The University of Texas at Arlington announces a new unmanned vehicle systems undergraduate certificate for students interested in careers in one of the nation's most exciting engineering fields.

A student works on the quad-rotor unmanned aerial system at the UT Arlington Research Institute.

The program is a collaboration between the College of Engineering and the UT Arlington Research Institute, which received Federal Aviation Administration approval early this year for unmanned aircraft system test flights at the Institute's Fort Worth campus.

Engineering Dean Khosrow Behbehani said the certificate will help meet business demand for highly-educated employees in the rapidly developing field of unmanned ground, air and water systems. The certificate will be available to degree-seeking students beginning in fall 2014.

"Our faculty members and student teams already are designing these systems, building them and programming them to perform tasks to aid humankind," Behbehani said. "Whether these systems are used for aerial photography, security, transportation, product delivery or outer space exploration, unmanned vehicle systems will be integral to the future of engineering."

One industry study by the Teal Group found that annual unmanned aerial vehicles spending would more than double during the next decade to reach about $11.6 billion. The industry, the report said, would generate more than $89 billion in spending over the next decade.

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