Drone Operations
Certificate of Achievement Graphic Communications · Palomar College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Drones or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are aircraft that can be controlled remotely by a pilot or flown autonomously on a pre-programmed route.
UAS have broad applications in a number of fields. Key areas of focus in this certificate are the applications of UAS in photography, videography, mapping, remote sensing and photogrammetry. Typical employment opportunities associated with the operations of UAS include aerial photographer and videographer, mapping technician, and precision agricultural science technician.
Students planning to pursue careers in UAS operation within the aforementioned fields are encouraged to earn the Drone Operations Certificate of Achievement. This certificate is ideal for students eager to obtain entry level employment at a number of private and public organizations by earning a career technical certificate.
Learning Outcome(s):
- Evaluate the hardware and software required by different sectors in the unmanned aircraft system industry.
- Apply the Federal Aviation Administration's guidelines on UAS operations in order to acquire and process UAS data safely and legally.
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Program Requirements | 17 | |
| GCIP 158 | Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Procedures and Regulations | 1 |
| GCIP 168 | Digital Imaging with Drones | 3 |
| GCIP 268 | Digital Imaging with Drones II | 3 |
| GEOG 120 | Digital Earth: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| GEOG 140 | Introduction to Remote Sensing and Drone Data Processing | 3 |
| PHOT 120 | Digital Photography | 3 |
| Total | 17 | |