July 10, 2015
SIU, SWIC offer aviation degree program
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale will offer its Bachelor of Science degree in aviation management through off-campus classes at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville beginning in August.
Coupled with an existing associate degree in an aviation-related field, students can earn a bachelor’s degree in as little as 16 months. Courses will meet every other weekend beginning Aug. 29.
An open house for interested students will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, July 20, in the college’s main complex building near the cafeteria.
The off-campus program, offered in conjunction with SWIC, builds upon aviation-related associate degrees that students received in aviation maintenance, flight, avionics technology, air traffic control, aircraft operations support and other aviation-related technical fields. The career-oriented degree program also meets the educational needs of individuals who have aviation-related work experience and/or technical training from military schools, technical institutes and community colleges, including SWIC, or industry training programs.
“The SIU Carbondale Department of Aviation Management and Flight is pleased to join Southwestern Illinois College to offer SWIC students the opportunity to continue their collegiate aviation education and obtain their bachelor’s degree,” John Voges, interim Department of Aviation Management and Flight chair, said. “Many of these students have roots or are employed in the Metro East area. The opportunity for them to complete a four-year degree in aviation while remaining close to home is a huge benefit.”
The courses will be taught by on-campus SIU Carbondale faculty and fully qualified adjunct faculty hired from the aviation industry and related fields.
Celebrating its 40th year of offering off-campus classes this fall, the aviation management program also has four other off-campus sites: Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, Calif.; Palomar College, San Marcos, Calif.; Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, Jacksonville, N.C., and MCAS Cherry Point, Havelock, N.C.
For more information, contact Keith Mueller, the SIU aviation program coordinator at SWIC, at 618/222-5683 or by email at Keith.Mueller@swic.edu.