Bachelor of applied science: an innovative degree program

The Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree often is considered a terminal degree, used to gain access to the workforce. There are a number of technical A.A.S. degrees leading to employment in the broader engineering community. Many individuals who originally gained entrance into the engineering workforce via these degrees have successful careers-up to a point. In the authors´ experience, significant numbers of people face the requirement of additional degree qualifications before advancement in job responsibilities or career change can occur. Unfortunately, the poor transferability of the A.A.S. degree coursework into Bachelor of Science engineering or engineering technology programs greatly inhibits people from pursuing a new degree. This paper provides details of Arizona State University´s successful Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.) program and how it serves this special portion of the engineering workforce. Only a few years old, the B.A.S.´s engineering-related concentrations have already produced satisfied and successful graduates. The majority of the coursework is technical and is drawn from existing ABET-accredited engineering technology programs.