Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach

Private · Moderately Selective · FL

Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Scott A. Thornbloom (Public Domain)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationFL · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads7,860

Student:faculty18:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate42%

6-yr grad rate66.5%

Drop-out rate11.9%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$44k

Out-of-state tuition$44k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity43.7%

Gender diversity28%

International9.9%

Identity—

Overview

Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus is the original and larger of the university's two U.S. campuses, built entirely around aviation and aerospace and located beside Daytona Beach International Airport. It is widely regarded as one of the most specialized universities in the country, with virtually every program oriented toward careers in flight, aerospace engineering, or the broader aviation and space industries.

Academics

Aerospace engineering and professional flight are the flagship programs, and flight students train in the university's own fleet of aircraft as part of the standard curriculum rather than through an outside arrangement. Air traffic management, aviation business administration, and unmanned and autonomous systems programs round out a curriculum that treats aviation not as one department among many but as the organizing principle of the whole university. Simulator labs and faculty who often come from industry or military aviation backgrounds are part of the culture.

Campus & student life

The campus's location next to an active airport is not incidental — aircraft schedules and hangar space shape daily rhythms in a way unlike almost any other university. Daytona Beach's setting brings its own culture, from motorsports events to the beach itself, but the aviation identity dominates: student clubs, competitions, and traditions revolve heavily around flight and engineering rather than conventional collegiate life.

Getting in

Admission for flight-track students includes practical considerations beyond grades and scores, including physical requirements tied to eventual FAA medical certification, and the university's review reflects its narrow, mission-driven focus on aviation and aerospace career readiness.

After graduation

The pipeline into airlines, NASA, and major defense and aerospace contractors is unusually direct for an undergraduate program, and the university's alumni network inside the aviation industry — airline pilots, aerospace engineers, air traffic controllers — is one of the most concentrated of any school in the country in a single professional world.

Worth knowing

Flight training carries real additional costs beyond standard tuition, since aircraft time, instructor hours, and certifications are billed on top of the academic program, a detail prospective flight students should understand is structurally different from a normal major.

erau.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate64.8%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1160–1360 · ACT 24–30

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying