Industrial Technology & Management BAS

If you have technical education, technical training, or military training in your background and you're looking for a career move to an administrative role or an advanced technical position, this degree is definitely the one for you. We know that many people working today have their associate degree, or have earned college credit from a variety of schools, but are looking to take the next step and earn their bachelor's degree. That's why we designed this flexible degree program to accept a variety of college credits with an easy, streamlined transfer process.

Locations: Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Warren

Program Plans: Grand Rapids , Muskegon, Warren

Go from Shop Floor to Top Floor

If you are looking for the skills and confidence to step up to more challenging, higher-paying manufacturing jobs, such as team leader, production supervisor, quality manager, sales engineer, engineering supervisor, or production controller, the Industrial Technology & Management BAS will give you the edge you need. We have designed this program for people already involved in any one of a number of areas in manufacturing who possess many manufacturing or business-related credits or an associate degree, and who desire a bachelor's degree.

Get a Great Job

Most of our current students work in a manufacturing facility and wish to advance their careers, responsibilities and salaries. By bringing a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of manufacturing, additional skills are learned in the program that can transfer directly to the workplace.

Employment opportunities for Industrial Technology & Management graduates are found across the entire spectrum of manufacturing and related industries. Common job titles you can expect from completing this program include production supervisor, project leader, team leader or a position in middle management. Depending on your previous experience, additional career tracks one could expect from obtaining this degree may also be available in engineering, upper management and sales.

The Curriculum

• Concentration: These courses include manufacturing-based content such as Plant Layout, Product Design, Quality, Safety and Environmental Health, Project Management, and others.
• Core Requirements: Includes coursework in business management, professional communication, and professional computer competency. Also, a senior-level capstone course will complete your degree.
• General Education Requirements: To give you a firm base of knowledge, you will be guided through general education courses in communication, scientific understanding, quantitative skills, cultural enrichment, global consciousness, race/ethnicity, and social awareness. You may already have met some of these requirements as part of your associate degree.
• Elective Requirements: You can apply up to 46 semester hours of elective credit toward your BAS degree. Your electives may include transfer credits, prerequisite hours or hours that support the concentration. Credit may also be earned through course proficiency exams, CLEP, or DANTES tests. If you have technical education, technical training, or military training in your background and if you are looking for a career move to an administrative role or an advanced technical position, this degree is definitely the one for you.
• We know that many people working today have their associate degree, or have earned college credit from a variety of schools, but are looking to take the next step and earn their bachelor's degree. For these people we built this degree, the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS), which will accept a variety of college credits and eases the transfer process. We've even built in options for granting credit for prior learning or military training.

The Industrial Technology & Management program is designed to complement previous training in a technical area in order to move into a management role in a manufacturing or related facility. The degree program is interdisciplinary, bringing components of various programs together with specialty courses that expand the knowledge base of the student in manufacturing and industrial settings. The foundation classes provide depth of knowledge applicable to any technology field with classes in automation, globalization, lean manufacturing, OSHA safety, general management, quality statistics, and industrial operations. Students typically come to the ITM program with work experience in a manufacturing environment. This allows students to bring their own experiences from their jobs to the classroom for a unique perspective on solving manufacturing- related problems.

The Industrial Technology & Management degree is designed for those involved in any one of a number of areas in manufacturing who may possess many manufacturing or business-related credits or an associate degree, and who desire a bachelor's degree. This degree program will assist persons who want to make a career change with their current employer or a career transition to a new employer. It is designed to assist persons who desire to work in production supervision, sales engineering, production planning, quality, engineering supervision, and project management, among other positions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Cohort? A cohort is a group of students who begin taking courses at the same time, and finish at about the same time, even though they may be in different locations around the state. Ferris offers off-campus programs in this way because there isn't usually a large population in one location at any give time to keep certain industry-specific programs economically viable.

What does 3+1 mean exactly? This refers to the full-time-equivalent years it requires to complete a degree program. Using four years as a full-time-student reference, this would mean a student will take about three years' worth of courses with a community college, and one full year of courses with Ferris State University. Keep in mind that these numbers will refer to taking 17-18 credit hours per semester, and most of our students do not take that many hours while holding a full-time job.

What if I miss a course in the sequence at my original location? It is important that students make every effort to keep pace with their cohort. Occasionally, circumstances dictate that a course is missed. While this isn't a total disaster, it puts a damper on finishing the sequence with the rest of your cohort classmates. If this does happen, you have several options.  One is to wait for the course to be offered again at your preferred location – but this could require waiting a few years for another cohort to begin. Another option is to see if there is another location nearby (or at a reasonable distance) that offers the same course in a different semester. While this is not optimum, it does provide the opportunity to complete the course sequence. There are other options, especially if the course is offered in an online format, but in any case, you should contact your advisor if these circumstances arise.

How long does the sequence take to complete? Typically, Ferris offers about six credit hours per semester at any given location. Occasionally, this will be slightly higher or lower, depending on the preferences of the cohort. With this pace, the sequence of Ferris courses generally requires 2.5 years to complete. Beyond this time, students will typically need to complete additional courses from the community college to fill gaps in their degree plans, but this varies widely among the many students in the program.

Can I dual enroll, that is, can I take classes at Ferris and at my CC at the same time? Yes – this is expected of most students. Keep in mind that the more courses you take with your community college while enrolled in Ferris courses, the faster you will complete your degree requirements.

Are any classes held online? How many classes can I expect to take on-line? Currently, there are a number of options for online courses. Typically, the following courses are offered in an online format: EHSM 330, MGMT 370, and ENGL 311 or 325. In addition, a number of courses are offered in a blended format where students will meet in a face-to-face environment, supplemented with online delivery.

Do I need to meet with my advisor every semester? Once you become familiar with the degree checksheet, you do not need to meet every semester with your advisor. Common questions can be answered via email, but you should make an effort to meet at least once per year to discuss any issues and upcoming matters of importance.