Aviation Maintenance

Red, yellow and navy blue stripes header banner

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Program Overview

The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program, taught in conjunction with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is designed for Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who are interested in becoming better enlisted leaders in Aviation Maintenance. This program helps you accomplish this by developing an understanding of the strategic and global landscape of aviation maintenance with an emphasis on meeting current industry needs.

Every associate degree program offered through the USNCC includes the five-course Naval Studies Certificate which provides a naval-relevant foundation to your lifelong educational journey. This is what sets the USNCC associate degree program apart from any other degree program available to you.

In addition to the Naval Studies Certificate, you will also earn the Aviation Maintenance Technology Part 65 Certificate, which is a six-course program in the Aviation Maintenance concentration area. This provides you with a professionally-relevant certificate that helps set you apart as an enlisted leader in aviation maintenance. This degree also prepares those with aviation maintenance experience and specific authorization requirements (determined by the FAA) for the Airframe and Powerplant license, which is taken through the FAA under FAR Part 65. For more information visit www.faa.gov.

Finally, you will complete the general education requirements that round out your critical thinking and communication skills and ensure your degree is transferable to a four-year degree program. This program ensures you have an established pathway to a bachelor’s degree with little to no loss in credit. While the USNCC will not pay for your courses beyond the associate degree program in Aviation Maintenance, it will have provided you a quality foundation in your educational journey, which you can use your tuition assistance benefits, GI Bill, or other funding opportunities to continue.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Partner Institution

The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program is completed through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, who is the degree grantor for this program. ERAU was selected for this program because of their military friendliness, quality education program, expertise in the field, and established pathway to a four-year degree program with little to no loss of credit.

ERAU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Program Description

In addition to the Naval Studies Certificate and general education requirements, the Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance offers courses that develop your knowledge and expertise as an enlisted leader in the following way:

The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance degree offers an innovative curriculum comprising 60 credit hours and a combination of general education and aviation maintenance core courses. In the civilian aviation industry, as in the military, the most crucial task is to keep planes flying safely. The core courses support the maritime context and are designed to provide the critical skills necessary to assume roles of greater responsibility within the aviation maintenance career field that are relevant to the mission maintainers, whether at sea or shore duty.

The aviation maintenance courses provide the foundational knowledge that will allow aviation maintenance technicians the opportunity to build upon the technical training and develop a deeper understanding of the aircraft engines, structures, and systems to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges, opportunities for improvement, and systems integration involved in aviation maintenance operations.
Upon graduation, students have in-depth knowledge of general aeronautics and applications, airframe structures, reciprocating engine theory, turbine engine theory, and more. The A.S. in Aviation Maintenance is focused on developing maintenance knowledge and critical-thinking skills that students will apply in the global aviation/aerospace maintenance environments. The courses within this program develop an understanding of the strategic and global landscape of aviation maintenance with an emphasis on meeting current industry needs.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Outcomes

1. Critical Thinking: The student will show evidence of knowledge at a synthesis level to define and solve problems within professional and personal environments.
2. Quantitative Reasoning: The student will show evidence of the use of digitally-enhanced technology and analysis techniques to interpret data for the purpose of drawing valid conclusions and solving associated problems.
3. Information Literacy: The student will show evidence of meaningful research, including gathering information from primary and secondary sources and incorporating and documenting source material in his/her writing.
4. Communication: The student will show evidence of communicating in written, digital, and oral forms to present technical and non-technical information.
5. Scientific Literacy: The student will show evidence of analyzing scientific evidence as it relates to the physical world and its interrelationship with human values and interest.
6. Cultural Literacy: The student will be able to analyze historical events, cultural artifacts, and philosophical concepts.
7. Lifelong Personal Growth: The student will show evidence of the skills needed to enrich the quality of life through activities that enhance and promote lifelong learning in their career field and personal environment.
8. Aviation Maintenance: The student will be able to demonstrate an understanding and application of the fundamentals of aviation maintenance, commonly accepted maintenance practices, and global regulations applicable to the aviation maintenance industry.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Program Requirements

To be eligible for this program, you must meet the following criteria:

Active duty enlisted Sailor, Marine, Coast Guardsman, or Coast Guard Reservist
High school diploma or equivalent

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Program Plan

Naval Studies Certificate
NAV101	Naval Ethics and Leadership	3 Credits
NAV102	Modern Naval History	3 Credits
NAV103	Naval Force Design	3 Credits
NAV104	Civilian/Military Relations, Organization and American Government	3 Credits
NAV105	Introduction to the Geopolitical Environment	3 Credits
Intellectual Skills
TBD	Two Communication Theories and Skills Courses	6 Credits
TBD	Two Physical Science courses	6 Credits
TBD	Two college-level algebra or higher Math courses	6 Credits
TBD	Any Computer Science course	3 Credits
ASCI202	Introduction to Aeronautical Science	3 Credits
STAT211	Statistics with Aviation Applications	3 Credits
Aviation Maintenance Technology Part 65 Certificate
AMNT240	General Aeronautics and Applications	3 Credits
AMNT260	Aircraft Electrical Systems Theory	3 Credits
AMNT270	Airframe Structures and Applications	3 Credits
AMNT271	Airframe Systems and Applications	3 Credits
AMNT280	Reciprocating Engine Theory and Applications	3 Credits
AMNT281	Turbine Engine Theory and Applications	3 Credits

Total: 60 Credits

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Math Intensity

Medium

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Learning Environment

All of the courses for the Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program are offered online and asynchronously, both via the USNCC for the Naval Studies Certificate and through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for the rest of the degree program. This means that, as long as you have access to the internet, you are able to take these courses on your schedule, wherever you are in the world. Whether you are stationed on a ship in Norfolk, conducting field exercises in Okinawa, patrolling in a cutter the coasts of Alaska, or providing security or logistical support out of Bahrain, you are able to use your off-duty hours to further your education through the USNCC. Since these courses are offered asynchronously, this means you will not be required to log on to specific meetings at specific times throughout the week. You will be assigned due dates for your assignments; as long as you can post by those deadlines, you will meet attendance requirements.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Ideal Rating/MOS Candidate

While there is no requirement at this time to be a part of any rating or MOS community, this program was designed primarily with the following community in mind:

Navy
Any aviation maintenance rating	The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program is designed to help those in aviation maintenance improve their skills and support your path in earning FAA Airframe and Powerplant certifications and licensing.
Marine Corps
Any aviation maintenance MOS	The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program is designed to help those in aviation maintenance improve their skills and earning FAA Airframe and Powerplant certifications and licensing.
Coast Guard
Any aviation maintenance rating	The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program is designed to help those in aviation maintenance improve their skills and earning FAA Airframe and Powerplant certifications and licensing.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Program Education Pathways

The Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance program transfers seamlessly to several Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University bachelor level degree programs such as the Bachelor of Science in Aviation Maintenance or the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics.

Aviation Maintenance Associate Degree Program Career Opportunities

The program is designed to prepare aviation maintenance professionals, civilian and military, with the knowledge and skillsets to assume positions of greater responsibility within the organization. For individuals who are currently not working in the aviation industry the program will provide the prerequisite knowledge to enter into the aviation maintenance career field. Students who pursue the management specialization are provided with logistics, production, procurement, production, life cycle analysis, and project management knowledge to be an effective aviation maintenance manager. Students who pursue the safety specialization are given the opportunity to enhance their aviation maintenance knowledge with a student of aviation safety, human factors, mechanical and structural factors, systems safety, and maintenance-related safety practices allowing the student to leverage their education in the workplace to identify and implement safety best practices. Ultimately the curriculum leads to potentially earning a higher salary, increased job satisfaction, personal pride, and advancement for the graduate.

Aviation Programs Overview

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Associate of Science degrees provide an innovative curriculum comprising general education and industry-specific courses. These degree programs deliver the critical skills necessary to assume greater roles and responsibilities within the aviation maintenance and uncrewed disciplines whether at sea or shore duty. Graduates increase their proficiency and professional expertise fostering career advancement and contribution in both military and civilian organizations. There are two degree options available; one focuses on aviation maintenance and the other on uncrewed systems.