BA Social Sciences Air Transportation at The Ohio State University

Programme overview

The social sciences air transportation major at Ohio State provides students a broad understanding of how aviation affects and is affected by social forces like the economy, international affairs and government policy. The academic core of air transportation studies includes an introduction to the transportation industry, the sciences of physical conditions, aircraft and flight, as well as an introduction to the social, economic and political considerations that help to explain the regulations and other measures of industry structure.

Faculty: Arts and Sciences | Study mode: full-time | Location: Columbus, OH, United States

What you will study

Freshman year - Aircraft Performance and Weather - Aviation Communications - Economic and Social Geography - Introduction to Aviation Industry - Private Pilot Fundamentals Sophomore year - Aviation Management and Marketing - Aviation Regulations - Cartography and Map Design - Transportation Security Junior year - Aviation Human Factors and Safety - Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science - Weather, Climate and Global Warming Senior year - Aviation Capstone - Geography of Transportation

Career pathways

Students graduating from Ohio State with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences air transportation will be prepared to find employment in the airline industry as flight dispatchers, flight attendants, airport operation planners, air traffic controllers, safety inspectors, airline schedulers, national transportation safety board accident investigators and airport directors.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission to the university (and the Arts and Sciences college where applicable) applies; no separate programme-specific requirement published. Students interested in majoring in Social Sciences Air Transportation will begin in the pre-major program in the Department of Geography. As a pre-major student, you will be fulfilling critical introductory course work, preparing you to enter to either the Social Sciences Air Transportation major OR the Social Sciences Air Transportation major with the Professional Pilot Certification (PPC).

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Entry terms for first-year applicants to the Columbus campus: Autumn 2027 and Spring 2027 (Spring 2027 deadline November 1, 2026). Summer first-year applications are not accepted.

Transfer applicants can start in Spring, Summer or Autumn 2027.

First-year, Columbus campus, Autumn 2027: early action (non-binding) deadline November 1, 2026; regular decision deadline January 15, 2027; financial aid priority date February 1; acceptance fee deadline May 1, 2027. Early action decisions: December 11 (Ohio residents and Stamps Eminence applicants) and January 22 (non-Ohio residents and international applicants); regular decision decisions March 5.

First-year applicants apply with the Common Application. ACT or SAT scores are required for first-year Columbus applicants (superscored; sent directly by the testing agency); applicants out of high school two or more years are not required to submit scores. The essay is not required.

Transfer applicants (Columbus campus): Spring 2027 deadline November 1, 2026; Autumn 2027 deadline March 1, 2027; Summer 2027 deadline May 15, 2027. Regional campuses: December 1, 2026, April 15, 2027 and July 15, 2027 respectively.

International transfer applicants: Spring 2027 deadline October 1, 2026; Autumn 2027 deadline March 1, 2027.

Apply through the official page: https://undergrad.osu.edu/apply

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