Drafting & Design Engineering Technology

The Drafting and Design Engineering Technology—Computer-Aided Drafted program offers the technical training necessary for students choosing a drafting/design career in the fields of architecture, construction, manufacturing, and engineering. This program provides a strong academic and technical base, giving the graduate the needed skills and knowledge for immediate employment and the foundation for professional growth. It also provides professional growth for the experienced drafter/designer needing academic enrichment and knowledge of computer-aided drafting technology.

Advanced placement credit (21 credit hours max) is available to students who can provide written documentation of a minimum of two years, continuous related industry experience within the past ten years. This advanced placement credit is awarded after the student completes 9 semester hours at HCC.

This program provides a strong academic and technical base, giving the graduate the needed skills and knowledge for immediate employment and the foundation for professional growth. It also provides professional growth for the experienced drafter/designer needing academic enrichment and knowledge of computer-aided drafting technology.

Advanced placement credit (21 credit hours max) is available to students who can provide written documentation of a minimum of two years, continuous related industry experience within the past ten years. This advanced placement credit is awarded after the student completes 9 semester hours at HCC.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) allows students to earn only one AAS in Drafting and Design Engineering Technology—Computer-Aided Drafting. Students must choose one of the following four specializations: General Computer-Aided Design Drafting, Building Design Drafting, Mechanical Design, ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DESIGN or Piping Design Drafting.

Likewise the THECB allows students to earn only one Certificate in Computer-Aided Drafting. Students must choose from one of the following five specializations: Computer-Aided Drafting-General Drafting, Architectural Drafting, Civil Drafting, Machine Drafting, ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DRAFTING or Pipe Drafting.

In addition, please note that a student may only earn one Occupational Skills Award (OSA) per academic year.

TSI testing required prior to first enrollment for all AAS degrees and Level II certificates.

• Interpret/communicate data: Selects and analyzes information and communicates the results to others using oral, written, graphical, pictorial, or multi-media methods. 

• Monitors and corrects performance: Distinguishes trends, predicts impact of actions on system operations, diagnoses deviations in the function of a system, organization, and takes necessary action to correct performance. 

• Design/improve systems: Prevents, identifies, or solves problems in machines, computers, and other technologies. 

• Creative thinking: Uses imagination freely, combines ideas or information in new ways, makes connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, and reshapes goals in ways that reveal new possibilities. 

• Students will be presented with an engineering or architectural problem for which they will be required to design solution. 
• Based on known trends and their creativity, each student will be responsible designing a solution and diagnose deviations and solve problems in the function of the design and take actions necessary to improve on and correct performance. 
  
  
• Evaluation of these skills will be based on the creativity, functionality and efficiency of the project design.

The AAS in Drafting and Design Engineering Technology —Computer Aided Drafting is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org