The College of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with Ohio State’s Center for Aviation Studies, has launched the new Social Sciences Air Transportation Major. The core of the new Bachelor of Arts program includes an introduction to the transportation industry, the science 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.

“The air transportation industry has become much more sophisticated in recent decades, particularly in areas of security, management, and national and international political economic impact,” said Deborah Haddad, assistant dean, social and behavioral sciences. “The new major will better prepare our students to compete in a more complex aviation field by providing them with a solid understanding of the way in which air transportation systems affect and are affected by governments and their policies.”

Six of the required core courses in the new major are found in the Department of Geography: economic and social geography; transportation security; climatology; cartography; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); and geography of transportation. The required core aviation courses include fundamentals of aviation, aviation communication practices, advanced aircraft performance, aviation- specific policies and regulations, aviation human factors and safety, and the management of aviation and air transportation systems.

"The new major is a rich program for understanding the international, multi-cultural, geographical and sociological side of aviation and air transportation," said Seth Young, director, Ohio State Center for Aviation Studies. "The curriculum will provide opportunities for our students to become experts in the technical aspects of aviation, including professional flight education, allowing those that are so interested to become the next generation of professional pilots, airport managers, airline executives, or business aviation operators."

Courses from other social science disciplines including communication, economics, international studies, political science, psychology, and sociology are incorporated, as electives, into the new major. There is a variety of course options for both categories of electives, and students will have ready access to both Aviation and Geography advisors to consult about the set of electives that provide the best preparation for their post-graduation plans.

For more information, contact Rick McClish, undergraduate advisor, Department of Geography, at mcclish.10@osu.edu.