There are only fifteen accredited1 baccalaureate degree programs in the United States and only six accredited1 associate degree programs. Penn State is proud of the fact that both of our programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology1 .
The Penn State programs have courses covering both breadth and depth in the surveying field. Students can specialize in boundary surveying, geodesy, image analysis (photogrammetry and remote sensing), and geographic information systems. Most of the courses involve student projects. In the past three years, five students have published papers in nationally recognized journals. Striving for excellence is a hallmark of the Penn State Surveying Engineering Program.
All fulltime, discipline-specific faculty teaching in the Surveying Engineering and Surveying Technology programs at Penn State have Ph.Ds. This means that you will learn the subject from experts in their field. Dr. Ghilani has coauthored two textbooks in surveying used by many of the programs in the U.S. and several throughout the world. Dr Seybert, program chair, has authored another book. Because of its location at the Wilkes-Barre campus, all other subjects such as English, physics, and mathematics taught by fulltime instructors with most having their Ph.Ds. Penn State prides itself on the quality of education it can deliver at the Wilkes-Barre Campus.
Since Penn State offers both an associate degree in Surveying Technology (2 year) and baccalaureate degree in Surveying Engineering (4 year), many students wonder what are the main differences between the programs. This can best be explained by the intent of the programs and a view of the profession. It is estimated that for each professional land surveyor, at least four technicians are required to gather data, reduce, and map data. The Surveying Technology (2 year) program provides the students with the technical skills using traditional surveying instruments and the computational skills to solve problems typically encountered in boundary and construction surveying. The first two years of both the Surveying and Surveying Technology programs share these courses. Additionally, the Surveying Engineering Program (4 year) goes into greater depth in the legal and professional aspects of land surveying, and covers subjects such as image analysis, geographic information systems, geodesy, global positioning systems, stormwater management, and land subdivision design. It also has greater depth in the basic sciences and mathematics providing the students with the skills to solve tomorrow's problems.
Simply stated, the Surveying Technology program is designed to provide the technicians for the industry whereas the the Surveying Engineering Program is designed to produce the professionals for the industry. Several of our baccalaureate students have been hired into management-track positions. They will provide the leadership for tomorrow's industry. Currently in Pennsylvania, students from both of our programs can become licensed. However, only our baccalaureate students can be licensed in all fifty states where at least 20 require baccalaureate degrees. In the future, it is expected that the trend of requiring a baccalaureate degree for licensure will continue throughout the United States. This requirement already exists in Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
1An up-to-date list of accredited programs can be found on the ABET site at http://www.abet.org.