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Students Begin Coursework at Embry-Riddle in Nation’s First Ph.D. in Aviation Program

Three-year research-intensive program tackles major issues in aviation and aerospace

Daytona Beach, Fla., Jan. 15, 2010 -- Eleven students have begun coursework in a pioneering Ph.D. in Aviation program offered by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The three-year program, the only one in the nation, meets the need for people with upper-level research credentials to tackle the major issues facing today’s aviation and aerospace industry.

The Ph.D. program is designed for working professionals; students take courses online and complete three six-day residencies at an Embry-Riddle campus.

In early January, the first 11 students completed a weeklong residency at the university’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus that covered critical and scholarly thinking, statistics and research methods, writing in APA format, success in graduate school, philosophy of research, online community-building, and a dissertation panel discussion.

“We were able to be highly selective in assembling this first cohort of students in our Aviation doctoral program,” said Alan Stolzer, professor of applied aviation studies and residency director for the Ph.D. program. “There’s a dynamic diversity in their backgrounds, educations, and careers that will create a vital interchange among them.”

Students enrolled in the academically rigorous program will explore aviation topics in management, training, economics, regulation, communications, and NextGen air transportation. They will also conduct research on important issues that impact the aviation and aerospace industry. A special focus of the new program is aviation operations. Additional specializations in safety and security are planned for the future.

Employers of the Embry-Riddle Ph.D. students include an aerospace company, airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. military, and a university. Half of the students are female.

After they receive their doctorates, the program’s first students have expressed a desire to conduct research in a variety of areas including aero-medical issues, airline operations, airspace redesign, human factors, information technology, safety management, space tourism, and unmanned aerial systems.

Applications are being accepted for the second cohort, which begins in July 2010. The application deadline is April 1. For more information, please go to http://aviationphd.erau.edu.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 150 campus centers in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.