SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY COLLEGE

About this school

San Bernardino Valley College offers an Associate of Science in Aviation Maintenance Technician through its Aeronautics department, housed in the Applied Technology, Transportation & Culinary Arts division. The degree is built around the FAA Aviation Maintenance Technician curriculum — the General, Airframe, and Powerplant segments that prepare students to test for the A&P certificate — and trains graduates to perform 100-hour and annual inspections on everything from small general-aviation aircraft up to the jets flown by commercial airlines. The program runs on a structured term-by-term pathway. The aviation core moves through a paired lecture-and-lab sequence: AERO 050/050L covers the General requirements (hand tools, applied math and physics, Federal Aviation Regulations, and basic electricity including Ohm's Law, circuit diagrams, and battery service); AERO 051/051L continues the General segment with weight and balance, fluid lines and fittings, aircraft hardware and materials, non-destructive testing, corrosion control, and ground handling; and AERO 052/052L moves into Airframe Maintenance, covering structures, covering and finishing, theory of flight, assembly and rigging, structural repair, inspection, and fuel systems. Each aviation course is heavy on units and shop time — the General lecture courses run five units with two-unit corequisite labs, and the Airframe structures course pairs a six-unit lecture with a five-unit lab. Because it's a full associate degree rather than a certificate alone, students complete a minimum of 60 units — the aviation core plus the general-education breadth requirements (English composition, communication or critical thinking, math, arts and humanities, and others) — with a grade of C or better in program coursework. That structure makes the credential do double duty: it satisfies the technical training to pursue the A&P, and the degree transfers toward a bachelor's at a four-year university for students who want to continue. By graduation, students are expected to interpret airframe and powerplant manuals, perform required inspections, troubleshoot and repair airframe and powerplant systems, assess whether parts are serviceable, and write proper discrepancy reports — the day-to-day competencies of a working aircraft mechanic. The college recommends every student meet with an academic counselor to build a personalized plan, since the standard pathway may shift depending on individual circumstances.

Location

FAA test pass rates

↳ Based on 34 tests (26 passed, 8 failed)

Tuition & costs