Starting in 2018, Mohave Community College in Kingman, Arizona will offer an unmanned aircraft systems degree at all of its campuses.

According to Havasu News, the degree program, which is suited for the “Xbox generation and its fascination with all things tech” according to Andra Goldberg, MCC computer information systems faculty, will prepare students to pursue a UAS Bachelor of Science degree, or to earn entry-level employment in a plethora of industries that use UAS.

Through this degree program, UAS majors will learn the intricacies of the UAS industry as they achieve a broad understanding of business, aviation regulations, technology, meteorology and security issues.

“The new degree is a transfer pathway to one of the few unmanned aircraft major programs in the country,” Goldberg says.

“This is a good fit for the college to provide some of our computer science and engineering courses, along with our advanced math classes that fits into what you would take in the first two years for this degree.”

Initially, many of the courses within the degree program will be offered online, including subjects like computer science, engineering, computer programming, math and core liberal arts.

A plethora of industries are using UAS for all kinds of tasks. Goldberg points to Amazon’s plan to deliver packages using UAS, and the U.S. Forest Service using UAS to identify “what a fire might be doing.”

Goldberg says that UAS provide a safer alternative for collecting information for many different industries, whether it be first responders using the technology, or those involved in agriculture real estate, three-dimensional survey modeling, or other industries.

“Instead of flying a helicopter they can use an unmanned vehicle,” Goldberg says. “This allows industries and others to get information in a safer way.”