Course description
Course overview
With a first student intake in 1999, the pioneering BSc (Honours) in Air Transport Operations was the first course in the UK to combine a university honours degree with an Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL). The course content was agreed after lengthy consultation with outside organisations including British Airways, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators and various flight training organisations.
Course content
The content of the City course has been designed by academics from the University and professionals from the airline industry, and is divided into three years.
Year 1
Year one consists of a normal academic year at City University London and is made up of two teaching periods. Teaching period one covers the business and management techniques used by the airlines to administer a successful company. Engineering, computing and technical aspects of aircraft uses and operation are covered in teaching period two. You will study 10 core modules:
• Accounting and business finance
• Aircraft design
• Airline case study
• Computing for the airline industry
• Flight mechanics/aerodynamics
• History of the airline industry
• Management and leadership
• Marketing and presentations
• Quantitative methods
• Safety management
Year 2
Year two is spent away from the University at a CAA-recognised flying training school. This lasts for just over one year and leads to successful candidates being awarded a “frozen” Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence. You will study 14 core modules:
• Airframes and systems
• Air law
• Flight planning and flight monitoring
• General navigation
• Human performance and limitations
• IFR communications
• Instruments/electronics
• Mass and balance
• Meteorology
• Operational procedures
• Performance calculations
• Principles of flight
• Radio navigation
• VFR communications
In addition you will undertake flight training up to passing the Commercial Pilot’s Licence with instrument rating.
Year 3
The final stage, year three, is taken part time at the University and includes advanced modules, plus group and individual project work associated with the airline industry.
You will study five modules:
• Business aviation
• Individual project
• Group design and technical project
• Group business project
• Avionics and IT
Plus two elective modules taken from:
• Active safety management
• Airline operations
• Airport and ground handling
• Air transport economics
• Aviation psychology
• Crisis management
• Marketing
Teaching and assessment
Teaching
The course combines lectures, coursework, projects and examinations. Year two is taught externally from the University by a number of leading flight training organisations with which the University has partnership agreements. This includes around 200 hours of simulator and aircraft flying. A significant portion of year three consists of group project work which enables students to develop team working skills which are essential to an airliner flightdeck.
Assessment
The course is assessed by a combination of coursework and end-of-term examinations. The final degree awarded is based on the successful completion of year one, the ATPL flying and ground school in year two and on year three projects, coursework and final exams. Over 50 per cent of year three is assessed by project work. The contribution of each year of the course is as follows:
Year one: 15 per cent
Year two: 25 per cent
Year three: 60 per cent
Professional placement and study abroad
Year two is spent away from the University at a CAA-recognised flying training school. This lasts for just over one year and leads to successful candidates being awarded a “frozen” Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence. In addition you will undertake flight training up to passing the Commercial Pilot’s Licence with instrument rating.
