Aviation degree · Ruston, LA · Checked September 28, 2026
What an aviation degree at Louisiana Tech University 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
$171K
In-state, all-in
$215K
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)
- $49,500
- $12,375/yr × 42026-27Source
- Louisiana Tech runs on QUARTERS, not semesters, so this is its published $4,125 per quarter at 12+ hours multiplied by THREE, not two. The quarterly figure is the university's own average and includes tuition, fees, the technology fee, the energy surcharge and an average college fee; final cost varies by major.
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $93,696
- $23,424/yr × 42026-27Source
- Non-resident $7,808 per quarter at 12+ hours, times three quarters. The out-of-state charge is an addition to the in-state total rather than a replacement for it.
- Room & board(estimated)
- $50,400
- $12,600/yr × 42026-27Source
- Louisiana Tech publishes no housing or meal-plan rate on its public pages: both sit inside the StarRez housing application portal. A meal plan is mandatory for students in the residence halls and apartments.
- Flight training (whole program)(estimated)
- $71,325
- 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.
- Louisiana Tech publishes no program total, so this figure is PilotBound's, not the university's. What Louisiana Tech does publish, effective Summer 2026, is an hourly fee schedule: Cessna 172 at $251 dual and $206 solo, Piper PA-28R at $256 dual and $211 solo, the FRASCA Mentor training device at $137, oral instruction at $65, and a $100/hour operations and maintenance surcharge added to every airplane flight fee but not to oral or device time. Dual less solo is $45 on both airplanes, which is the in-flight instruction rate. Applying our standard Part 141 hours model to those rates, all-in at $306 solo and $351 dual, across the Private, Instrument, Commercial and Flight Instructor sequence the degree trains, gives about $71,000 in flight fees. Two things it leaves out in opposite directions: oral instruction is billed on top and is not counted, and the FRASCA device is cheaper than the airplane and is not substituted for any hour, so the airplane time is priced at its full rate throughout. Written tests, checkrides, the medical and gear are excluded. An older course catalog states the surcharge as $65/hour; the dated fee schedule is used here.
- All-in (in-state)
- $171,225
Section 2Paying for it
Two ways to cover $171,225.
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. Top awards reach $22,200.No Louisiana-only awards in the directory yet.
- 51
- Money you pay backLenders that cover $171,225Four 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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Section 5Questions
- How much does an aviation degree at Louisiana Tech University cost?
- Summing Louisiana Tech University's own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 4 years, PilotBound estimates about $171,225 all in for an in-state student and $215,421 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 Louisiana Tech University?
- Louisiana Tech University publishes about $71,325 for the whole flight sequence its 4-year bachelor's degree trains (2026-27), 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 Louisiana Tech University?
- Louisiana Tech University publishes about $12,375 per year in-state and $23,424 out of state for 2026-27. Over the 4-year program that is roughly $49,500 versus $93,696, 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 Louisiana Tech University lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. Louisiana Tech University'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 Louisiana Tech University's own published figures. The flight total is NOT: Louisiana Tech University 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 Louisiana Tech University. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: latech.edu·latech.edu·latech.edu·latech.edu
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