School proposes two-year aviation degree

GREAT FALLS – The Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology is proposing a two-year aviation degree, which its instructors would teach in Bozeman.

The state Board of Regents gave the proposal a preliminary OK at its meeting last week in Missoula, and it will be on the agenda as an action item when they meet Jan. 20-21 in Helena.

MSU Tech Dean Mary Sheehy Moe said the Great Falls school already offers a few technical programs, such as computer classes, on the campus of MSU in Bozeman.

She said the aviation proposal, a two-year associate of applied science degree in aviation, tentatively is slated for Bozeman “because there is quite a demand for commercial pilots there.”

Under the program, MSU Tech would be the classroom academic partner, teaching college-level math, science and composition, as well as basic aviation law and aircraft systems. Tuition would be about $2,100 a year.

The students would take flying classes at a Bozeman flight school, where the cost would be about $22,000 to receive the three needed flight certificates.