an associate degree in air transportation is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #61 out of 328 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for air transportation students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 155 associate degrees in air transportation to qualified students.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to air transportation students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of air transportation students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How much debt air transportation students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized air transportation related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for air transportation students working on their associate degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Air Transportation Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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It's difficult to beat Texas State Technical College if you want to pursue an associate degree in air transportation. TSTC is a fairly large public college located in the medium-sized city of Waco.
Students who graduate with their associate from the air transport program report average early career earnings of $35,008.
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in air transportation. Spartan College - Tulsa is a small private for-profit college located in the city of Tulsa.
Associate students who receive their degree from the air transport program make around $35,377 for their early career.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
