Associate in Engineering
Associate in Engineering
The Associate in Engineering degree is designed for students who wish to transfer to a state funded university with a Bachelor of Engineering program and earn a Bachelor of Science in Engineering.Begin Your Journey
- Experience our small class sizes and increased access to instructors.
- Complete the general education and foundation mathematics and science courses required to transfer to university engineering programs.
- Save money by taking university courses for a fraction of the price at Sandhills.
Our graduates can transfer to North Carolina and out-of-state senior institutions to pursue engineering careers.
Expenses estimated over the two-year program timeline.
| ITEM | IN-STATE COST | OUT-OF-STATE COST |
| Tuition* | $4,560.00 | $16,080.00 |
| Student Activity Fee | $140.00 | $140.00 |
| Technology Fee | $192.00 | $192.00 |
| Textbooks | $1,045.00-$2,325.00 | $1,045.00-$2,325.00 |
*Program credit hours: 60 – $76.00 per credit hour in-state tuition, $268.00 per credit hour out-of-state tuition.
Sandhills is committed to the belief that every student should have an opportunity to pursue an education, regardless of financial resources. We are here to guide you through the financial aid system to make costs more manageable and higher education more accessible.
Students must be eligible to enroll in MAT 271, Calculus I. Students who are not eligible to enroll in MAT 271 can take MAT 171, Precalculus Algebra and MAT 172, Precalculus Trigonometry, and then be admitted into the Associate in Engineering.
To be eligible for the transfer of credits under the Associate in Engineering to the Bachelor of Science in Engineering Articulation Agreement, Associate in Engineering graduates must obtain a grade of “C” or better in each course and an overall GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Courses Semester Hours
GENERAL EDUCATION (45-46 SHC)*................................................. 45-46
The general education courses include study in the areas of English composition; humanities and fine arts; social and behavioral sciences; natural sciences and mathematics.
UNIVERSAL GENERAL EDUCATION TRANSFER COMPONENT (UGETC) Courses that are not classified as UGETC are italicized
English Composition (6 SHC) ................................................................ 6
Two English composition courses are required:
ENG-111 and ENG-112
Humanities/Fine Arts and Communication (6 SHC) ...................... 6
Humanities: Choose one:
Literature (ENG-231, 232, 241, 242)
Philosophy (PHI-215, 240)
Fine Arts and Communication: Choose one:
Art (ART-111, 114, 115)
Communication (COM-231)
Music (MUS-110, 112)
Social/Behavioral Sciences (6 SHC)...................................................... 6
One course required:
Economics (ECO-251)
Select second course from the following:
History (HIS-111, 112, 131, 132)
Political Science (POL-120)
Psychology (PSY-150)
Sociology (SOC-210)
Mathematics (12 SHC)........................................................................... 12
Calculus I (MAT-271) is the lowest level math course that will be accepted by the engineering programs for transfer as a math credit. Students who are not calculus-ready must take additional math courses.
Calculus (MAT-271, 272, 273) Note: MAT-273 is not a UGETC course.
Natural Sciences (12 SHC).................................................................... 12
Take all of the following:
Chemistry (CHM-151)
Physics (PHY-251, 252)
ADDITIONAL GENERAL EDUCATION HOURS (3-4 SHC)* 3-4
Select one course (not used elsewhere) from the following:
Biology (BIO-111)
Chemistry (CHM-152)**
Communication (COM-110, 231)
Economics (ECO-252)
Geology (GEL-111)**
Humanities (HUM-110)
Philosophy (PHI-240)
Use this table to choose the additional general education course recommended for your major.
| Chemical Engineering | Civil Engineering | Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial and Systems Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| BIO-111 CHM-152 |
BIO-111 COM-231 GEL-111 HUM-110 PHl-240 |
BIO-111 COM-231 HUM-110 PHl-240 |
BIO-111 CHM-152 COM-231 HUM-110 PHl-240 |
TOTAL GENERAL EDUCATION HOURS REQUIRED (45-46 SHC) 45-46
OTHER REQUIRED HOURS (15 SHC)....................................................... 15
Academic Transition (1 SHC)
The following course is required:
ACA-122 College Transfer Success................................................ 1
Students must complete ACA-122 within the first 30 hours of enrollment.
Pre-major Elective (2 SHC)
EGR-150 Introduction to Engineering................................................... 2
Other General Education and Pre-major Elective Hours (12 SHC)
Select 12 SHC from the following courses classified as pre-major, elective, or general education courses (not used elsewhere) within the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement. Students should choose courses appropriate to the specific university and engineering major requirements.
Biology (BIO-111)
Chemistry (CHM-152, 251, 252)**
Communication (COM-110, 231)
Computer Science (CSC-134, 151)
Drafting (DFT-170)
Economics (ECO-252)
Engineering (EGR-220)
Geology (GEL-111)**
Humanities (HUM-110)
Mathematics (MAT-285)
Physical Education (PED-110)
The following gives specific recommendations for the most popular engineering fields. Consult the Associate in Engineering Coordinator for recommendations for engineering fields not shown below.
Mechanical, Aerospace, and Industrial and Systems Engineering
BIO-111 General Biology I (4 SHC)
One programming course: CSC-134 C++ Programming (3 SHC) or CSC-151 JAVA Programming (3 SHC)
DFT-170 Engineering Graphics (3 SHC)
EGR-220 Engineering Statics (3 SHC)
MAT-285 Differential Equations (3 SHC)
Civil Engineering
BIO-111 General Biology I (4 SHC)
One programming course: CSC-134 C++ Programming (3 SHC) or CSC-151 JAVA Programming (3 SHC)
DFT-170 Engineering Graphics (3 SHC)
EGR-220 Engineering Statics (3 SHC)
GEL-111 Geology (4 SHC)
MAT-285 Differential Equations (3 SHC)
Chemical Engineering
BIO-111 General Biology I (4 SHC)
CHM-152 General Chemistry II (4 SHC)
CHM-251 Organic Chemistry I (4 SHC)
CHM-252 Organic Chemistry II (4 SHC)
COM-231 Public Speaking (3 SHC)
MAT-285 Differential Equations (3 SHC)
Electrical Engineering
Students interested in pursuing electrical engineering should transfer as soon as possible. Electrical engineering programs require circuits classes not offered at Sandhills Community College. Students who do not transfer early will need 3 years to complete a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.
BIO-111 General Biology I (4 SHC)
CHM-152 General Chemistry II (4 SHC)
COM-231 Public Speaking (3 SHC)
One programming course: CSC-134 C++ Programming (3 SHC) or JAVA Programming (3 SHC)
DFT-170 Engineering Graphics (3 SHC)
MAT-285 Differential Equations (3 SHC)
TOTAL SEMESTER HOURS CREDIT (SHC) IN PROGRAM 60-61***
*Students must meet the receiving university's foreign language and/or health and physical education requirements, if applicable, prior to or after transfer to the senior institution.
| Course Hours Per Week | Semester Hours | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester (Fall) | Class | Lab | Credit | |
| ACA-122 | College Transfer Success | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| ENG-111 | Writing and Inquiry | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| MAT-271 | Calculus I | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| CHM-151 | General Chemistry I | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| EGR-150 | Intro to Engineering | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 10 | 9 | 14 | |
| Second Semester (Spring) | Class | Lab | Credit | |
| ENG-112 | Writing/Research in the Disc | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| MAT-272 | Calculus II | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| ECO-251 | Prin of Microeconomics | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| *** | Humanities UGETC course | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| *** | Additional Gen Ed Hours | 3-4 | ||
| Credit Hours | 12 | 2 | 16-17 | |
| Third Semester (Fall) | Class | Lab | Credit | |
| PHY-251 | General Physics I | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| *** | Soc/Beh Science UGETC course | 3 | ||
| *** | Other Gen Ed/Pre-major Elective | 3-4 | ||
| *** | Other Gen Ed/Pre-major Elective | 3-4 | ||
| *** | Other Gen Ed/Pre-major Elective | 4 | ||
| Credit Hours | 3 | 3 | 17-19 | |
| Fourth Semester (Spring) | Class | Lab | Credit | |
| MAT-273 | Calculus III | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| PHY-252 | General Physics II | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| *** | Fine Arts/Com UGETC course | 3 | ||
| *** | Other Gen Ed/Pre-major Elective | 2-4 | ||
| Credit Hours | 6 | 5 | 13-15 | |
| Total Required Minimum Semester Hours Credit | 60 | |||
The Associate in Engineering degree is designed for students who wish to transfer to a state funded university with a Bachelor of Engineering program and earn a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Baccalaureate Engineering Programs within the UNC system are offered at the following universities.
School |
| East Carolina University |
| North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University |
| North Carolina State University |
| University of North Carolina Charlotte |
| Western Carolina University |
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