FAQ

Applicants must be at least 17 years old by the time the program starts, have a high school diploma with a GPA of 2.0, or be honorably discharged from the military with proof through submission of a DD 214, and have at least a class 2 student medical certificate (pilot students).

View admissions requirements at calaero.edu/admissions (opens in a new window).

Start your application to begin the admissions process at calaero.edu/apply-online (opens in a new window).

After you submit your online application (pre-application), you’ll receive instructions by email to complete the next steps in the admissions process. Applicants are required to submit a $70 non‑refundable application fee. Once the application fee is received, you’ll be sent a secure link through AssureSign to complete the official application for admission, which may include uploading transcripts and other required documents. After the official application is submitted, the admissions team will review your materials to determine eligibility and next steps.

Yes, California Aeronautical University offers tuition reduction programs to eligible students, including for recent high school graduates and for those who have a family member in law enforcement or other public safety fields. Each student is reviewed for tuition reduction automatically based on everything submitted during the application process.

Financial aid is available to those who qualify, including grants and loans. All students will meet with a member of our financial services team for an estimate before enrolling.

The admissions process is the same except you will need to provide official copies of your college transcripts.

Yes, CAU accepts credits and degrees earned from approved institutions provided certain conditions are met. See the CAU Catalog for current requirements.

CAU has multiple starts throughout the year on a 10-week cycle. Contact a member of our admissions team at (661)490-9372 for specific start dates and deadlines.

Contact a member of our admissions team at (661) 490-9372, or email [email protected].

CAU is unable to enroll international students at this time.

You may begin looking into on-campus housing options the moment you think you want to attend CAU’s main campus in Bakersfield.

Yes. You will complete your housing agreement at the time of enrollment.

No, the student housing application process is free.

Yes. You will be prompted to submit a $300.00 deposit after you’ve completed the housing agreement before or on move-in day.

Yes. It is mandatory for professional pilot students enrolled on the main campus to live on campus during their first year at CAU. There are exceptions for this, however. Contact a member of the admissions team for a list of exceptions and requirements.

A room in the residence hall is $3,150 per 10-week quarter for a double occupancy room with bathroom. This cost includes meals (19 meals a week), utilities, cable, and internet, parking, access to laundry and recreational facilities.

You may pay all at once, or you can pay term-to-term.

Payments are made in the financial services department or on the student portal.

Rooms will be assigned on move-in day.

Move-in day is the Saturday before the first day of classes.

Yes, guests are allowed. They are to be escorted at all times by their student host, and must be signed in to the hall while hall staff is on duty. A resident may have no more than two overnight guests stay in their residence hall room at any time and guests are permitted to stay for a duration of two nights at a time. All overnight guests must be registered with the Department of Residence Life with a Guest Permission Form. The responsibility of registering a guest falls solely on the host student and must be done at least 24 hours in advance. Guest permission forms are available from the Campus Director.

No, alcohol is not allowed on campus.

Smoking is not allowed inside the student rooms, student lounge, study areas, kitchen or hallways. Students can utilize one of the outdoor smoking areas.

No pets may be brought into the residence halls by students to visit or live.

Students are responsible for cleaning their own room. All public areas are cleaned by university staff. Cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaners, brooms and mops are available at the Front Desk and can be checked out with each student’s student ID card (keycard).

All maintenance and repairs in residence halls, apartments, and public areas are completed by our housing maintenance staff. You should report all problems on a Maintenance Work Order Request Form available online. Most requests are handled within 48 hours of receipt of the request by our maintenance staff. If the problem cannot be fixed immediately, you will be notified as to the status of the repair. In case of an emergency such as a significant water pipe leak, contact the RA on duty or the Housing Office for immediate attention.

Yes, a meal plan is included for every student that stays in student housing. The meal plan includes 19 meals a week.

PLEASE USE THIS MAILING FORMAT SO ENSURE TIMELY DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR MAIL AND PARCELS:

Your name

Residence Hall, Your Room #

1450 Boughton Drive

Bakersfield, CA 93309

Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics Associate of Science in Aviation Studies

If you graduate from a CAU FAA-approved degree program, you will be eligible to receive your ATP-R at 1,000 or 1,250 hours versus an unrestricted ATP at 1,500 hours.

No, both Instrument and Commercial ground schools and flight must be completed at CAU.

Yes, the university would have to have an FAA-approved degree program for an Associate or Bachelor’s degree to qualify.

If you graduate with a degree in a CAU approved program with at least 60 credit hours from our FAA approved course list, you will need a minimum of 1000 hours total time to meet the requirements of FAR 61.160.

No, you do not have to have your ATP certificate (either a regular ATP or a restricted ATP [R-ATP]) prior to being hired by an airline. However, prior to being hired, most airlines will require that you have obtained the necessary flight time to get your (R)-ATP. In addition, most students at CAU are continuing to build time while completing their upper division courses and or as flight instructors typically after year two of the three year program.