Technical Studies

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Technical Studies (BTS) degree program in URG/RGCC’s School of Engineering Technologies offers a unique opportunity for students who would like to continue their formal education beyond an associate degree in a technical field that does not have a bachelor's degree option available. The program builds on the student’s technical concentration from the associate degree by transferring those hours into a bachelor’s program.

The BTS degree program allows any student with an associate degree from an accredited institution to enter the BTS program and graduate by completing 46 credit hours of specified core courses and 24 student-selected credit hours (with an advisor’s assistance) of technical electives. The BTS degree is a 2 + 2 degree program. Courses used for securing an associate degree cannot be used again for the BTS degree. All courses, regardless of their course level, are charged at the current private university credit hour rate for the third and fourth years.

The BTS degree program provides the student with knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for advancement in his/her chosen careers and integrates the technical skills developed within applied associate degree programs with the professional skills inculcated in a bachelor’s degree program. A completion degree, the BTS degree is offered through the School of Engineering Technologies and consists of:

• a minimum of forty-six (46) credit hours in core courses.
• a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours of student- selected hours (with assistance from an advisor) that builds upon the technical courses or technical area of the two-year degree.
• a minimum of thirty-three (33) credit hours at the 300/400 level.
• a minimum of 120 total credit hours necessary to graduate with a BTS degree. 

Program Overview

Associate of Technical Studies (ATS) degree broadens the educational program alternatives in a community with a limited industrial base.

The Associate of Technical Studies (ATS) degree is open to any student admitted to the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College if the Chair of the School of Engineering Technologies determines that an existing technology degree program will not meet the student’s educational goals and that those goals are based on a feasible occupational objective.

The proposed program of study must meet the requirements of the Ohio Department of Higher Education for content and must be approved by a committee of School of Engineering Technologies faculty members, who advise the student as needed throughout the implementation of the program.

Application for an ATS degree program must be made before 33 semester credit hours of combined transfer and University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College academic coursework have been completed. The remaining courses must include at least half of the specialized/technical courses of the program.