For related EIE programs, see Related Programs Listing .

G3 Eligible Program: The G3 Program is a tuition assistance program for any Virginia resident who qualifies for in-state tuition and whose family income falls below an identified threshold. For more information, visit www.nr.edu/g3.  

Purpose: As industry and some professional areas such as medicine have become increasingly mechanized and automated, the need for instrumentation technicians has increased. The supply of technicians trained to work with automatic controls and precision measuring devices in manufacturing operations has been so limited that industries have by necessity established their own training programs, recruiting people from related occupational areas. The Instrumentation and Control Automation Technology program was designed to provide industry with competent technicians ready for full-time employment. This program is designed to allow a student in a related technical program to elect the second year of the curriculum as an instrumentation option. For more information about the program, visit the program’s webpage.

Occupational Objectives: Some of the present opportunities include, but are not limited to, such jobs as industrial instrumentation technician, instrumentation specialist, instrumentation planner, instrumentation engineering assistant and instrument repairperson. In addition, instrument technicians often work with engineers or scientists developing and designing highly complex instruments to measure and record data, control and regulate the operation of machinery, or measure the variables encountered in industrial processes.

Admission Requirements: Entry into most curriculum courses in Instrumentation and Control Automation Technology require that students be eligible for MTH 131 .

Program Requirements: The Instrumentation and Control Automation Technology program provides a core of electrical and electronic courses which must precede any specialized work in instrumentation. About one fourth of this curriculum is composed of general education courses; one fourth, of supporting and related technical work; and one half, of specialized courses.

Upon satisfactory completion of the four-semester curriculum, the student will be awarded the Associate of Applied Science Degree in Instrumentation and Control Automation Technology.

The rapid rate of change in current technologies requires that course content in technical areas reflect this change. Therefore, courses completed and submitted for acceptance toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in this program should have been completed no longer than seven years prior to graduation. Courses completed more than seven years prior to graduation must be evaluated by the department for content agreeable to current academic and technological standards.

Students who plan to transfer to a four-year college after completing A.A.S. degree requirements should inform their academic advisors at the beginning of their studies to determine the appropriate courses to meet transfer requirements.