In the past 35 years, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has established itself as the educational leader in aviation, aerospace, security and related industries. The campus occupies 539 acres near the Prescott municipal airport, and is currently enjoying a period of success and distinction. This year marks the largest enrollments to date on the Prescott Campus, which hosts more than 1,850 students hailing from all 50 states and over 30 countries. The campus’s average GPA and standardized test scores for its incoming class are the highest of any institution of higher learning in the state of Arizona, and the Phi Beta Lambda Business Club recently swept the state competition for Arizona universities for the seventh straight year. The men’s and women’s soccer teams and men’s golf team are the defending conference champions in the NAIA’s Cal Pac conference; and the men’s golf team was the NAIA Academic National Champion with a 3.733 overall team GPA. In addition, the Golden Eagles flight team recently won its second consecutive and ninth overall National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) national title. Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus has also been recognized by Affordable Colleges Online as one of only one percent of U.S. private colleges whose students earn a $1 million dollar return on their educational investment.
Within the last couple of years, there has been rapid growth at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus. The athletic department has added the new intercollegiate sports of men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, and women’s softball to the existing programs in women’s volleyball, men’s wrestling, and men’s and women’s soccer. Academically, helicopter flight has joined the long-standing and world-renowned fixed-wing Aeronautical Science pilot training program (one in five pilots are Embry-Riddle graduates). Plus, Embry-Riddle has responded to national and private security needs by expanding on its unique and wildly successful Global Security and Intelligence Studies major with new majors in Cyber-Intelligence and Security, Software Engineering (with a cyber-security focus) and a master’s degree in Security and Intelligence Studies. Also, in order to help leverage its astronomical observatory and space physics major, a new major in astronomy has been added. Finally, a new degree in Global Business – complementing the only Aviation Business Administration major in the world – offers a five-year Bachelor-Master’s degree track in partnership with Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz.
The recent growth has allowed Embry-Riddle to enhance the excellence it has always provided its students. It has upheld the standard for Aerospace Engineering – holding the #1 ranking by US News and World Report in this category 14 years in a row and since the category was created – with Electrical, Computer, Software and Mechanical Engineering also contributing to the College of Engineering, the largest of the three colleges on campus. Though continuing to grow, the university prides itself on small class sizes, faculty mentoring, state-of-the-art technology and hands-on-experience in the fields students study. Embry-Riddle is also a military friendly campus, with 10 percent of the students being veterans and an additional 20 percent being members of the Reserve Officers Training Corps who will graduate with a commission as officers in the U.S. military. In fact, Embry-Riddle provides more Air Force officers, pilots and rated flight slots than any institution except the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Embry-Riddle is a proud member of the Prescott community: hosting Town Halls and debates for U.S. Senators and Congressmen; educational lectures and programs that are open to the public; regional math and science competitions for school-aged children; public events like the memorial for the Prescott Hotshots killed in the Yarnell fire; and assisting with the annual City of Prescott Fourth of July celebration.
The public is always invited to visit campus to cheer on the athletic programs, participate in a community event, and/or tour the campus and meet some of these exceptional students. QCBN
Bryan Dougherty is dean of enrollment management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For more information, call 800-888-3728, or visit Prescott.erau.edu.
Leave a Reply