Program Options
Associate Degree
Associate degrees, the preferred credential for many of the fastest growing occupations, are awarded upon completion of an established MTC two-year program. MTC offers the Associate of Applied Business (A.A.B.) degree in Business Technologies and Information Technologies. The Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree is offered in Engineering Technologies, Health Technologies, and Public Services.
Residency Requirements
To earn a degree from Marion Technical College a student must have: (1) earned a minimum of 21 semester hours of credit through enrollment and attendance in Marion Technical College courses which apply to the curriculum of the degree and (2) at least 12 of the minimum 21 semester credit hours must be earned through technical courses.
Associate of Arts Degree
The Associate of Arts Degree (AA) is the first two years of a Bachelor of Arts degree. The AA degree is a two-year liberal arts/general education degree with an emphasis in English, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences. Graduates of this program will have the general education necessary to pursue bachelor’s degrees that emphasizes non-science majors at most four-year colleges and universities as juniors.
Associate of Science Degree
The Associate of Science (AS) is the first two years of a Bachelor of Science degree. The AS degree is a two-year liberal arts/general education degree with an emphasis in mathematics and natural sciences. Graduates of this program will have the general education necessary to pursue bachelor’s degrees that emphasizes science majors at most four-year colleges and universities as juniors.
Associate of Technical Study Degree
A two-year option, MTC’s Associate of Technical Study (A.T.S.) degrees combine existing courses from a minimum of two disciplines to create a unique individually-planned degree that meets a more specialized employment objective.
Individuals interested in pursuing an A.T.S. degree work closely with an academic advisor and must complete a separate A.T.S. application to the college. Individuals have two options: (1) combining portions of established programs to create a hybrid curriculum; or, (2) individually selecting nearly all courses required to qualify for a degree to create a truly unique program.
Certificate Programs
MTC’s certificate programs are designed with the advice of employers to provide concise learning opportunities so students can enter the workforce with a technical or professional skill in a compressed period of time. (See www.mtc.edu for list of Programs and Majors.) Certificate options often target regional employment needs to prepare students for quick entry into the workforce.
Certification Credentials – IT, Health, etc.
Students can earn one or more certifications in a variety of specialty areas at MTC. Certification documents to an employer that a student has the knowledge, skills, and abilities in a specific professional area. Certification is typically achieved by successfully passing an exam, which may include a demonstration of skills. Through its Testing Center, MTC offers an array of exams that lead to certification for current students and working professionals.
The certification courses that MTC provides qualify a student to sit for a corresponding certification exam, referenced throughout this catalog. In some career areas, certification can be an expected or preferred qualification for initial hiring, internal promotion, or pay increases, including many in the Information Technologies (IT) area.