Greetings,
We’re trying to get the word out about two drone piloting and data analysis courses taught by professional drone pilots being offered this Spring semester at UMass Amherst. Classes begin February 1st.
This course is for students interested in becoming a professional Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) Pilot and has an appreciation of the risk involved with flying drones in various types of airspace. It is one of four courses related
to a UAS Piloting Graduate Certificate Program. This course covers topic areas such as: (1) The basic features of a Safety Management System for UAS Pilots and their organization; (2) Human factors for UAS Pilots; and (3) elements of Risk Management for UAS
Pilots. This will teach students how to plan UAS operations and operate missions to ensure complete safety for everyone involved.
This Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) capstone course will provide the essential aeronautical, business, legal knowledge and skills to achieve a successful foundation in UAS industry. Students that complete this
application course will be prepared for successful careers as Remote Pilots in Command (PICs), observers, payload operators, and/or operational managers of governmental and private sector UAS applications. This course will incorporate educational objectives
that were gained in the prior courses of the UAS Certificate program with that knowledge being effectively demonstrated in this course. Students will gain additional experience in UAS Technology, Mission Planning, Execution and Evaluation. More specifically,
each student will be responsible for identifying a project or application for which UAS data collection would be appropriate, and to subsequently plan and execute the flight in a professional manner to collect the necessary data.
For information on UMass’ 9-credit UAS Graduate Certificate, visit:
https://www.umass.edu/uww/drone-piloting-certificate
Charlie Schweik
Professor, Environmental
Conservation and School of Public Policy, UMass Amherst
Director, UMass Information
Technology Program
President, International
Association for the Study of the Commons
Lead academic advisor: UMass Undergraduate
Public Interest Technology Certificate; UAS
Graduate Certificate