Agricultural and Industrial Equipment Technology

Department Overview
The Agriculture and Industrial Equipment Technology program prepares students to become technicians for agriculture and construction equipment dealers who sell such brands as AGCO, CASE IH, Caterpillar, Kubota, and New Holland products. The program is two years in length and includes courses in hydraulics, electronics, diesel, mobile air conditioning, and diagnostics. The Agriculture and Industrial Equipment department intends to meet the following goals:
  • Upgrade the technical competency and professional level of incoming Ag and Industrial Equipment service technicians
  • Train students to analytically diagnose service and maintain agriculture and industrial products using recommended procedures, special tools, and service information
  • Develop technicians with strong communications and customer service skills including listening, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, and teamwork
  • Provide content that will enable successful graduates to advance in position after additional experience, and to understand new systems and components as they are introduced
To enter the program students must be sponsored by an equipment dealership and meet the dealership hiring requirements. Students are encouraged to do a pre-internship at an equipment dealership prior to entering the program. Students complete six sessions of courses at Columbia Basin College (109-111 credits/1,694-1,716 hours) and four sessions of paid internships at sponsoring dealerships (20 credits/1,000 hours). An Associate in Applied Science in Agriculture and Industrial Equipment Technology is awarded to students who complete all required and related coursework, general education requirements, and internship credits.