Texas Woman’s University (TWU) is launching a new flight school, the Doswell School of Aeronautical Sciences, this fall semester, aiming to empower women and address the pilot shortage.
According to Dallas-Fort Worth’s KXAS-TV, Denton-based TWU is now the only woman-focused university nationwide with a professional pilot program.
Backed by a $15 million grant from the Doswell Foundation, TWU’s program will offer two degree tracks: professional pilot and flight operations. Classes will be held on campus, with flight training conducted at Denton Enterprise Airport (KDTO) in partnership with the U.S. Aviation Academy. The initiative aims to enhance career opportunities for women in aviation and support the growing demand for pilots.
Brittany Dinsmore, the school’s associate director and chief flight instructor, highlighted the program’s success.
“What we’re really excited about with our program is that we’re kind of seeing a reverse,” Dinsmore told KXAS. “So, in traditional aviation programs like the one I went to, it’s usually mostly men. And you might get two or three women. But what we’re seeing with our inaugural class that’s coming in, it’s actually 25 women and two men. So, we’ve completely reversed the ratio.”
Each semester is limited to around 30 students, so the school with a total enrollment of about 15,000 is already at capacity for the fall. However, recruitment for the spring semester is underway.
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.
