NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma and the Federal Aviation Administration celebrated with a signing ceremony today the launch of an Enhanced Air Traffic—Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program that allows qualified OU graduates to proceed directly to ATC facility on-the-job training, bypassing the FAA Academy. The AT-CTI program within the School of Aviation at the University of Oklahoma is currently the only four-year Bachelor of Science degree program in the nation.
“This honor really reflects the quality of our students,” said Stephen West, director of OU’s Air Traffic Management program. “The FAA talked with our students a great deal during their site visit and were very interested in what they thought of the program. It’s also a reflection on the level of commitment from the School of Aviation, the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, and OU administration.”
Before this program, students completing the aviation management – air traffic management concentration had certain advantages during the hiring process but still had to attend the FAA Academy. Through the Enhanced AT-CTI program, students will still complete the same background and security checks, medical clearances and skills assessments as their peers in the FAA Academy, but they will do so while completing their degree. Once they have completed their assessments and have qualified on all other hiring aspects, they can be directly placed upon graduation into an air traffic control facility for on-the-job training rather than attending the academy.
The curriculum is built into the air traffic management Bachelor of Science degree. Additionally, students can take the four-year air traffic control minor in conjunction with an aviation major to complete the Enhanced AT-CTI requirements.
According to the FAA, the new program, which was announced last Dec., is part of the administration’s efforts to reverse a decades-long decline in workforce. The application process began in April of this year and the School of Aviation completed their site visit in Sept.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Three University of Oklahoma graduate students have been named winners of the 2025 Three Minute Thesis competition, which challenges participants to explain their research in three minutes to a non-specialist audience.
Sarah Sharif, a researcher with the University of Oklahoma, has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to create innovative light detectors that pick up mid-wave and long-wave infrared signals at higher temperatures than previously considered achievable.
A team from OU and WVU recently earned a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how concept cigarillos influence the potential for addiction. The results will be used to inform the FDA’s impending flavor ban on cigar products and could have wider-reaching implications for other tobacco products that come in flavors, such as e-cigarettes and tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
