Air Transportation is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #91 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual looked at 62 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Air Transportation Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,326 degrees in air transportation annually.
The air transport program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Air Transportation rankings. For our Best Overall Air Transportation School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Air Transportation Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for Air Transportation in the United States
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the air transport degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in air transportation. Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach is a large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Daytona Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #187 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach is a great university overall.
There were roughly 588 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the air transportation program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach make $16,982 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Any student pursuing a degree in air transportation needs to look into University of North Dakota. UND is a large public university located in the city of Grand Forks. A Best Colleges rank of #335 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UND is a great university overall.
There were approximately 329 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at UND in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the air transportation major at University of North Dakota get $5,976 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in air transportation. Located in the small city of Daytona Beach, Embry-Riddle Worldwide is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
There were roughly 1707 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Embry-Riddle Worldwide in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the air transportation major at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide make $16,982 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
It is hard to beat Purdue University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a degree in air transportation. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were approximately 203 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Those air transportation students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus earn $4,979 more than the standard air transport grad.
Located in the city of Prescott, Embry-Riddle Prescott is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 9th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were about 154 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Embry-Riddle Prescott in the most recent year we have data available. Air Transportation degree recipients from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott get an earnings boost of about $16,920 above the typical earnings of air transportation graduates.
Located in the small city of Manhattan, K -State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #269 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means K -State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 59 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at K -State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the air transportation major at Kansas State University earn $3,111 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Melbourne, Florida Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Florida Tech is a great school overall.
There were roughly 156 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Florida Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the air transport program make an average of $47,019 for their early career.
UVU is a very large public university located in the city of Orem. This university ranks 7th out of 11 schools for overall quality in the state of Utah.
There were approximately 456 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at UVU in the most recent data year. Those air transportation students who get their degree from Utah Valley University make $8,315 more than the typical air transport grad.
Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Lynchburg. A Best Colleges rank of #265 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Liberty University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 476 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Liberty University in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the air transportation major at Liberty University make $2,542 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Romeoville. This university ranks 39th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 128 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at Lewis in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the air transport program state that they receive average early career earnings of $39,228.
Located in the distant town of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 184 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the air transport program report average early career income of $44,036.
WMU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Kalamazoo. A Best Colleges rank of #322 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 214 air transportation students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the air transport program report average early career income of $34,872.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
The air transport program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Air Transportation rankings. For our Best Overall Air Transportation School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
