Mechatronics - Associate in Applied Science – T Degree
Mechatronics focuses on the convergence of mechanical, electrical and computer controls in complex systems and automation. It is a multidisciplinary approach combining mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, process control engineering, and software engineering into an integrated skill set for construction, repair, and optimization of complex industrial equipment. This makes it applicable to a wide range of growing industries including automation and robotics, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and transportation systems, process control, logistics and supply chain management, and agriculture. Modern life is filled with mechatronic systems: they clean the water you drink, manage the car you drive and are involved in the creation of nearly everything you see around you. Every industry employs some level of mechatronics.
Clover Park Technical College’s AAS-T Mechatronics degree provides the skills needed to succeed in this exciting field. The program begins with courses that establish a solid base of technical skills and an understanding of the various disciplines that make up mechatronics as well as lean manufacturing and quality standards. Courses are taught with an eye toward linking disciplines together for larger mechatronic systems. Subsequent courses then build expertise in the foundational skills while increasingly integrating all skills into the design, construction, optimization, maintenance, and repair of full mechatronics systems. Students who complete the Mechatronics AAS-T Degree will also have the option to further their education by enrolling in our BAS in Mechatronics Engineering Technology and Automation (BAS- META), which is the first Bachelor’s degree in mechatronics to be offered anywhere in the Pacific NW.
Students pursuing an AAT or AAS-T degree must complete all college degree requirements prior to graduation. This includes courses that meet the capstone project, diversity, and computer literacy requirements.
Program Length
The program is approximately seven quarters long, depending on the time students need to satisfactorily complete all graduation requirements.
Admission Dates
Summer, fall, winter, and spring quarters.
Program Outcomes
• Employ safe practices while using fluid power, electrical, mechanical and control equipment.
• Analyze the transmission of power between electrical, mechanical and fluid power.
• Use digital and analogue controls on mechanical, electrical, fluid power, and hybrid systems.
• Construct complex machinery involving multiple forms of power and control.
• Troubleshoot mechatronic systems, including the complex interplay between different power and control variables.
• Validate new and emerging power, control, and communication technologies.
• Prioritize efficiency and environmental sustainability in mechatronic systems and processes.
• Prioritize social benefit from the perspective of mechatronic systems.
Completion Requirements
Prerequisite(s)
To enter the program, a student must be eligible to take college-level English and college-level psychology, or another social science or humanities course.
This program assumes that students will be able to enroll in, or will have passed, MATH& 141 by the start of the third quarter of the program. Any developmental coursework that a student may be required to take to achieve this may increase the program length and is not reflected in credit counts as shown below. Math sequences to meet this requirement must be planned with your advisor prior to program enrollment.
Program Course List
Quarter 1 - Preparation
MEC 201 Systems Approach (or MET 111), MEC 120 CAD I (or MET 112), and MEC 202 Total Mechatronics (or MET113)
Program Core
AAS-T General Education Requirements: see list below
Technical Electives:
Mechatronics Elective Options (may be taken at discretion of student or advise of instructor)
General Degree Requirements
All AAS-T degrees must have a minimum of 20 credits of transferable general education. Required credits include:
- 5 credits in communication: ENGL& 101 (or higher)
- 5 credits in quantitative reasoning: MATH& 141 (or higher)
- 5 credits in a social science or humanities course: PSYC& 100DIV
, or other transferable social science or humanities course that meets the CPTC diversity requirement.
- 5 credits in a transferable Social Science
- 3 credits in COLL 102 *must be taken in first 2 quarters
AAS-T Degree General Education Requirements (23 credits)
All AAS-T degrees must have a minimum of 20 credits of transferable general education. These credits replace the academic courses required for the AAT degree. Required credits include:
5 credits in communication
5 credits in quantitative reasoning
5 credits in a social science that meets the diversity requirement
5 credits in social science, humanities, or science
Choose one from the following:
3 credits in College Success: