The bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering Technology is a broad-based field offering numerous career opportunities in the building design and construction industries. Education in this area provides the opportunity for excellent salaries and the satisfaction of seeing creative designs become reality. Within the scope of the discipline fall such diverse areas as structural engineering; heating, ventilating and air conditioning design; electrical and lighting design; plumbing and fire protection; design and construction management; and facilities operation, maintenance, and management. The demand from employers for Vermont Tech Architectural Engineering Technology graduates has increased each year. The demand currently greatly exceeds the number of graduates from the Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering Technology program.
A Bachelor of Science degree program in Architectural Engineering Technology offers educational preparation for those who will provide engineering, design, management, and contracting services to these essential components of the building design and construction industry.
Students may enroll as freshman candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree, or may choose to enroll first as associate's degree candidates and defer a decision on bachelor's candidacy until the second year. This provides the option of either following a career path as a technician after two years, or continuing on an engineering technology track in the four-year program. Courses that make up the final two years leading to the bachelor's degree focus on the structural, mechanical, and electrical areas of design and construction.
Transfer students from other two-year and four-year architecture- and engineering-oriented programs are also encouraged to apply. (Students may have several introductory courses to make up that can result in additional time requirements to obtain the bachelor's degree.)
The bachelor's program builds on the foundation established in the associate's program in structures, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), plumbing, electrical and integrated design. The scope of the curriculum is also extended to include such fields as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, electrical circuits, lighting systems, AE management, and advanced math. Advanced computer applications include CAD and facilities management using computer-based imaging and information storage.
Graduates of the bachelor's degree program can look forward to a wide range of career opportunities as structural, mechanical, or electrical engineers engaged in building construction projects; as facilities managers; and as construction project managers, to name only a few examples.
Graduates are allowed to sit for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination in most states - although not all of them - and after meeting state requirements for appropriate work experience (currently eight years in Vermont; varies in other states) may also be examined for the Professional Engineer (P.E.) designation.
The program is accredited by the Technology Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC of ABET).
The minimum credits required for graduation is 130.
Curriculum: