Drones, once best known for their military uses, are now increasingly common tools in areas as diverse as the study of climate change or the delivery of life-saving medications. While the technology advances, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is keeping up.
UMGC will launch an online undergraduate Certificate in Drones and Autonomous Systems in mid-August. The 18-credit certificate offers a broad overview of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) drone systems and autonomous systems technology. The program can be completed in as little as one year, although working professionals can also opt for a more flexible timeframe that accommodates their busy schedules.
“The program starts with four core drone courses. Students can then select two other courses from a specialization in either emergency management, criminal justice, public safety or homeland security,” said Justin Baumgartner, collegiate faculty professor of public safety administration at UMGC.
He explained that the four specific courses focus on the fundamentals, applications, regulation, and emerging and future technologies of drones and autonomous systems. Baumgartner, a retired police commander, designed the drone program at his past police department.
In 2016, Baumgartner earned his Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) pilot license and soon after initiated the testing and evaluation of drone systems within the police department. By 2022, these systems were fully integrated into departmental operations. Initially, drones were deployed to support crime prevention by conducting light surveys in areas with elevated crime rates. Their role quickly expanded to include accident investigation, emergency management and mitigation efforts, and routine police patrol operations. Drone technology provided access to hazardous locations without endangering personnel. Additionally, these systems kept a digital record of incident scenes, capturing critical details as they appeared at the time of response.
“The drone sector is relatively new and technically unfamiliar to many people. This certificate is designed to provide insight into the basic elements of drone systems used in private, public, law enforcement and military professions,” said Brian Powers, associate professor and portfolio director for UMGC’s Homeland Intelligence and Emergency Management programs. “No previous knowledge of drones, aviation systems, autonomous technologies or flight experience is required. We are offering UMGC students the opportunity to start their drone and autonomous systems journey.”
Powers added, “In the last few years, we have been developing the C-DAS to inform UMGC students. The driver for Justin and me has been all the technology, all the changes that were going on—and we’ve seen it change by the week.”
Powers’ interest in drones began in 1994 after the Gulf War with the expanding use of military drones in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. When he retired from the Air Force, he worked as a contractor examining how the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was developing drones in Iraq. In 2019, Powers and Baumgartner connected during a collaboration on a drone program for edX, the online open-learning platform developed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
They found they had two things in common: They were passionate about drones, and they wanted UMGC students to learn about the technology and their emerging applications.
The drone technology market is booming. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are approximately a million drones registered in the United States. For example, drones are used for entertainment purposes at major theme parks and sporting events. They can be programmed to move in a pack and create a spectacular show. Farmers use drones for LIDAR—or Light Detection and Ranging—a remote-sensing tool that helps them measure the growth of crops and terrain. Drones are also used for a growing number of other tasks, including to monitor wildlife, conduct search and rescue missions and map hard-to-access locations.
UMGC’s undergraduate certificate, which carries general education credits, is expected to appeal to students in several majors, among them cybersecurity, marketing and business. Many of the skills taught in the program have applications in the commercial, public safety and national security sectors.
In the near future, UMGC will also set-up a partnership with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s aviation science program. The collaboration will enable students certified in UMGC’s Drones and Autonomous Systems program to continue their studies toward the FAA remote pilot’s license required to fly drones.
“Our own students might say, ‘I never thought about a potential career in this sector at all. Maybe this is something I'd want to do,’” Powers said. “That's the outcome we're looking for.”
Visit umgc.edu to explore more about the undergraduate certificate in Drones and Autonomous Systems .