Aviation degree · Denver, CO · Checked July 22, 2026
What an aviation degree at Metropolitan State University of Denver 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.
PilotBound all-in estimate
$171K
In-state, all-in
$241K
Out-of-state, all-in
Tuition + room & board (4years) + whole-program flight fees. Sourced figures summed, not the school's quoted package. Tuition changes yearly.
The numbers, with sources
- Tuition (in-state)
- $53,072
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $122,964
- Room & board(estimated)
- $53,200
- Flight training (whole program)(estimated)
- $65,000
- All-in (in-state)
- $171,272
Resident base tuition $442.25/credit hour x 30 credits/yr (before the COF stipend); mandatory fees are billed on top.
Non-resident tuition $1,024.70/credit hour x 30 credits/yr.
MSU Denver is a primarily commuter, urban campus and does not publish a single combined room & board figure on its bursar pages.
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.
MSU Denver publishes only a range, $55,000-$75,000, for flight training 'in addition to tuition and fees,' with no per-rating breakdown. Flight is completed at partner schools (not in-house). $65,000 is the midpoint of MSU's own published range; which ratings it covers is not itemized, so plan for the instructor ratings on top.
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Compare the pathsCommon questions about Metropolitan State University of Denver
- How much does an aviation degree at Metropolitan State University of Denver cost?
- Summing Metropolitan State University of Denver's own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 4 years, PilotBound estimates about $171,272 all in for an in-state student and $241,164 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 Metropolitan State University of Denver?
- Metropolitan State University of Denver publishes about $65,000 for the whole flight sequence its 4-year bachelor's degree trains (2025-26), 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 Metropolitan State University of Denver?
- Metropolitan State University of Denver publishes about $13,268 per year in-state and $30,741 out of state for 2026-27. Over the 4-year program that is roughly $53,072 versus $122,964, 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 Metropolitan State University of Denver lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. Metropolitan State University of Denver'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.
Other Colorado aviation degree programs
- Aims Community College · Greeley
- Colorado Mesa University (CMU Tech) · Grand Junction
- Colorado Northwestern Community College · Rangely
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Tuition and room & board are Metropolitan State University of Denver's own published figures. The flight total is NOT: Metropolitan State University of Denver 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 Metropolitan State University of Denver. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: msudenver.edu·msudenver.edu