Intended for those not majoring in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the UAS minor provides a solid grounding in topics that include the current regulatory environment, platform design and field operations with an emphasis on the acquisition of information and processing of data obtained through low altitude remote sensing and surveillance. Students pursuing majors in areas such as manned aviation, agriculture, biology, civil engineering, criminal justice, ecology, emergency management, environmental sciences, geography, geology, landscape architecture and wildlife science and management may benefit from completion of this academic minor, particularly those individuals whose academic interests or career goals include the use of remotely sensed data products for research or commercial spatial, metric or informatory applications.

Two areas of emphasis are provided to accommodate students having diverse interests: The Air Vehicle Operations Focus is intended for those holding the minimum of an FAA-issued private pilot certificate with an instrument rating and are interested in field operations and in flying unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace; The Data Acquisition and Management Focus, is offered for those whose academic or career goals require greater knowledge of the acquisition and use of information and data obtained from the operation of unmanned aircraft as remote sensing platforms. This minor is not available to students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology – Unmanned Aircraft Systems option (BETB-US) or a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Technology – Unmanned Aircraft Systems option (BATN-US).