Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Daytona Beach, Florida
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is not your regular typical engineering college. In fact it’s kind of not a college. I mean it sort of is. You can definitely get a BS there. But you don’t have to. You can get a certification there, too. Or an Associate’s Degree. Or a Master’s, or a PhD for that matter. But they also offer non-degree programming. Oh, and they have several campuses even though the main one is in Daytona, Florida. So if you would rather study in Arizona at their Prescott campus, you can. But they are online too. And in Asia. You know, because it’s aeronautical and all.
The main campus is their Daytona campus and most students apply there. It’s kind of an awesome place to be. You’re close to Cape Canaveral which is very handy for an aerospace place to be. Plus it’s Daytona, “the most famous beach in the world.” The 5700 undergrads find the 250 days of sun a year to be pretty nice there. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the weather is warm pretty much all year round.
ERAU is also not for people who aren’t sure what their interests are. Because you can only study certain things. And basically those things are engineering and things related to it. In fact, here’s what you can study: Applied Science, Aviation, Business, Computers and Technology, Engineering, Security, Intelligence, and Safety, and Space. And I think it goes without saying that this is all within the aeronautical lense. So for example, the business in question is Aviation Business Administration (which by the way you can study on all of their campuses including Asia, so cool!).
There is quite a wide range though within each offering, however. Take for example “Applied Science.” While you might think that this is merely space physics, and while that is an option, it’s more than that as well. It includes wildlife science (a flock of geese will take down a plane, people), meteorology, simulation sciences and game design (flight simulators are crucial for pilots to learn on!), forensic psychology, engineering physics, aerospace physiology (g-forces will mess a human body up!), air traffic management, computational mathematics, and even forensic accounting and fraud. And this doesn’t even scratch the surface of the kinds of engineering you can study here! Civil engineering, aerospace, computer, electrical, mechanical, software, computer science, animation, engineering physics. All of these are available on multiple campuses, along with cyber security which is one of the fastest growing fields in tech today. The space fields take this one step further giving you options like unmanned aircraft science, systems and applications, spaceflight operations, astronomy and astrophysics, aeronautics and aeronautical science. If you are passionate about these fields, this is the school that has it. And only it.
The other important thing to know about Embry-Riddle is that you can fly here. Not just academically. I mean you can actually fly here. Like as a pilot. As a student at ERAU you have access to one of the largest and most advanced fleets of aircraft than any other private university. You can train on this fleet, but there are costs to this (and they are steep and in addition to tuition and fees). As an Eagle, you have access to the Flight Line and use of the fleet as long as you have a medical exam on file and your fees paid.
Embry-Riddle is an exciting place to be a student and it isn’t just because you can fly all over. Student work is cutting edge there. There are students in mechanical engineering working on clean energy cars that will compete in the Department of Energy’s ECOcar competition. The civil engineering folks are experimenting with aquaponics to figure out how to grow the most food in the least space so that food could be grown on Mars or in a spacecraft. The civil engineering materials lab is investigating new materials which could help us shore up our failing bridge systems in the US, and the students in the interdisciplinary studies labs are working on a way to purify water which could work as well on the International Space Station as it has in the villages in Haiti where they have been trying it out.
And that’s just a few of the 110 labs that undergrads research in. Undergrads are working in everything from virtual reality to new space suit designs. They are in labs with radio space telescopes listening to the stars and studying jet propulsion. From designing marketing strategies to enhancing medical systems, from programming robots to repairing spacecraft, from developing guidance systems to setting up new firewalls, undergrad students at Embry-Riddle drive research, discover new technologies, and make changes to how we do things in our world.
Embry-Riddle has an Honors Program, and it’s something to consider when you apply. There are a number of perks beyond just the early registration that most honors programs give you. In addition to preferential advising and a special living learning community, there are seminars, programs, lecture series, a library set aside for you, a center to work in, and access to special research options. In addition, you have access to the accelerated BA/MA path which would grant you both degrees in a shorter amount of time.
There is a lot happening at at ERAU all the time. But it’s also a traditional residential college at the same time. Sports are a big thing (DII), there are plenty of clubs, and ROTC is a major way that people pay for school (and it’s also popular because so many people want to join NASA later). And it’s also Daytona, so the weather is awesome (about 250 days of sun a year, did I mention that?).
Embry-Riddle has eight residential communities for you to live in. As a first year you will live in a Living Learning Community, designed to connect you with academic resources for your major, college, or department. In an LLC, there will be special events, programming, and other kinds of social avenues meant to help you adapt to school and meet folks. In addition to the honors program and the first year one, there are other LLCs as well. ROTC has one. There is an all female one, one for transfer students, and one for athletes as well. A faculty member lives with an LLC to provide support and to participate in programming. LLCs develop a close knit community which is empowering to those that live there.
There are multiple ROTC programs you can be a part of at ERAU. Air Force, Army, and Navy are all options and for many if not most of the ROTC students at Embry-Riddle the scholarships provided cover almost all if not all of the cost of attending. You can also join the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Program which is the Marine Corps version of ROTC. For some students, eligibility for a scholarship comes at the end of their first year at ERAU, so do keep that in mind if you choose to go this route.
Embry-Riddle is an NCAA DII school and students can participate in a variety of sports there. Of particular note to WAHS students, you can row here, (men and women!) and cross country, track and field, soccer, tennis, basketball, and lacrosse are all available. Women’s volleyball is also an option. There is no football, I am afraid. But there is NASCAR nearby of course. And there is the beach, so when it comes to club sports? Giddy-up! How about scuba diving? Or sailing? Or surfing? And of course, you can fly there. So does skydiving sound good? And that doesn’t even include the regular ones like rugby or parkour, or aikido, or rock climbing. There is also a Flight Team that competes as well. The Eagle Flight Team is a very successful one, and they compete in both navigation events and in precision landing events as well as others.
If you’re not tired out from sports or ROTC or your academics, there are also plenty of other things to do there as well. There is Greek Life to consider. There is plenty of leadership programming as well as student government, volunteer and community service opportunities, and social justice work to do in and around Daytona. And then there are over 300 clubs and activities to take part in. Join the Strike Eagle Squadron and train in SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape), or the Paintball Club. Be a member of Women United, Human Powered Submarine, the Pep Band, Creative Ink Writing Group, Microgravity Club, Out in STEM, Spark Interfaith, TechEagles, Acafellas, or the Barefoot Flying Club. Whether you’re spending time with the Anything Goes Anime club or the Environmental Outreach Club, there’s basically never a dull moment at ERAU.
Is Embry-Riddle for you? It’s a terrific engineering school where you can do cutting edge research and make a real difference in products, materials, and technology we use daily, so if that’s what you want to do, then it’s a great school for you. But it’s not at all for the undecided. You have to want to work for NASA, National Science Foundation, Homeland Security, the military, or a government contractor in your future for the most part. Not that these are your only options, but this is a specialized education. They have a high acceptance rate (75%) but that’s more because of the self-selection than anything else. This is a first choice school for the people who apply to it, and 75% come from the top 25% of their graduating class (unweighted GPA of 3.5 and up). But if you want to go to Mars, if you want to design the first car that runs on 8 oz of sea water, if you want to be the one who prevents someone from hacking our elections? This could be your school.
Pros:
- Excellent engineering
- Amazing location(s)
- Cutting edge undergrad research
- Perfect sized school
Cons:
- Hyper specialized education
- Private (cha-ching!)
- Separate cost for light training
- Very much aligned with the military