While Embry-Riddle is best known for our majors in aeronautical science (professional pilot) and aerospace engineering, more than 30 majors are offered at the Daytona Beach campus, including Human Factors Psychology, Homeland Security, Engineering Physics, Safety Science, Business and more

The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University we know today is the product of a long and prestigious history.

Barnstormer pilot John Paul Riddle and entrepreneur T. Higbee Embry founded the Embry-Riddle Company, the university’s forerunner, in December 1925 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

After a merger with an air services group in 1929, the Embry-Riddle Company briefly ceased being an independent enterprise. Ten years later, the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation was reborn and quickly expanded to meet the need for pilots in World War II. Based in Miami, Florida, and operating at various airfields around South Florida, Embry-Riddle trained 25,000 British and American pilots and mechanics.

In 1965, Embry-Riddle relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, establishing a residential campus adjacent to the city airport. The year 1970 was an eventful one, as Embry-Riddle achieved university status and began opening education centers at military bases under the umbrella of the division now known as the Worldwide Campus. Embry-Riddle established another residential campus, in Prescott, Arizona, in 1978.

Embry-Riddle enrolled nearly 34,000 students in the 2017-18 academic year, offering more than 100 degrees at the associate, bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. level, in the following areas: aviation; applied science; business; computers and technology; engineering; security, intelligence, and safety; and space.

Embry-Riddle offers a first-rate education to recent high school graduates, working adults, active service members, veterans, classroom students, and online learners.The overall undergraduate residential campus student-faculty ratio is 16 to 1, with an average class size of 27.

When evaluating an applicant for admission, Embry-Riddle takes into consideration a student's high school academic record (both courses taken and overall grade-point average), rank in class, and activities. Embry-Riddle values individual academic achievement, initiative, talent and character above standardized testing. Therefore, submission of standardized test scores (SAT or ACT) is optional for admission. If scores are submitted, they will be treated as supplemental information through the evaluation process. If you do not feel that your scores accurately reflect your abilities, you do not need to submit them. Scores will not be used for placement in freshman classes.   

High school students are advised to prepare for Embry-Riddle by taking three years of math, four years of English, two years of social science, and two years of science with lab. Students should have a background in algebra, geometry, and — for engineering majors — calculus and trigonometry. Chemistry and physics are the preferred science courses. 

Our campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, feature a traditional residential experience, complete with classrooms and labs, dorms and clubs, sporting events, and performances.

Embry-Riddle offers housing on campus. First-year and second-year students are required to live on campus. Eating together with other students can be an important and positive part of the college experience. A comprehensive campus food service program is available to students. 

Embry-Riddle has a full range of extracurricular activities, including intramural and varsity sports, social and professional fraternities and sororities, clubs, student government, a campus newspaper, and campus radio station.  

  The Daytona Beach Campus is in its second year as a member of the NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference. Competing in their first year of NCAA D II, the Eagles captured three conference championships – women’s cross country and both men’s & women’s track and field. As members of the NAIA, the Eagles won two team national titles (men’s basketball and men’s tennis), 29 individual national championships and 104 Sun Conference titles. The Eagles have had 402 NAIA All-Americans, 321 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 81 Academic All-Americans. This past year, Embry–Riddle student-athletes ranked in the top 10 percent of over 300 NCAA Division II schools nationwide for the NCAA Academic Success Rate, and have posted a cumulative GPA higher than the rest of the student body for 18 consecutive years.