Bachelor of Applied Technology

Information in this article is primarily applicable to Canadian school system.

Applied Bachelor’s degree is a government recognized (normally) four year degree granted by Canadian colleges and Universities. (This is not to be confused with 2-3 year Associate degree offered by US schools which is equivalent to a diploma program in Canada.) In United States, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Penn State University and others offers similar Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology that has similar goals. Also, in Australia and in New Zealand, it is normal for a university to grant a bachelor's degree in Engineering Technology.

Entrance requirement is usually high school. Graduates of two year diploma programs (In US, Associate degree program graduates) in a closely related field may be admitted directly into 3rd year of the degree program and can graduate at the end of the fourth year. Sometimes the program consists of last two years only in which case it is mandatory to have a two year diploma in a related field.

Some colleges allow students to exit the degree program after successful completion of first two years with diploma credential as well. Graduates of this degree programs are expected to fulfill a role that is somewhere between a technician and an engineer.

History

Canadian colleges started granting applied degrees in mid-nineties and now almost all major colleges offer Applied Bachelor degree programs in variety of fields ranging from accounting, information systems, and few engineering technology groups to photonics.

Recognition

"By Professional licensing bodies:"

Certified General Accountants Association of Canada accepts Applied Bachelor’s degree as meeting entrance requirement for CGA credential.

Professional engineering associations mostly do accept membership application from such graduates but will assign supplemental courses before professional designation is given if all other criteria are met.

"By Industry:"

Since most people in the industry graduated more than 10 years ago in Canada, recognition of this kind of program is slow but is increasing with more colleges offering programs every year plus more people graduating and getting into industry, creating awareness.

“Society of Petroleum Engineers” accepts a graduate of Bachelor of Applied Petroleum Engineering Technology program as a member.

"By Government:"

Applied Bachelor’s degree is considered a qualified academic credential for the purpose of applying to government run student loan programs.