California Flight School to Offer College Degree

Channel Islands Aviation's (CIA) flight school in Camarillo, California, has partnered with the Santa Barbara Business College (SBBC) to offer an accredited Associate of Science in Aviation degree program. Students will receive college credit for flight training received at CIA. The ground school portions and general education courses required for the degree are offered through SBBC online or on-site in Santa Barbara.

At the completion of the 70-week program, students will walk away with the associate degree as well as a Commercial Pilot License and CFI, CFII and MEI certificates. The cost for the full program is $110,000 and includes 330 hours of flight training. The number of hours is based on average completion times for each of the included ratings. Students who complete the program with fewer hours will receive a credit, said Sarah Oberman Bartush, CIA's flight school manager.

Students who have already completed some portions of the program, such as a Private Pilot License, will be accepted as transfer students and the portions that have already been completed will be credited on a case-by-case basis, Oberman Bartush said. 12 students are already registered for the first session, which begins in early October.

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Pia Bergqvist joined FLYING in December 2010. A passionate aviator, Pia started flying in 1999 and quickly obtained her single- and multi-engine commercial, instrument and instructor ratings. After a decade of working in general aviation, Pia has accumulated almost 3,000 hours of flight time in nearly 40 different types of aircraft.

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