New ERAU Programs Available

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) offers students several new educational and training opportunities, including an Associate of Science in Air Traffic Management program, which debuted in August 2025.

The program, part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Enhanced Air Traffic Controller Training Initiative (AT-CTI), allows students to bypass training at FAA’s academy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and proceed to facilities for on-the-job training. Students must first pass written and simulator evaluations upon earning their ERAU degree.

The two-year associate degree program is in addition to the university’s Bachelor of Science in Air Traffic Management, which was approved for the FAA training initiative late last year.

The program focuses on Tower training, whereas ERAU’s four-year bachelor’s degree program combines En Route and Terminal operations.

ERAU’s Daytona Beach, Fla. and Prescott, Arizona campuses are part of the Enhanced AT-CTI initiative.

On the research side, ERAU researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system to decode and translate radio communications. Pilots and air traffic controllers have long faced challenges in understanding radio communications from weak transmissions or misinterpreted aviation jargon. The AI system converts spoken radio transmissions into text by using standardizing terminology, formatting spoken numbers and call signs, removing filler words and flagging potential errors.

Elsewhere, there are noteworthy developments. ERAU and Brazil’s Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) are collaborating on finding ways of keeping electric-powered aircraft cooled on takeoff.

The research is intended to “offer hands-on research training to students, preparing them to tackle the issue of heat management on electric aircraft, considered key to reducing the aviation industry’s carbon footprint,” according to an ERAU news release.

Dr. Sandra Boetcher, interim department chair and professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Mark Ricklick professor of Aerospace Engineering, are working with Brazilian colleagues Dr. Guilherme Borges Riberio and Dr. Elisan dos Santos Magalhães on the project.

Learn how ERAU trains the next generation of instructors in Robert’s article: The Teachers.