues in Aviation/Aerospace. 3 credits. This course is designed
to explore the historical, current and future issues related to the aerospace
industry. Course will include issues pertaining to legal, environmental,
regulatory, and current events shaping the industry.
502.
Aviation Economics. 3 credits. This course will take an overall look
at the structure of air transportation, including airlines, general aviation,
and airports; entry and exit factors for airlines and Fixed Base Operations’
(FBO) costs of airlines service; costs of FBO operations; the demand for
airline and general aviation services; airline and FBO rate structures
and ratemaking factors; airport cost structures and ratemaking procedures;
capacity management; market segmentation; demand forecasting; regulatory
impact on commercial and general aviation; profits, cash flow and marketing;
and revenue management. The unique economic factors of airlines and international
commercial aviation, monetary exchanges and aviation credit facilities
will also be discussed.
503.
Statistics. 3 credits. Prerequisite: an introductory statistics course
or calculus course. An in-depth study of inferential statistics with primary
emphasis on analysis of variance models, multiple regression technqiues,
analysis of covariance and other higher order statistical procedures.
504.
Research Methods. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Avit 503. Methods and procedures
of development, design and analysis related to aviation industry research.
Topics include safety issues, survey techniques, business analysis and
marketing effectiveness. The course includes the experience of critically
evaluating research projects and developing a research project based on
the principles discussed in class.
510.
Aviation Public Policy and Regulations. 3 credits. A discussion of
the initiation, formulation and implementation of aviation public policies
and their effects upon the various segments of the aviation industry. Various
regulatory areas such as scheduled air carriers, general aviation, airport
operations, air traffic control and international agreements will be analyzed.
511.
Aviation Information Technology. 3 credits. This course will focus
on a variety of information technology systems that are in use and their
impact on successful operations within the aviation industry. An overview
of current and emerging technologies in reservation systems, aircraft productivity
modeling, air traffic control systems and various database, data communication
and e-commerce systems will be explored.
512.
Aviation Environmental Concerns. 3 credits. An in-depth study of the
environmental concerns within the aviation industry and how policy and
decision-makers can implement effective strategies toward compatibility
between the aviation industry and its environment.
513.
Advanced Aviation Safety Management. 3 credits. An in-depth study of
aviation safety management concepts and principles as they relate to effective
safety programs within the airlines, corporate aviation, general aviation
and airports.
514.
Aviation Management Theory. 3 credits. An in-depth review of organizations
in the aviation industry, their structures, environments and leadership
as it relates to human behavior. Topics include organizational design,
climate and the interactions with individuals, groups, and different organizational
levels within the management of an airline, general aviation, corporate
aviation and airports.
515.
Human Factors: Human Perceptions in the Aerospace Environment. 3 credits.
Human perception and physiology will be discussed in normal conditions
and applied to the alterations seen in the aviation environment. Discussion
of specific illusions will be incorporated with aircraft accident investigation
reports and computer simulations. Application of perception principles
to workstation and information system design will allow the student to
have a greater understanding of human-centered automation goals.
516.
Human Factors: Memory, Learning and Judgement: The Challenges of Training
and Selection in the Aviation Industry.
3 credits. The process of memory, learning and judgment will be discussed
in relation to education and performance of aviation professionals. Topics
include memory physiology and the effects of bias, attitude, motivation,
and personality on crew performance. The course will provide an opportunity
to evaluate workload, training systems designs and their effectiveness
in training operations, based on the principles discussed in the course.
517.
Airline Labor Relations and Law. 3 credits. This course will examine
the impact and application of the Railway Labor Act and the National Labor
Relations Act as they pertain to airline operations. Other legal issues
pertaining to the airlines will include consumer protection; anti-trust
& monopolies; FAA enforcement procedures and regulatory compliance;
multi-district air disaster litgation; Warsaw Convention and international
law and treaties; Environmental Protection Act regulations; product liability;
and workers compensation.
590.
Aviation Seminar. 1-3 credits. A series of lectures presented by visiting
lecturers and the faculty. May be repeated for up to 4 credits.
593.
Individual Research in Aviation. 1-3 credits. Individual student projects
designed to develop advanced knowledge in a specific area of expertise.
A written report is required. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
595.
Aviation Capsone. 3 credits. The Capstone course integrates, extends
and applies knowledge learned in earlier Aviation courses and reading.
The course begins in the spring semester and concludes with an intensive
seven-day Capstone (during summer session) experience on the UND campus.
997.
Independent Study. 2 credits. Independent study and preparation of
a written report for students taking the non-thesis option in the Master’s
program.
998.
Thesis. 4 credits. Preparation and defense of a thesis based on original
research. Admissions committee approval and consent of instructor required.