Aviation degree · Dubuque, IA
What an aviation degree at University of Dubuque 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
$307K
4-year all-in, private (one tuition rate)
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
- $182,084
- Room & board
- $52,160
- Flight training (whole program)
- $72,540
- All-in
- $306,784
Private; same rate for all residencies. Tuition $43,440 plus student fees $2,081.
Housing (double occupancy) $6,590 + standard meal plan $6,450.
Based on FAA-minimum hours; real cost typically runs higher.
Full sequence from UD's per-rating estimate sheet: Private $17,266 + Instrument $10,022 + Commercial $24,185 + Multi-Engine $11,396 + CFI $9,671. Only the first four are required to graduate, and UD states that total itself as $62,869, which is exactly what those lines sum to. CFI is optional and 'highly encouraged'. TWO CAVEATS. First, the sheet is 2022-23 and UD has not replaced it, so these are four-year-old prices; its fuel line assumes $4.73/gallon. Second, the costs are priced at each course's REQUIRED hours, and UD says outright that some students need more. The current cost-of-attendance page instead gives a per-year flight figure ($15,210 for airplane training, 2026-27), which is NOT a program total: UD's own guidance is to allocate about that much per year across a four-year flying program.
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Compare the pathsCommon questions about University of Dubuque
- How much does an aviation degree at University of Dubuque cost?
- Summing University of Dubuque's own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 4 years, PilotBound estimates about $306,784 all in. 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 University of Dubuque?
- University of Dubuque publishes about $72,540 for the whole flight sequence its 4-year bachelor's degree trains (2022-23), separate from and on top of tuition. That figure is priced at FAA-minimum hours, so a realistic total runs higher, often by around 40 percent. 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 University of Dubuque?
- University of Dubuque publishes about $45,521 per year in tuition for 2026-27, a single private-school rate that does not change with residency. Over the 4-year program that is roughly $182,084, before room and board and before any flight fees.
- Does an aviation degree from University of Dubuque lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. University of Dubuque'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.
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Figures are University of Dubuque'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 1,000-hour airline minimum comes from a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160. PilotBound is not affiliated with University of Dubuque. Disclaimer & removal policy.