2025 Best Air Transportation Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

If you plan on getting your associate degree in air transportation, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #61 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 8 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Air Transportation Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 686 associate degrees in air transportation to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Air Transportation School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of air transportation for getting your associate degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to air transportation students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of air transportation students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt air transportation students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized air transportation related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for air transportation students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Air Transportation Schools

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 Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Air Transportation in the Southeast Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in air transportation.

Top Southeast Region Schools for an Associate in Air Transport

1

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
Daytona Beach, FL

309 Annual Graduates

$66,957 Median Starting Salary

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in air transportation. Located in the city of Daytona Beach, Embry-Riddle Worldwide is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the air transport program earn an average of $66,957 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in air transportation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide

2

Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne, FL

39 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in air transportation has to look into Florida Institute of Technology. Located in the small city of Melbourne, Florida Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in air transportation from Florida Institute of Technology

3

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, FL

24 Annual Graduates

$66,957 Median Starting Salary

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in air transportation. Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Daytona Beach.

Associate students who receive their degree from the air transport program make around $66,957 for their early career.

More information about a associate in air transportation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach

4

Florida State College at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL

19 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Florida State College at Jacksonville if you wish to pursue an associate degree in air transportation. FSCJ is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Jacksonville.More information about a associate in air transportation from Florida State College at Jacksonville

5

Polk State College
Winter Haven, FL

21 Annual Graduates

Polk State is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Winter Haven.More information about a associate in air transportation from Polk State College

6

Hinds Community College
Raymond, MS

10 Annual Graduates

Hinds Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the rural area of Raymond.More information about a associate in air transportation from Hinds Community College

7

Middle Georgia State University
Macon, GA

20 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Macon, Middle Georgia State University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in air transportation from Middle Georgia State University

8

Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and Technology
Fort Pierce, FL

23 Annual Graduates

Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and Technology is a fairly small private for-profit college located in the suburb of Fort Pierce.More information about a associate in air transportation from Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and Technology

Best Air Transportation Colleges by State

Explore the best air transportation colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Mississippi	143	20
Georgia	121	7
Florida	121	766
North Carolina	120	48
Arkansas	105	7
Virginia	97	3
Kentucky	90	0
Louisiana	80	2
Alabama	69	0

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Rankings in Majors Related to Air Transport

One of 3 majors within the Transportation & Materials Moving area of study, Air Transportation has other similar majors worth exploring.

Air Transport Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science & Technology	355
Aviation/Airway Management & Operations	136
Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot & Flight Crew	123
Air Traffic Controller	49
Flight Instructor	23

Majors Similar to Air Transport

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Marine Transportation	6

Notes and References

• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.