Prime Location
Study in the DFW aviation hub — home to top airlines and airports.
Box 19617, Arlington, TX 76019
Phone: 817-272-3291
Aviation Studies
Take Flight in Your Career with UTA’s Aviation Studies
The University of Texas at Arlington offers a new academic pathway designed to meet the growing demand for skilled aviation professionals. Housed within the College of Liberal Arts, this program connects students to the heart of the Dallas–Fort Worth aviation industry—one of the largest and most influential aviation hubs in the nation.
Through a curriculum developed in collaboration with aviation leaders, students gain the business, management, and innovation skills needed to advance their careers and shape the future of global flight.
Program Overview
The Aviation track provides a flexible, interdisciplinary degree option through the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) or the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (INTS). Both pathways emphasize real-world learning, leadership development, and direct engagement with the aviation industry.
- BAAS (for working professionals): Designed for those already in the aviation workforce or related fields, offering flexibility for career advancement.
- INTS (traditional undergraduate): Tailored for full-time students pursuing a four-year degree with an interest in aviation management and innovation.
Why Aviation at UTA?
Industry Driven
Curriculum built with leaders from the DFW metroplex.
Flexible Paths
Interdisciplinary degree path for full-time students or BAAS for the working adult.
Hands-On
Gain real-world experience through projects and industry partnerships.
Future-Focused
Learn how AI and innovations are redefining flight.
From airline operations to airport leadership — a bold, industry-designed path to aviation success.
Focus Areas
- Aviation Management
- Airport Management
- Aviation Innovation
What You’ll Study
Coursework is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of aviation as both a business and a global system.
- Survey of Aviation
- Business Functions of Airlines
- Management Functions of Airports
- Aviation Law, Safety, Operations, and Finance
- Aviation Capstone / Project-Based Experience
These courses prepare students for leadership roles by combining academic theory, applied learning, and industry engagement.
Aviation Studies Courses
AVSC 3301 | Introduction to the Aviation Industry
See how the aviation industry fits together. Explore the airlines, airports, government agencies, and other organizations that keep people and goods moving safely. You'll also examine how aviation has evolved and the trends shaping where the industry goes next.
AVSC 3310 | Airline Management
Go behind the scenes of the airline business. Learn how airlines make decisions about routes, pricing, fleets, customer service, safety, and more while balancing the operational and financial demands of a complex industry.
Prerequisite: AVSC 3301
AVSC 3320 | Airport Management
Discover what it takes to run an airport. Explore the responsibilities behind airport operations, maintenance, certification, finance, administration, and public relations while gaining insight into airport management as a career field.
Prerequisite: AVSC 3301
AVSC 3350 | Airport-Airline Relations: Business and Operational Dynamics
Explore the partnership that keeps airports and airlines moving together. Examine the financial, legal, and operational relationships between airports and their airline partners and how decisions on both sides affect the business of aviation.
Prerequisite: AVSC 3301 or permission of instructor
AVSC 3388 | Special Topics in Aviation
Take a closer look at timely issues shaping aviation. Special Topics courses give students the opportunity to explore emerging ideas, challenges, and areas of interest across the industry. Topics vary by semester.
May be repeated for credit when the topic changes.
AVSC 4310 | Leveraging Aviation Data Sources
Turn aviation data into useful insight. Learn where industry data comes from, how to find and collect it, and how to begin using it to answer real aviation questions through hands-on analysis and a team-based research project.
Prerequisite: AVSC 3301
AVSC 4350 | Aviation Research Methods
Put research to work on aviation problems. Learn how to build a research question, choose the right methods, analyze data, and communicate findings. You'll apply those skills through a team project designed around the needs of an aviation organization.
Prerequisite: AVSC 3301, 60 credit hours, and permission of instructor
AVSC 4394 | Aviation Capstone
Bring everything together with a real-world aviation project. Work with faculty to investigate an industry problem and develop a project that demonstrates your experience across aviation, business, and technology as you prepare to enter or advance in the field.
Prerequisites: AVSC 3301, AVSC 3310, AVSC 3320, and 90+ credit hours
New Student Guidelines
for Bachelor of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies
Contact
Marvin Diaz
Associate Professor of Practice and Director, Aviation
Liberal Arts Applied Programs (LAAP)
Email: marvin.diaz2@uta.edu
Bio: Originally from San Francisco and the son of Nicaraguan immigrants, he earned a B.S. in Air Commerce from Florida Institute of Technology and an MBA in Aviation Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Marvin spent 26 years with American Airlines, serving as a financial controller and regional airport operations director in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America. His bicultural and bilingual experiences continue to shape his work and perspective. Outside of academia, Marvin enjoys flying single-engine aircraft and holds an FAA commercial pilot license. He is a commissioner on the Aviation Advisory Board of Fort Worth overseeing Alliance, Meacham International and Spinks airports and also sits on several aviation advisory groups in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metroplex.
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