Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

AST Degree Options Accredited by NAIT, First in the Nation

 

The Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at Iowa State University became the first in the country to have a baccalaureate degree option accredited with “agriculture” in the title. The Agricultural Systems Technology (AST) degree has both Machine Systems and Agriculture and Biosystems Management options accredited for six years by the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT).

This accreditation was effective starting November 2008 and continues through October 2014. NAIT currently accredits a total of 128 baccalaureate program options in 57 institutions and a total of 212 associate program options in 31 institutions.

NAIT was founded in 1967 as the professional association for Industrial Technologists and has been involved in the accreditation of Industrial Technology programs since 1974. NAIT was recognized in January 2002 by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the specialized accrediting agency for associate and baccalaureate degree programs in Industrial Technology.

NAIT accreditation ensures that an institution has met a series of standards to provide industry with highly competent employees and assures the graduate of a NAIT accredited program that they are receiving a marketable degree through relevant curricula. Institutions that earn accreditation from NAIT confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive review process.

Iowa State University AST graduates find rewarding careers in a variety of agricultural and environmental businesses. They focus on managing, using, and troubleshooting technology by applying their knowledge of technology, agriculture, and processing systems. Whether it is off-road equipment, agricultural machinery, food and grain processing, water quality, biofuels production, precision agriculture, or livestock production systems, an agricultural system technologist works to see how the individual pieces fit into the "big picture" of sustainability, conservation, and profitability.

The Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering faculty are proud to offer this hands-on accredited curriculum in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. For more information about the programs offered by Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering department, please visit our website at http://www.abe.iastate.edu/academics.html.

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