Engineering-Related Programs (all)

This innovative co-enrollment network was developed to address Texas' growing need for engineers and provide a pathway for students interested in pursuing an engineering degree. Qualified students admitted to the Engineering Academy are co-enrolled at Texas A&M University in the College of Engineering and at Dallas College. Learn more about the Texas A&M Engineering Academy and what it takes to be admitted.

For Dallas College students earning a transferrable associate degree in mechanical engineering, a new agreement is in place with participating Texas four-year institutions to seamlessly transfer into a bachelor’s degree program.

The agreement can be used by participating technical schools and community colleges, including Dallas College, to transfer an associate degree in pre-mechanical engineering into a mechanical engineering bachelor’s program at participating four-year institutions.

Participating four-year institutions are:

• Lamar University
• Midwestern State University
• Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
• Texas A&M University-Kingsville
• Texas Tech University
• The University of Texas at Arlington
• The University of Texas at Dallas
• The University of Texas at El Paso
• The University of Texas at San Antonio
• The University of Texas at Tyler
• The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
• The University of North Texas
• West Texas A&M University

The transfer compact is for mechanical engineering, but negotiations are under way on transfer agreements in civil, electrical and industrial engineering.

If you are a Dallas College student interested in transferring into a bachelor’s engineering program at a four-year institution, meet with an academic advisor at your college to learn more about your transfer options before embarking on a degree plan.

Voluntary Mechanical Engineering Transfer Compact

The Voluntary Mechanical Engineering Transfer Compact has been established to be voluntarily used by institutions of higher education throughout Texas to make associate degrees transfer more easily toward a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

The goal was to increase both the number and preparedness of community college pre-engineering students entering bachelor’s degree programs in mechanical engineering at universities.

The agreement was initiated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, with grant support from the Lumina Foundation for education.

The intention of the agreement was not to change curriculum patterns in bachelor’s programs but to provide guidance to community college students about which courses offer best preparation for transfer.

All Texas community and technical colleges with programs in pre-mechanical engineering, along with state public universities offering a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, were invited to nominate a representative to serve on the Mechanical Engineering Articulated Transfer Committee. An advisory committee identified first- and second-year courses that would provide the academic background for students to be successful in third- and fourth-year mechanical engineering courses.

Standardized Course Descriptions and Learning Objectives

The committee agreed on courses that will provide the necessary academic background to allow a mechanical engineering student at a two-year institution to transfer seamlessly:

• Calculus I, II, and III
• Differential Equations
• Dynamics
• Engineering Graphics I
• Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis
• Fundamentals of Circuit Analysis Laboratory
• General Chemistry I and II
• General Chemistry Laboratory I and II
• Introduction to Engineering
• Statics
• University Physics I and II
• University Physics Laboratory I and II

The process included alignment of courses, detailed course descriptions, learning outcomes and learning competencies expected when a student successfully completes a given course. Highlights include:

Course offerings:

Transfer:

Students who successfully complete the listed courses will be able to transfer course credit hours from a community or technical college to a signatory university. The four-year institutions will accept semester credit hours for any one course provided that it is a curriculum requirement and the student’s grade is a “C” or higher.

Admission:

Students from two-year institutions who successfully complete the recommended courses and who maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 (with no grade lower than C in transferrable hours) will be assured into the bachelor’s degree mechanical engineering program of a participating four-year institution. Students not meeting these criteria must apply for admission through the regular process.

Assessment:

Signatory institutions will assess the effectiveness of this transfer compact on a periodic basic at least once every three years, including measuring student performance in upper-division courses.