Certificate Requirements

Course Sequence

Course #Course TitleCreditsPrerequisites/Comments

487-176Drone Recreational Operations1Spring/SummerThis course is focused towards those interested in flying drones for fun. The course content aligns with the FAA Hobbyist requirements allowing you to learn the technical FAA regulations / policies to be a safe and respectful UAV pilot, submitting requests for flights inside of restricted areas, and practical flight skills to be able to fly and maneuver your drone smoothly. A series of beginner flight labs will teach you how to control your flight along with capturing the best images and video shots from a drone using both automated and manual maneuvers. This course includes on campus labs but if you have access to a personal drone with a camera you can complete the course off campus (online).

487-177Drone Commercial Operations2Spring/Summer | 487-176The Commercial Drone Operations course builds on the first for those who need to be FAA certified for commercial drone operations, including freelancers and flying as a company employee. The course content aligns with the FAA UAV certification exam (known as the Part 107 license). In this course you will prepare for the FAA UAV exam and practice a series of flight labs focused on maneuvers typical in commercial applications using both automated and manual controls. This course includes on campus labs but if you have access to a personal drone with a camera you can complete the course off campus (online).

487-179Drone Mapping & Modeling2Summer/Fall | 487-177 or concurrent and 487-176This course focuses on using enterprise level drones for data collection related to developing site maps for construction updates, asset digitization, inspections, and/or condition documenting of both hard and soft surface sites. Collecting thermal images of equipment, roof tops, and/or solar arrays to document anomalies. Using photogrammetry software to reconstruct the imaged site into Digital Elevation Models, Orthomosaic maps, and 3D models, and prep those digital assets for export to common industry standard file formats. Due to the specialized equipment and software, this course is only offered in an in-person format.

487-180Drone Agriculture Operations2Summer/Fall | 487-176 and (487-177 or concurrent)The Commercial Drone Applications course uses industry leading software and enterprise level drones to integrate UAV technology into business workflows. The primary goals of this course cover planning a UAV survey mission, data acquisition via the drone, and post processing the collected data for developing industry related reports, maps, and/or 3D models. Parts of this course can be contextualized to relate to the industry the student plans to operate in (Agriculture, Emergency Services, Architecture/Energy, or Marketing). This course requires meeting in-person two days per week, day 1 (2-hour block) is usually off campus at a predetermined flight site in the local area, day 2 (2-hour block) is usually on campus using specialized software. Due to the specialized equipment and software, this course is only offered in an in-person format.

TOTAL CREDITS:7