The Aviation program offers 3 options for study:

Professional Pilot

The professional pilot degree track prepares students to enter the aviation industry as a professional pilot for airlines, corporate aviation, air ambulance, mission/humanitarian aid and/or instructing. The Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot and Instrument Rating courses are approved under FAA Part 141. All other flight courses are conducted under FAA Part 61.

• Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Aviation-Professional Pilot­—Four-year degree. Graduates of this degree program are eligible to apply for a Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP) certificate at 1,000 flight hours, pursuant to the provisions of 14 CFR Part 61.160
• Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences (A.A.A.S), Aviation – Professional Pilot—Two-year degree. Graduates of this degree program are eligible to apply for a Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP) certificate at 1,250 flight hours, pursuant to the provisions of 14 CFR Part 61.160.

Air Traffic Control:

The Air Traffic Control degree track prepares students to apply for an FAA Air Traffic Control position. This degree prepares students for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Selection and Training evaluations. Hesston College is an FAA Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative school.

• Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences (A.A.A.S), Aviation – Air Traffic Control—Two year degree.

Program Admission Requirements: (all degree tracks)

• Have a high school diploma and an unweighted GPA of 2.5 or above or a GED certificate;
• Have a minimum 2.5 GPA for all completed higher education work;
• Have achieved one of the following: a minimum composite score of 19 on the ACT, a minimum combined critical reading and mathematics score of 990 on the SAT or an ACCUPLACER Next-Gen Score of 255 in Reading and 255 in Writing – only one ACCUPLACER retake allowed;
• Meet the FAA’s English language requirements; and
• Obtain a First Class (1st Class) FAA Airman Medical Certificate issued by a FAA-authorized Aviation Medical Examiner.
• For international students, a minimum total score of 513 on the paper TOEFL or 65 on the Internet-based TOEFL or equivalent is required to begin flight training.
• Any student who does not meet the minimum academic standards prescribed above for admission must achieve said standard throughout a full semester prior to enrolling as an aviation major; all Academic Contractual Acceptance (ACA) agreements must be satisfactorily completed to be considered.

Continued Enrollment Criteria for the Aviation Program

• An aviation student’s continuation within Hesston College Aviation’s flight program is predicated upon the student’s ability to achieve grades of C or above in all required liberal education/support courses and maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA in required Hesston College courses.
• Hesston College Aviation will cease all flight training operations for those aviation students who fail to maintain the minimum academic standard prescribed above. An aviation student’s failure to maintain said level of academic standard will either prolong program completion or result in dismissal from the program.
• In addition to the aforementioned academic standard, each aviation student must hold a current and valid FAA Airman Medical Certificate to remain enrolled in the aviation degree program.

Catalog 2024-25