About the University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, established in 1926, is the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace. A truly international institution, we educate more than 31,300+ undergraduate and graduate students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, at 110 Worldwide Campus locations, including campuses in Singapore and Brazil, and through online learning.

The university offers more than 100 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs through its colleges of Arts & Sciences; Aviation; Business; Engineering; and Business, Security and Intelligence. Faculty members focus on research and consulting related to safety and security, uncrewed and autonomous systems, air traffic and airport management, aviation business, human factors, maintenance, spaceflight operations and urban air mobility, and much more.

Committed to propelling the industry forward, Embry-Riddle offers doctoral degree programs in Aviation, Aerospace Engineering, Aviation Business Administration, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Engineering Physics, Human Factors, and Mechanical Engineering. These doctoral programs expand the applied research opportunities for our students and faculty to collaborate with industry, government agencies and other universities to deliver real-world solutions. Our research partners have included the U.S. military, NASA and the FAA, in additional to federally funded laboratories and industry research and development facilities.

Across the university, at the Worldwide and residential campuses combined, Embry-Riddle holds nine Top 10 rankings. From 2016-2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Embry-Riddle Worldwide as the No. 1 or No. 2 provider of online bachelor’s degree programs every year. Programs at all Embry-Riddle campuses have been ranked among the best Best for Veterans.

Among private colleges, Embry-Riddle has been listed in several “best” categories, including best value, best starting salary and best return on investment by the U.S. Department of Education, Affordable Colleges Online, College Choice, PayScale, Smart Asset and Value Colleges.

Student teams regularly take top honors in competitions hosted by NASA, the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. Aeronautical Science students excel in annual flight competitions such as the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s SAFECON regional. Students have been commissioned to serve in the U.S. Space Force, landed in “Aviation Week’s 20 Twenties” leaders of tomorrow ranking, and earned prestigious awards including the Brooke Owens Fellowship, Patti Grace Smith Fellowship and the Goldwater Scholarship.

A dedicated faculty, administrators, alumni, trustees and advisory board members inspire and support our students and share their love of aviation and commitment to maintaining Embry-Riddle’s preeminence in global aerospace education.

Daytona Beach

The university’s 185-acre campus in Daytona Beach, Florida, is located next to Daytona Beach International Airport and Daytona International Speedway, only minutes from the Atlantic Ocean and only an hour’s drive from Kennedy Space Center and Orlando.

The 177,000-square-foot Mori Hosseini Student Union is at the heart of the campus. Another striking campus building is the observatory at the College of Arts & Sciences, which operates the largest university-owned research telescope in the Southeast.

Bachelor’s degrees of note at the Daytona Beach Campus include Aerospace & Occupational Safety, Aerospace Physiology, Global Conflict Studies, Space Operations and Uncrewed Aircraft Systems. Master’s degrees include Aviation Finance, Data Science, Cybersecurity Engineering, Human Factors, and Uncrewed & Autonomous Systems Engineering.

The John Mica Engineering & Aerospace Innovation Complex, located in Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Research Park, is a hybrid research center and business incubator that attracts scientists, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. With direct access to the airport, the Applied Aviation and Engineering Research Hangar offers specialized resources to corporate and research partners.

Prescott Campus

The university’s mile-high, 539-acre campus is located in Prescott, Arizona. The College of Aviation offers degrees for professional fixed-wing pilots and the campus is home to the Robertson Aircraft Accident Investigation Lab, North America’s only fully scenario-based training facility.

The nation’s first College of Business, Security & Intelligence is also on this campus. This college offers undergraduate degrees in Aviation Business Administration, Business Administration, Cyber Intelligence and Security, Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination, Global Business and Supply Chain Management, and Global Security and Intelligence Studies. Graduate degrees are awarded in Cyber Intelligence & Security and Security and Intelligence.

The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education Center houses 20 state-of-the-art labs dedicated to robotic systems, satellites, uncrewed aerial systems, commercial aircraft, military aircraft, physics, chemistry, biology and more. The building also contains classrooms, a multimedia center, a supercomputer system and the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium.

Additional noteworthy degree programs at the Prescott Campus include Forensic Biology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Simulation Science, Games and Animation.

Engineering students at Prescott have worked with industry partners to develop patentable technology and contributed to Nobel Prize-winning research. Student flight teams have won numerous national championships in NIFA SAFECON competitions and consistently earn high rankings in the Women’s Air Race Classic. 

Worldwide Campus

Embry-Riddle Worldwide has pioneered the delivery of outstanding educational opportunities for working professionals and students who choose online learning. Embry-Riddle Worldwide works collaboratively with industry to develop new talent and help reskill the workforce, with a focus on aerospace, business, science and engineering. Worldwide graduates become leaders and innovators in their fields and you will find them at the highest levels – from the U.S. military to C-suites around the globe.

From 2016-2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked Embry-Riddle Worldwide as the No. 1 or No. 2 provider of online bachelor’s degree programs every year. Across the university, at the Worldwide and residential campuses combined, Embry-Riddle holds nine Top 10 rankings. Programs at all Embry-Riddle campuses have been ranked among the best Best for Veterans. 

Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus, which includes fully online programs as well as approximately 110 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia, offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs for some 20,000 students. The most popular undergraduate majors include aeronautics, aviation business administration and communication. Alumni surveys have shown that four years post-graduation, 97.6% of Embry-Riddle Worldwide graduates are employed (96.8%) or continuing their education (0.8%), while the full-time mean annual salary for those graduates is $98,400.