The automobile influences everyone in this country. We depend on it for our transportation, and we love the freedom it provides. In the last decade, however, the relationship we have with our cars has become much more complicated. There is no doubt that the increased use of the internal combustion engine has a negative impact on the environment. To reduce this impact, automobile manufacturers have produced increasingly clean-running and fuel-efficient vehicles, and introduced hybrid and alternative fueled vehicles.

The price for this growth in efficiency is an increasingly complicated car, demanding highly trained technicians to provide normal maintenance and repairs. Successful journeyman technicians in today's service centers and dealerships must spend many hours each year in training sessions to keep up with changes in technology. The novice technician must have a firm grasp of the basic theory of automotive technology to be able to understand, diagnose, and repair the modern automobile.

The Automotive Technology program in the Southern Illinois University Carbondale College of Applied Sciences and Arts offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Automotive Technology. The Program of Study the student selects will allow the development of skills necessary for job entry and provide the student with technical understanding that will enable him/her to keep up with future changes.

One of the outstanding features of the SIUC Automotive Technology program is our ability to meet the varied occupational goals of our students. Bachelor's degree graduates are employed as manufacturers' technical and customer assistance specialists, field service engineers, corporate and public school automotive instructors, technical writers, program developers, fleet service managers, dealership service and parts managers, and field executives.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Automotive Technology allows you to combine automotive service skills with business, management, and communication skills through automotive elective courses and courses in marketing, management, communications, and business computing. You can complete a bachelor's degree in Automotive Technology in a minimum of 120 planned semester hours.

In the third and fourth years, students can choose advanced courses to satisfy degree requirements in additional areas. Students can strengthen their technical skills by selecting the courses which allow them to specialize in areas of greatest interest. In addition to technical courses, you will also additional Core Curriculum, Business and Management courses.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

To keep SIUC's curriculum up to date and assist with the placement of graduates, Automotive Technology faculty members work closely with an advisory committee whose members include representatives of the major domestic and import automobile manufacturers, automotive parts manufacturers and distributors, and technical education experts, as well as dealerships, independent service center managers, and repair technicians. Current members include representatives from American Honda Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Mitsubishi Motor Sales, Toyota Motor Sales, NAPA, various automotive dealerships, wholesale/retail parts and wholesale/retail service outlets. The advisory committee meets each year to discuss the program with the automotive faculty and students. This ongoing relationship with industry insures that the program content reflects the changing needs of the automotive job market.

CAREERS IN AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Students graduating from the Bachelor of Science degree program may find employment in the automotive industry in a variety of technical and managerial positions. Many job opportunities are available in the automotive aftermarket industry, automotive dealerships, and independent repair centers, as well as with automotive manufacturers. Job titles include technical and customer assistance specialists, field service engineers, corporate and public school automotive instructors, technical writers, program developers, fleet service managers, dealership service and parts managers, and field executives.

DIVERSITY

Other options, in addition to the Bachelor of Science program in Automotive Technology, exist for Automotive Technology graduates at SIUC. In SIUC'S College of Engineering you can pursue a Capstone Option in Industrial Technology that prepares management-oriented technical professionals. In SIUC's workforce education and development program you can pursue an option designed to prepare technically trained people for training and development positions in education, business, industry, labor, government, and the military.