Get a Master's in Airport Development and Management

According to the CIA World Factbook, there are nearly 45,000 airports in the world, with about 20,000 of them in the United States. Responsible for the transportation of hundreds of millions of people and tons of cargo every year, its vital that existing airports strive to modernize and take advantage of new technologies and systems that make the airport more efficient for passengers and crew, provide better service, and feature the utmost in safety and security. With a Master of Science in Administration from Florida Tech, students are poised to take a leadership role in airport development and management and tackle these complex challenges faced today and in the future.

This master’s-level aviation program brings students to the forefront of airport technology and management strategies, preparing them to recognize industry trends and challenges. Recognized for having one of the best university-based aviation programs in the nation, Florida Tech ensures that airport management degree students gain a comprehensive background in aviation studies, management, and business to provide expertise on such issues as airport operations, vendor management, personnel training, aircraft taxi zones, sound barrier creation, and more.

Varied Research Programs

Students have extensive opportunities for research and field study at Florida Tech. The cornerstone of each airport management degree is real-world, hands-on research experience. The university’s expertise in science and aeronautics helps students fully explore the many facets of airport development and management.

Advanced research tools and facilities are available through an interdisciplinary learning approach across the Colleges of Science, Engineering, and Aeronautics. See below for more information.

Expert Career Preparation

As an airport development and management graduate, students can specialize in niche areas including sound barrier creation, environmental impacts, and fleet planning or airport traffic management. A master’s in airport management opens the door to a variety of careers where graduates can offer their airport technology and management strategies to answer industry challenges. No matter what career path a graduate pursues, Florida Tech’s reputation as a world-class aviation program gives students a competitive edge with employers.

When a student chooses Florida Tech to study for a master’s in airport management, they are choosing a respected institution with more than 45 years of experience as one of the leading university-based aviation safety programs in the nation. Plus, Florida Tech also offers all the benefits that a larger school offers such as a world-class faculty, advanced research, an active campus life, and quality course offerings—but in a close-knit academic community with small class sizes and one-on-one time with professors.

Learn from Dedicated, Experienced Aviation Professionals

The College of Aeronautics’ faculty is comprised of professors who are not only experienced commercial, private, and military pilots but also recognized thought-leaders in aviation and aeronautics. They have authored many textbooks and published considerable research in journals on aviation safety, with topics that include:

• Airport noise modeling
• Situational awareness and aeronautics decision-making
• Airline equipment financing and fleet management
• Environmental impacts of airport operations

Dedicated researchers themselves, Florida Tech’s faculty are actively involved in supporting their students’ passion for discovery. In addition, they are also experts in at least one other field such as aviation law or avionics—making airport development and management training at Florida Tech unlike any other in the country.

A Full-Featured Research University

As a national research university, Florida Tech’s commitment to making tangible advances in aeronautics ensures students working towards a master’s in airport management learn and conduct research in a program with cutting-edge tools and facilities for high-tech research.

Attractive Location—High-Tech Aviation

Florida Tech’s location in the heart of the Space Coast brings students close to the Kennedy Space Center, Melbourne Orlando International Airport, and other aviation technology companies interested in internships and research than other universities offering a master’s in airport management. By working in and around high-tech aviation facilities, students gain firsthand knowledge of how these complex organizations grow and change with industry trends.

If students like to fly, they’ll enjoy having over 300 days of ideal flying weather each year. Outside of human factors training in aviation, Florida Tech also holds accreditations from the FAA in aviation management, flight, and air traffic control, giving students access to the full realm of aviation expertise.

Earning a degree in airport development and management at Florida Tech goes far beyond combing through textbooks and case studies in the confines of a classroom. Students enhance their understanding of airport dynamics by studying and working with real aircraft in an airport management internship at the Melbourne Orlando International Airport and the Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research.

Hands-on learning not only improves student research experiences, but also creates beneficial airport management internship opportunities that illustrate in-field experience for future employers. Studying in an active aviation setting, in and around high-tech aviation facilities throughout their studies, gives students firsthand knowledge of how these complex organizations fluctuate with industry trends.

Research Opportunities Abound at Florida Tech

Florida Tech has an internationally proven reputation for excellence in engineering and science, including the scope and type of research provided through research. Research helps experts in any facet of aviation learn to predict and prevent the scenarios that cause airline accidents. Florida Tech prepares students to be just such an expert. Through extensive research opportunities that combine classroom learning and hands-on internships, graduates with a master’s in airport management are well prepared to tackle the type of complex challenges faced by airlines, airports, and aeronautics organizations—the type of work they will do when on the job.

Airport management internship and research activities offer:

• The Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research: Located just a few minutes’ drive from Florida Tech at Melbourne Orlando International Airport, the Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research houses more than 50 aircraft, including a brand-new fleet of Piper Archer TX aircraft equipped with the Garmin G1000 glass panel navigation system. These aircraft, along with the Center for Excellence in General Aviation (see below for more information), serve as vessels for applied research for students looking to go beyond simulations and labs and get hands-on human factors training in aviation. An airport management internship gives students access to apply classroom learning and ensure graduates are ready to tackle challenges upon graduation.
• Tools and Facilities: Students work with aviation tools such as wind tunnels, air quality monitoring systems, high-tech modeling software programs, and other technology from the colleges of science and engineering.
• Centers of Excellence: Florida Tech is a member of an elite team of universities chosen by the FAA for the Center of Excellence for General Aviation, alongside our existing Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. Through these centers, Florida Tech receives research funding to explore various aviation-related topics, including airport technology, propulsion and structures, airworthiness, flight safety, fire safety, human factors, system safety management and weather.

These airport management internship and research activities, combined with cutting-edge tools and facilities, give students at Florida Tech the opportunity to go beyond simulations and labs to real-world application and career preparation.

With nearly 45,000 airports serving the world’s travelers and businesses, and nearly 20,000 of those airports in the United States, airport management jobs involve a variety of duties from ensuring the safe and efficient operations of the airport every day, to interfacing designing and enforcing policies and procedures, the logistics of people, luggage and freight, oversight of scheduling and ticketing systems, and security.

An airport manager also has close working relationships with federal and state aviation committees and departments that generate rules and regulations for airport business and security. Additionally, airport managers must be poised to manage a crisis, be a liaison with unions, and oversee a very diverse 24-hour-a-day staff.

Airports incorporate a wide variety of complex parts and systems. With an airport management degree, students specialize in niche areas such as vendor management and personnel training, or focus on more generalized airport management as an executive. Career opportunities are as diverse as your interests and as the aviation industry continues to expand, so do the job opportunities.

Career Outlook

Depending upon the size of the airport, requirements for airport management jobs vary. Large metropolitan airports typically require three to seven years of prior experience at airports served by several airlines. Assistant managers must have excellent oral and written communication, problem-solving skills, knowledge of and compliance with federal/state/local aviation regulations, and knowledge of laws and guidelines is also required.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provides information about specific jobs including median annual pay, working conditions and job outlook, among other things. The handbook does not address airport management specifically, but does provide information and job outlook for top executives. Visit the website to learn more. You can also visit AVjobs for information on all type of aviation jobs.

Airport Management Jobs

Jobs graduates might find in airport management include such positions as:

• Airport manager
• Human resources manager
• Airport operations manager
• Airport assistant manager
• Security director
• Director of infrastructure management
• Aviation program manager
• Airport building systems manager
• Business development officer
• Air service research and development