Certificate Requirements

Course Sequence

Course #Course TitleCreditsPrerequisites/Comments

487-176Drone Recreational Operations1Spring/SummerThis foundational course will get your drone out of the box and in the skies. It covers the FAA Recreational flyers regulations, technical details of how drones operate and how to best maintain them, while also discussing basic photography guidelines to be able to capture quality images or video. You will also learn core practical flight skills, from your first take-off to performing manual and automated maneuvers. By the end of the course you'll be able to fly your drone safely, legally, respectfully, and smoothly. This course is offered in both on-campus and online formats for you to choose the best way for you to learn how to fly. If you participate via the online method you will need to own a drone that has a camera for recording video and taking pictures. We have drones for you to use on campus, you can bring your own personal drone in if you need help setting it up. We will use CVTC drones for any flights on-campus for insurance and liability reasons.

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