Applied Technology &
Performance Improvement

Career potential

A bachelor's degree with a major in applied technology and performance improvement from the University of North Texas will prepare you for teaching, training or supervisory positions in business, education, industry and the military.

Alumni of the program work in teaching and leadership positions at the secondary and post-secondary levels and in major businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. One graduate is a training specialist at TXU Electric in Dallas and another is a logistics engineer at Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin. Other alumni are on the faculty at Collin, Dallas and Tarrant county community colleges and at area school districts.

UNT's Career Center can help you pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers, and the staff can help you with resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation.

Majoring in applied technology and performance improvement

UNT offers a bachelor of applied arts and sciences degree with a major in applied technology and performance improvement. You may select a non-teaching or a teaching degree option.

If you want to earn a bachelor's degree after completing an occupational specialization program at a community college, you may want to explore the non-teaching degree program. This program provides an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree for students who have been enrolled in or who have graduated from an applied technology program.

Students planning teaching careers in career technology education may want to complete the program for the bachelor of applied arts and sciences with an emphasis in one of the four certification areas - business education, marketing education, health science technology education, and trade and industrial education.

The teaching and non-teaching options provide courses in communications, computer applications, curriculum development, human relations, leadership development and presentation strategies. There are 42 hours of professional development courses available online.

Faculty members in this program have outstanding records of secondary, community college and university teaching, and they have served as national and international consultants in applied technology, training and development.

Getting hands-on experience

Upon completion of 12 semester hours at UNT with at least a 2.5 GPA, you may work in a job related to your major through UNT's office of Cooperative Education and Internships. You may earn academic credit and money while gaining valuable work experience. Co-op employers pay extremely well, and the jobs usually last several semesters, often until graduation.

More than 800 employers work with the office to provide excellent learning opportunities, many of which become permanent full-time positions upon graduation. The office also assists with placing students in internships, which last for one full semester or summer.

Preparing for UNT

If you are a high school student, we suggest you prepare for college by becoming computer proficient and taking:

• English … 4 years
• Math … 4 years
• Social science — economics, geography, government, history … 4 years
• Science … 3 years
• Foreign language … 3 years
• Fine arts … 1 year

You will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to your major courses. Talk with your high school counselor about preparing for college, including the entrance exams (SAT Reasoning Test or ACT) that you should take during your junior year.

High school applied technology courses will further prepare you for the major.

As a benefit for transfer students, UNT participates in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system makes it easier to transfer credits for general academic courses from one Texas institution to another.

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult the UNT Transfer Guide, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic counselor to discuss your degree plan. Proper planning will help you receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

Charting your path with academic advising

Once you have been admitted to the program, you will be assigned to an advisor who will work with you on your degree plan. You should file a degree plan no later than your second semester of enrollment at UNT. The main office for the Department of Learning Technologies, which administers the program, is in Matthews Hall, Room 322.

Curious about courses and other features of this major?
See the current catalog.