Aviation degree · Los Angeles, CA · Checked September 28, 2026
What an aviation degree at California State University, Los Angeles costs
A 4-year bachelor's (BS) program. Tuition, room & board, and flight fees, each from the school's own published pages, summed into an all-in estimate. Flight fees are billed separately and on top of tuition. This is a planning estimate, not the school's quote.
Section 1Cost estimate
PilotBound all-in estimate
$208K
In-state, all-in
$265K
Out-of-state, all-in
Tuition + room & board (4 years) + whole-program flight fees. Sourced figures summed, not the school's quoted package. Tuition changes yearly.
The numbers, with sources
- Tuition (in-state)
- $31,752
- $7,938/yr × 42026-27Source
- CSU systemwide tuition plus campus mandatory fees, resident full-time undergraduate.
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $88,272
- $22,068/yr × 42026-27Source
- Resident base $7,938 plus the $471/unit nonresident surcharge; assumes 30 units/year full-time.
- Flight training (whole program)(estimated)
- $90,000
- 2026-27Source
- This school publishes no whole-program flight total. The figure is a PilotBound estimate, not the school's, built from its own published rates or fees.
- The BS is Aviation ADMINISTRATION, a management degree with NO in-house flight training and no flight cost in tuition. $90,000 is a PilotBound estimate to earn FAA certificates (PPL through CFI) separately at outside SoCal flight schools; it is not part of the degree.
- All-in (in-state)
- $208,368
Section 2Paying for it
Two ways to cover $208,368.
Win what you can first, then borrow only what is left. Neither figure assumes anything about you: one is what our scholarship directory holds, the other is what the lenders publish.
- Money you keepScholarships you could apply for51 open to anyone, plus 1 in California. Top awards reach $22,200.
- Hiller Aviation Museum Flight Training Scholarship$15,000 · San Francisco Bay Area · Opens Feb 5, 2027
- 52
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $208,368Four of the six lenders in our comparison lend this much. That is whether a loan this size is on offer, not whether you would be approved.
- 4 of 6
Section 3Add to my plan
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A degree is one path. Build a free plan to map every step to your checkride and see it against the other routes.
Build your free planSee how this stacks up against Part 61, Part 141, an academy, and a 2-year degree.
Compare the pathsSection 4In the app
Track your flight training at Cal State LA.
Enter the aircraft and instructor rates from California State University, Los Angeles's flight program when you set up PilotBound, and the app tracks every flight you log against the projection, rating by rating.
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Section 5Questions
- How much does an aviation degree at California State University, Los Angeles cost?
- Summing California State University, Los Angeles's own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 4 years, PilotBound estimates about $208,368 all in for an in-state student and $264,888 out of state. That is a sum of the school's published figures, not the school's own quoted package price, and flight fees are billed pay-as-you-go on top of tuition rather than as a fixed bill.
- How much are flight fees at California State University, Los Angeles?
- California State University, Los Angeles publishes about $90,000 for the whole flight sequence its 4-year bachelor's degree trains (2026-27), separate from and on top of tuition. That figure is incomplete: the school does not price every rating the degree trains, so the full sequence costs more. Flight fees move with your pace and the hours you actually fly, which is why they are the least predictable line in a collegiate aviation budget.
- What is tuition at California State University, Los Angeles?
- California State University, Los Angeles publishes about $7,938 per year in-state and $22,068 out of state for 2026-27. Over the 4-year program that is roughly $31,752 versus $88,272, before room and board and before any flight fees. Residency is usually the largest single lever on a collegiate aviation budget.
- Does an aviation degree from California State University, Los Angeles lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. California State University, Los Angeles's 4-year bachelor's aviation degree is a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160, which lets you hold a restricted ATP at 1,000 hours instead of the standard 1,500. That is the concrete thing the degree buys beyond the credential itself, and it is worth weighing against the tuition and room and board a non-degree path does not carry.
Section 6Sources
Tuition and room & board are California State University, Los Angeles's own published figures. The flight total is NOT: California State University, Los Angeles publishes no whole-program flight cost, so that line is a PilotBound estimate and is marked as one above. They are not the school's quoted program price, and they will differ from a student's actual cost. Flight fees are pay-as-you-go and vary with a student's pace. Confirm current numbers with the school. The 1,000-hour airline minimum comes from a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160. PilotBound is not affiliated with California State University, Los Angeles. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: calstatela.edu
Other California aviation degree programs
- California Baptist University · Riverside
- Cypress College · Cypress
- Mt. San Antonio College · Walnut
- Orange Coast College · Costa Mesa
- Reedley College · Reedley
- Sacramento City College · Sacramento
- San Bernardino Valley College · San Bernardino
- San Jose State University · San Jose
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