The CTI Endorsement Letter: What It Is, How to Get It

If you are applying to an FAA controller announcement as a Collegiate Training Initiative graduate, the endorsement letter is the document that makes you a CTI applicant. Without it you are an ordinary education-qualified applicant, and on a trainee announcement that usually means Pool 2 rather than Pool 1.

It is also the document people most often get wrong, because the name suggests something it is not.

It is not a recommendation

The FAA states this in the announcement itself, in bold: "Please note, an Official Endorsement Letter is not a personal recommendation."

A professor writing warmly about you is not an endorsement letter and will not be accepted as one. What the FAA wants is an institutional certification that you completed the CTI curriculum.

What the letter must contain

From the trainee announcement, the letter "should be on official CTI school letter head, signed by the designated CTI point of contact, and certify/endorse that all CTI program requirements have been met (or would have been met/effective as of 12/31/13)."

The FAA's applicant checklist gives the same requirement more briefly: "an official endorsement letter from the institution certifying you have met the CTI requirements on official CTI school letterhead (signed by POC)."

So, three things have to be true at once:

• Official school letterhead. Not a plain document, not an email body.
• Signed by the designated CTI point of contact. Your school has a named POC for the CTI partnership. That is the signature the FAA is looking for — not your advisor's, unless they happen to be the POC.
• A certification that all CTI programme requirements have been met. Completion of the programme, stated as fact by the institution.

It does not travel alone

The endorsement letter sits alongside a transcript, and the transcript has its own requirement: "To be eligible for Pool 1 your transcript must reflect the confer date and you must also provide the Official CTI Endorsement Letter at time of application."

At time of application is the phrase that costs people their Pool 1 eligibility. The letter is not something you send in later when HR asks. If it is not attached when you submit, the Pool 1 claim is not supported.

The exception for that year's graduates

The FAA has made a narrow allowance for students graduating in the semester the window opens. In the February 2025 announcement, spring 2025 graduates "must provide current transcripts (official or unofficial) and will be required to provide final transcripts reflecting degree earned and confer date prior to any offer of employment, if selected." The same group "will be required to provide the official endorsement letter with official transcripts, if selected."

That is a deferral for people who have genuinely not graduated yet, tied to the specific semester named in the announcement. It is not a general extension, and the wording has been specific to each cycle — check the announcement you are applying to rather than assuming last year's allowance carries over.

Why the letter is worth chasing

Beyond the pool question, CTI status changes your training. The FAA's CTI page says graduates "are eligible to bypass the Air Traffic Basics Course, which is the first five weeks of qualification training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City", leaving option-specific terminal or en route training. That is five weeks less of the stage with the highest washout risk.

Enhanced AT-CTI goes further again — those graduates complete Academy-equivalent training at their college. Our Enhanced AT-CTI guide covers how that programme differs.

CTI status is not a job offer. The FAA is explicit that the partnership is "a non-funded partnership between selected colleges and universities" and that "although there is no guarantee of employment, collegiate aviation is considered a critical hiring source". You still apply on USAJOBS, you still sit the ATSA, and you still clear medical and security.

How to get yours, in order

1. Find your school's CTI point of contact now, not when the window opens. Recent nationwide windows have been open for days, and one closed inside 48 hours.
2. Ask for the letter in the FAA's own words. Tell the POC you need an official CTI endorsement on school letterhead certifying that all CTI programme requirements have been met. Schools that run CTI programmes issue these routinely; the delay is usually availability, not willingness.
3. Get the transcript at the same time, and check it shows the confer date. Official or unofficial is acceptable for the application, but the confer date must be on it.
4. Store both as PDFs in your USAJOBS account. The FAA points applicants to its document upload guide precisely so the files can be reused on future vacancies.
5. Re-read the announcement when it opens. Requirements have shifted between cycles, particularly the wording around current-semester graduates.

Then comes the part the letter cannot help with

CTI graduates sit the same Air Traffic Skills Assessment as everyone else, and the announcement is blunt about it: "All applicants found qualified for the position will be required to complete the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA)." An aviation degree covers airspace, procedures and phraseology; the ATSA tests working memory, spatial reasoning and decision speed, which are not the same thing.

Our preparation guide covers the sections, and the ATC Simulation demo is the closest free look at the section CTI students usually find least familiar. Full access is on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

What is a CTI endorsement letter?

An official letter from a CTI partner institution, on its letterhead and signed by the designated CTI point of contact, certifying that you have met all CTI programme requirements. It is not a personal recommendation.

Who signs the CTI endorsement letter?

The school's designated CTI point of contact, as stated in the FAA announcement and applicant checklist.

When do I have to submit it?

At the time of application, together with a transcript showing your confer date, if you are claiming Pool 1 as a CTI graduate. Narrow exceptions have applied to students graduating in the current semester.

Can my professor write it instead?

Only if they are the designated CTI point of contact. A reference from a faculty member is not what the FAA is asking for.

What does the CTI endorsement actually get me?

Pool 1 consideration on trainee announcements, and eligibility to bypass the five-week Air Traffic Basics Course at the FAA Academy. It does not guarantee employment.

I graduated years ago — is my endorsement still valid?

The announcement wording covers requirements met "(or would have been met/effective as of 12/31/13)", so older graduates are contemplated. Request a current letter from your school's POC and read the announcement you are applying to.