Aviation degree · Grand Junction, CO · Checked July 22, 2026
What an aviation degree at Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech) costs
A 2-year associate's (AAS) 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.
PilotBound all-in estimate
$101K
In-state, all-in
$124K
Out-of-state, all-in
Tuition + room & board (2years) + whole-program flight fees. Sourced figures summed, not the school's quoted package. Tuition changes yearly.
The numbers, with sources
- Tuition (in-state)
- $23,938
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $46,920
- Room & board(estimated)
- $17,100
- Flight training (whole program)
- $59,696
- All-in (in-state)
- $100,734
Sticker tuition + fees $5,984.40/sem x 2. CO residents who apply the state COF stipend pay about $9,185/yr ($4,592.40/sem).
Out-of-state tuition + fees $11,730.00/sem x 2.
CMU's tuition/fee catalog page does not publish a single combined room & board figure.
Partial: school does not price every rating, so the full sequence costs more.
Full single-engine sequence PPL through CFI, sum of CMU Tech's published per-course flight labs (PPL $14,160 + Instrument $12,836 + Commercial I $12,640 + Commercial II $14,385 + CFI $5,675). In-house fleet at Grand Junction Regional (KGJT), FAA-minimum-hour based, so plan higher. Multi-engine is optional (about +$7,525) and not in this total; the packet is dated 2024-25.
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Compare the pathsCommon questions about Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech)
- How much does an aviation degree at Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech) cost?
- Summing Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech)'s own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 2 years, PilotBound estimates about $100,734 all in for an in-state student and $123,716 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 Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech)?
- Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech) publishes about $59,696 for the whole flight sequence its 2-year associate's degree trains (2024-25), 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 Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech)?
- Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech) publishes about $11,969 per year in-state and $23,460 out of state for 2026-27. Over the 2-year program that is roughly $23,938 versus $46,920, 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 Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech) lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech)'s 2-year associate's aviation degree is a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160, which lets you hold a restricted ATP at 1,250 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.
Other Colorado aviation degree programs
- Aims Community College · Greeley
- Colorado Northwestern Community College · Rangely
- Metropolitan State University of Denver · Denver
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Figures are Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech)'s own published tuition, room & board, and flight fees, summed by PilotBound into a planning estimate. 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 1,250-hour airline minimum comes from a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160. PilotBound is not affiliated with Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech). Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: coloradomesa.edu·catalog.coloradomesa.edu