The Veterans Administration recently approved and agreed to cover education costs for degrees and pilot certification for veterans attending Unmanned Vehicle University, a Phoenix, AZ-based civilian UAV flight school. The VA’s marquee decision means veterans can now use their GI Bill benefits to pay tuition fees for advanced education including Master’s and Doctorate degrees and also includes UAV Pilot Training Certification.

Dr. Jerry LeMieux, Col., USAF (Ret) said, “This is the perfect education to transition from the military to an exploding civilian job market. There are hundreds of commercial applications that will need new training to lead the next generation of unmanned systems.”

UAV Pilot Training
Unmanned Vehicle University offers a state-of-the-art UAV pilot training program consisting of three phases. Phase one and two are conducted at home. Phase one and Phase two can be completed in two weeks at home. Phase three is conducted at one of the university flight schools and completed over a two day period. Students will learn to fly fixed wing aircraft on day one and rotorcraft UAV's on day two. At the end of the program, students will receive the UAV Pilot Certificate showing 10 hours of simulator, 16 hours of ground school and 24 hours of flight training for a total of 50 hours of training. All flights are conducted at Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) fields with AMA instructors in accordance with FAA AC 91-57. No previous experience is required to enroll in this program. The cost of the three-phase program is $3500. The university will dispatch an instructor to the group’s location should veterans have a group of students interested in the Pilot Certification. This training is only available to U.S. citizens or foreigners living in the U.S.

Masters Degree in Unmanned Systems Engineering – All Courses Online
This specialized degree focuses on unmanned systems engineering and program/project management. It includes architecture, development, modeling & simulation, analysis, integration, test and management of complex systems and processes. The curriculum consists of 36 credits taken during 12 week terms. No Master’s Thesis required. To transition and complete the Doctorate program, 48 course credits and a 12 credit doctoral dissertation is required. Entrance requirements are a Bachelors degree in any field.

The Masters Degree in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Engineering requires a Bachelors degree in any topic. Persons with the Masters Degree in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Engineering will enter the Unmanned Career field as a Program Manager or Systems Engineer.

The Systems Engineering course includes preparation for the entry level International Council on Systems Engineering’s Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) certification examination. INCOSE certification formally recognizes an individual’s competency in the systems engineering process, and is widely acknowledged as a significant accomplishment by practitioners in the field.

Doctorate Degree in Unmanned Systems Engineering – All Courses Online
The systems engineering course includes preparation for the entry level International Council on Systems Engineering’s Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) certification examination. INCOSE certification formally recognizes an individual’s competency in the systems engineering process, and is widely acknowledged as a significant accomplishment by practitioners in the field. Persons with the Doctorate Degree in Unmanned (Air/Ground) Systems Engineering will enter the Unmanned Career field as a Program Manager or Systems Engineer.
This specialized degree focuses on unmanned aircraft systems. Courses are taught online and on campus at 1 E Washington St, Phoenix, AZ. The curriculum includes architecture, development, modeling & simulation, analysis, integration, test and management of complex systems and processes. Problems and exams are used to assess candidate progress. The program consists of 48 credits taken over 12 week terms and a Doctoral dissertation (12 credits). At the end of the last course, students must pass a comprehensive exam before starting their research for the dissertation. At the end of the program, students will be required to give a 20 to 40 minute presentation of their research to the examining committee. This presentation can be done remotely. There is no residency requirement. Dissertations will be judged by whether or not an original and unique contribution is made to the UAS industry. A Masters degree in any field and college algebra is required for entry into this program.

Any veteran (both active duty and retired) seeking further information should contact Ken Murray, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret) at [email protected] for further information.