Degree & Certificates
The Fullerton Drone Lab offers a variety of degrees and certificates focused on the drone industry.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - DRONE AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS (FALL 2026)
This program requires the completion of 120 units. In addition to the required 62 general education units, students will complete the following courses:
Required Courses :
TECH 140 Basic Drone Maintenance and Repair (Lower Division)
TECH 151 Applied Drone Piloting (Lower Division)
TECH 158 Advanced Drone Piloting (Lower Division)
TECH 160 Infrared Thermography (Lower Division)
TECH 165 Aerial Mapping and Photogrammetry (Lower Division)
CIS 201 – Intro to Python (Lower Division)
CIS 212 – Robotic Programming (Lower Division)
ESC 105 – Introduction to Weather and Climate (Lower Division)
CIS 313 – Advanced Drone/Autonomous Device Programming (Upper Division)
CIS 413 – Drone and Automatous Device (D/AD) Communications (Upper Division)
CIS 415 – Drone and Automatous Device (D/AD) Coordination and Behavior (Upper Division)
ENGL 305 Technical Writing (Upper Division)
ESC 330 Advanced Earth and Ocean Science (Upper Division)
PHIL 361 Ethics in Technology (Upper Division)
DRON 305 – Drone Sensors and applications (Upper Division)
DRON 320 Safety Management Systems for Drone and Autonomous Technology (Upper Division)
DRON 340 – Advanced Drone Maintenance and Aerodynamic Systems (Upper Division)
DRON 350 – Drone Law (Upper Division)
DRON 370 – Drone LiDAR Application and Operations (Upper Division)
DRON 380 – Advanced Drone Operations (Upper Division)
DRON 385 – Multiplatform Autonomous Operations and Management (Upper Division)
DRON 415 – Introduction to Large Drone Operations (Upper Division)
DRON 450 – Drone Operations Management (Upper Division)
DRON 480 – Drone Practicum (Upper Division)
Associate of Science - Drone and Autonomous Systems
| Required Courses : 13 Units |
Units |
| TECH 140 F – Basic Drone Maintenance and Repair | 3 |
| TECH 151 F – Applied Drone Piloting | 3 |
| TECH 158 F – Advanced Drone Piloting Skills | 2 |
| TECH 160 F – Infrared Thermography | 2 |
| TECH 165 F – Aerial Mapping & Photogrammetry | 3 |
| Restricted Electives: 9-13 Units from any of the sections below |
Units |
| Mapping and Geographic Analysis Emphasis Electives (9 units) | |
| Select 9 units from the courses listed below. | |
| GEOG 102 F – Physical Geography | 3 |
or
| GEOG 102 HF – Honors Physical Geography | 3 | |
| GEOG 120 F – Global Environmental Problems | 3 | |
| GEOG 230 F – Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 3 | |
| GEOG 231 F – Spatial Analysis: Mapping for Solutions and Decision-Making | ||
| GEOG 237 F – Intermediate and Advanced GIS Applications | 3 | |
| GEOG 238 F – Principles of Map-Making and Cartographic Design | 3 | |
| Photography/Cinematography Emphasis Electives (9 units) | ||
| CRTV 157 F -Digital Production/Non-Linear Editing for Video/Film | 3 | |
| CRTV 164 F – Advanced Digital Editing Production/Non-Linear Editing for Video/Film | 3 | |
| CRTV 175 F – Documentary Filmmaking | 3 | |
| JOUR 215 F – UAV/Drone Reporting | 3 | |
| PHOT 101 F – Introduction to Photography | 3 | |
| PHOT 103 F – Intermediate Photography | 3 | |
| PHOT 216 F – Advanced Digital Photography | 3 | |
| Construction and Inspection Emphasis Electives (9-13 units) | ||
| ARCH 111 F Introduction to Architecture | 3 | |
| ARCH 124 F Architectural CAD I | 3 | |
| CSTR 041 F International Residential Code | 3 | |
| CSTR 108 F Surveying for Builders | 2 | |
| CSTR 110 F Residential Estimating | 3 | |
| DRAF 101 F Blueprint Reading for Manufacturing | 3 | |
| DRAF 140 F AutoCAD For Industry | 3 | |
| ENGR 101 AF Surveying I | 4 | |
| WELD 096 F Welding Inspection Technology | 5 | |
| Public Safety Emphasis Electives (9-11 units) | ||
| Select 9-11 units from the courses listed below | ||
| AJ 050 F Accident Reconstruction by Drone | 2 | |
| AJ 051 F Night Operations by Drone | 1 | |
| AJ 052 F Search and Rescue by Drone | 1 | |
| AJ 053 F Tactical Operations by Drone | 1 | |
| AJ 223 F Criminal Investigation | 3 | |
| AJ 230 F Crime Scene Techniques | 3 | |
| AJ 252 F Police Patrol | 3 | |
| AJ 279 Contemporary Issues in Law Enforcement | 3 | |
| Agriculture Emphasis Electives (9-12 units) | ||
| Select 9-12 units from the courses listed below | ||
| HORT 001 F Principles of Horticulture I | 4 | |
| HORT 045 F Pest Control Certification and Safety | 3 | |
| HORT 156 F Plant Nutrition | 2 | |
| HORT 207 F Plant Pathology | 3 | |
| HORT 215 F Diseases/Pests Ornament Plants | 4 | |
| HORT 219 F CAD Appl in Horticulture | 3 | |
| TECH 260 F Multispectral and Hyperspectral Sensing with Drones | 3 | |
| Environmental Science Emphasis Elective (9-11 Units) | ||
| Select 9-11 units from the courses listed below | ||
| ENVS 105 F Environmental Biology | 3 | |
| ENVS 141 F Desert Natural History | 1 | |
| ENVS 142 F Geology and Marine Biology of the Channel Islands | 2 | |
| ESC 101 F Earth Science Survey | 3 | |
| ESC 105 F Introduction to Weather and Climate | 3 | |
| ESC 106 F Geology of the Orange County Area | 2 | |
| ESC 110 F Introduction to Climate Science | 3 | |
| ESC 120 F Geology of California | 3 | |
| ESC 142 F Geology of Mojave Desert Area | 1 | |
| ESC 144 F Geology of Southern California Mountain Areas | 1 | |
| ESC 230 F Coastal Oceanography | 3 | |
| Total Units | 22-26 |
Associate of Science - Autonomous Systems Development
| Required Courses : 20-21 Units |
Units |
| CIS 212 F – Robotic Programming | 3 |
| ENGR 110 F – Introduction to Engineering | 3 |
| ENGR 203 F – Electric Circuits | 4 |
| ENGR 203L F -Electric Circuits Lab | 1 |
| MACH 101 F – Introduction to Machine Tools | 5 |
| TECH 150 F – Basic Drone Piloting | 2 |
or
| TECH 151 F – Applied Drone Piloting | 3 |
| TECH 155 F – Applied Drone Lab | 2 |
| Restricted Electives: 6-9 Units | Units |
| CIS 201 F – Introduction to Python Programming | 3 |
| DRFT 944 F – Solidworks | 3 |
| TECH 151 F – Applied Drone Piloting | 3 |
| ENGR 105 F – Engineering CAD | 4 |
| MACH 102 F – Intermediate Machine Tools | 5 |
| MACH 150 F – CNC Programming Using Mastercam | 3 |
| MATH 151 F – Calculus I | 4 |
| or | |
| MATH 151H F – Honors Calculus I | 4 |
| MATH 152 F – Calculus II | 4 |
| or | |
| MATH 152H F -Honors Calculus II | 4 |
| PHYS 221 F – General Physics I | 4 |
| Total Units | 26-30 |
Autonomous Systems Development Certificate
| Required Courses : 13-15 |
Units |
| TECH 081 F – Technical Mathematics I | 3 |
| TECH 108 F – Manufacturing Processes | 3 |
| or | |
| TECH 127 F – Industrial Safety | 1 |
| TECH 132 F – Basics of Electric Motor Controls | 5 |
| TECH 150 F – Basic Drone Piloting | 2 |
or
| TECH 151 F- Applied Drone Plioting | 3 |
| TECH 155 Applied Drone Lab | 2 |
| Total Units | 13-15 |
Uncrewed Aerial Systems Piloting Certificate
| Required Courses : 10-11 Units |
Units |
| TECH 080 F – Federal Aviation Administration Drone Pilot Test Preparation |
1 |
| TECH 150 F – Basic Drone Piloting | 2 |
or
| TECH 151 F – Applied Drone Piloting | 3 |
| TECH 158 F – Advanced Drone Piloting Skills | 2 |
| ESC 105 F – Introduction to Weather and Climate | 3 |
| TECH 127 F – Industrial Safety | 2 |
| Total Units | 10-11 |
Drone Business and Entrepeneurship Certificate
| Required Courses (8-9 units) | ||
| BUS 180 F – Small Business Management | 3 | |
| or | ||
| BUS 181 F- The Entrepreneurial Mindset | 3 | |
| BUS 170 F – Principles of E-Commerce | 3 | |
| or | ||
| MKT 103 F – Principles of Advertising | 3 | |
| TECH 150 F – Basic Drone Piloting | 2 | |
| or | ||
| TECH 151 F – Applied Drone Piloting | 3 | |
| Restricted Electives (4-6 units) | Units |
| ACCT 100 F – Small Business Accounting | 3 |
| DART 132 F – Digital Imaging I | 3 |
| PHOT 101 F – Introduction to Photography | 3 |
| TECH 158 F – Advanced Drone Piloting Skills | 2 |
| TECH 160 F – Infrared Thermography | 2 |
| TECH 165 F – Aerial Mapping and Photogrammetry | 3 |
| Total Units | 12-15 |
Drone Journalism Certificate
| Required Courses : 16 Units |
Units |
| TECH 080 F – Federal Aviation Administration Drone Pilot Test Preparation | 1 |
| JOUR 101 F – Reporting and Writing | 3 |
| JOUR 210 F- Multimedia Reporting | 3 |
| JOUR 215 F – UAV/Drone Reporting | 3 |
| PHOT 111 F – Introduction to Photography from Analog to Digital | 3 |
| ESC 105 F – Introduction to Weather and Climate | 3 |
| Restricted Electives – 2-4 Units | Units |
| CRTV 157 F – Digital Production/Non-Linear Editing for Video/Film | 3 |
| GEOG 102 F – Physical Geography | 3 |
| or | |
| GEOG 102HF – Honors Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 102LF – Physical Geography Lab | 1 |
| JOUR 102 F – Advanced Reporting and Writing | 3 |
| JOUR 222 F – Introduction to News Media Production | 3 |
| PHOT 216 F – Advanced Digital Photography | 3 |
| PHOT 217 F – Applied Digital Photography | 3 |
| PHYS 130 F – Elementary Physics | 4 |
| TECH 155 F – Applied Drone Lab | 2 |
| Total Units | 18-20 |