CIDER brings together diverse students, researchers, and industry partners from a variety of sectors to fuel research and innovation, and develop a diverse drone workforce.
The UCSC CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research (CIDER) offers educational training and research support for the development and use of drone technology across all academic disciplines and many industry sectors. Students benefit from career-enhancing experiential learning opportunities, hands-on field research, flight time, and FAA licensure.
Faculty gain access to licensed student and staff pilots who can conduct flights for research and teaching purposes, plus access to program-maintained drone equipment for research support. Industry partnerships and drone services contracts provide internships and field training opportunities for students, and collaborative research opportunities for faculty. Our program values diversity and encourages students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM to participate in our program.
Applications are now open for the 2025 Pilot Training Program!
The Drone Pilot Training Program encompasses the following main components:
- Study and successful completion of the FAA Part 107 commercial drone pilot license exam
- Practical flight training and practice
- An introduction to software such as Drone Deploy and QGIS for mission planning and data analysis
- A drone project in a small group
- $1,200 student stipend and $175 for the FAA Part 107 exam cost
The program takes place over 16 weeks during Winter and Spring Quarters, meeting for approximately four hours of instruction each week both in the classroom and flight practice. During the classroom portion, participants are introduced to photogrammetry and image processing in GIS. Students also meet with a variety of researchers and flight professionals who use drones in the course of their work to explore emerging opportunities in drone aviation.
Industry Partners
Academic Partners
