With incoming student enrollment at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) the largest in school history, it is a clear sign of increased interest in aviation careers that bodes well for the industry. The students that began classes August 26 at the university’s Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, campuses brought the highest GPA (3.74) and average SAT scores (1260) in school history, as well as the highest number of female students at 28 percent of the student body.
At the Prescott campus, ERAU welcomed 850 new students, a 23 percent increase over last school year—pushing total enrollment to almost 3,000 students. That record enrollment represents the highest number ever since the Arizona campus opened in 1978. ERAU’s Daytona Beach Campus also set new enrollment records for the sixth year in a row with 1,950 freshman students—an 18 percent increase over the 2018 class—pushing total campus enrollment to about 7,000 students.
“Our students are uniquely focused, driven and inspired young people who will be the leaders in areas critical to our national, international and economic security, as well as on the cutting edge of scientific achievement and exploration,” said Bryan Dougherty, dean of Enrollment Management. “It is an elite peer group to be part of as a student. It makes me confident and optimistic about our future if it is in the hands of these exceptional young people.”
A new STEM Center and planetarium at the Prescott campus helped draw students from 48 states and 62 countries, while the Daytona Beach Campus welcomed students from all 50 states and 110 different countries. Combined enrollment from both campuses in the university’s residential Aeronautical Science programs have seen a 25 percent increase in the last three years, with 2,300 arriving freshman students in the 2019 class topping the 2,000 incoming students in the Fall 2018 class.
