MSU and ATP team up to offer an aviation degree
BECKLEY, WVa. – August 25, 2010 – Mountain State University and Airline Transport Professionals (ATP) are pleased to announce an academic services agreement signing today at 1:00 pm in the conference room of the Office of the President. The agreement will be signed by MSU Chief Executive Officer and President Charles H. Polk and ATP President Derrick Dennis to reflect a new bachelor’s degree for aviation students, the Bachelor of Science in Airline Transport Professional Pilot Operations, with flight training being completed through ATP.
David Robbins, director of aviation at MSU, stated, “Airlines hire the most qualified pilots, preferring that applicants have a bachelor’s degree and high quality flight experience.” To meet this market demand, MSU and ATP have joined together to offer a program that incorporates academics and airline-oriented multi-engine flight training into a bachelor’s aviation degree program. The program allows students to complete flight training through one of ATP’s 22 locations across the country while attending college classes through MSU. Approximately 16 months into the degree program, students will be qualified to work as a flight instructor and begin working towards their total flight experience time while also pursuing an airline-respected bachelor’s degree. In addition to gaining the necessary FAA pilot certifications and flight instructor certificates, students will develop skills in leadership, business and management, communications, and aeronautics.
MSU chose ATP to provide the flight training portion of its new professional pilot degree program because of ATP’s 26-year track record training professional pilots in multi-engine aircraft across the U.S.
“What makes this degree so unique is how the college coursework complements students’ flight training and professional pilot careers. With recent legislation requiring more flight experience of airline pilot applicants, it’s important that career pilots build high-quality flight experience as quickly and economically as possible. Graduates of this program will be the first of a new generation of airline pilot applicants,” said Derrick Dennis, president of ATP.
Mountain State University, founded in 1933, is a not-for-profit independent institution based in Beckley, W.Va., serving more than 8,700 students a year in such market-relevant fields as business, accounting, computer science, information technology, criminal justice, nursing, medical sonography, and leadership. In addition to its main campus in Beckley, MSU has campuses in Center Township, Pa.; Martinsburg, W.Va.; Mooresville, N.C.; Orlando, Fla.; and Washington, D.C.; as well as a site in Hickory, N.C. Many degrees are also offered online. For more information, call 866.FOR.MSU1 (866.367.6781).
In 1984 ATP pioneered cost-efficient, accelerated, multi-engine flight training with an emphasis on pilot career development. Today, ATP’s Airline Training Programs prepare graduates for airline pilot and corporate pilot careers with nationwide flight experience in the largest, multi-engine training fleet. Advanced jet training transitions these pilots from light twins to modern regional jets in CRJ-200 flight training devices. With thousands of graduates who have completed airline training on time and on budget, airlines come to ATP first to meet their demand for pilots. ATP flies over 6,000 hours to provide more than 300 FAA pilot certifications each month at 22 locations nationwide.
