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Welding Technology A.S. Degree

Full Time

This program roadmap represents one possible pathway to complete the program. Please see a counselor to create an education plan that is customized to meet your needs. This roadmap is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.

Catalog:: 2025-26
GE Pattern:: local AA/AS
Total Units:: 60
Start Term:: Fall

First Year

Semester 1 (Fall)

15 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	GE AREA
Req	WELD 140 Mathematics for Welding Technicians	3	L2
RE	WELD 300 Introduction to Welding	3
Req	WELD 302 Introduction to Welding Metallurgy	3
GE	ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing or	3	L1A
GE	ENGL C1000H ^H Academic Reading and Writing - Honors	3	L1A
GE	any Area L7A (Physical Education) course	1	L7A
GE	any Area L7B (Life Development Skills) course	2	L7B

Semester 2 (Spring)

14 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	WELD 316 Welding Inspection	2	(see below)
Req	WELD 330 Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (Plate)	3	(see below)
Req	WELD 332 Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (Pipe)	3	(see below)
GE	any Area L1B (Oral Communication & Critical Thinking) course	3		L1B
GE	any Area L3 (Arts & Humanities) course	3		L3

WELD 316/330 prerequisite: WELD 300, or at least one year of welding experience.

WELD 332 prerequisite: WELD 330, or at least two years of welding experience.

Second Year

Semester 3 (Fall)

16 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	WELD 333 Gas Metal Arc Welding, Steel	3	(see below)
Req	WELD 334 Gas Metal Arc Welding: Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals	2	WELD 333
Req	WELD 342 Symbol Reading, Layout and Fabrication	3
RE	WELD 115 Code Welding	2
GE	any Area L4 (Social & Behavioral Sciences) course	3		L4
GE	any Area L5 (Natural Sciences) course	3		L5

WELD 333 prerequisite: WELD 300, or at least one year of welding experience.

Semester 4 (Spring)

15 Units

CAT.	COURSE	UNIT	Prerequisites	GE AREA
Req	WELD 320 Shielded Metal Arc Welding Structural	3	(see below)
Req	WELD 322 Shielded Metal Arc Welding (Pipe)	3	(see below)
Req	WELD 335 Flux Core Arc Welding	3	(see below)
GE	any Area L6 (Ethnic Studies) course	3		L6
Elec	any elective course	3

WELD 320/335 prerequisite: WELD 300, or at least one year of welding experience.

WELD 322 prerequisite: WELD 320, or at least two years of welding experience.

^H honors courses

Explanation of Categories
Req	Required Core	A course that is required for this program
RE	Restricted Elective	A course selected from a list of elective courses specified for this program in the course list in the catalog, which can be replaced with another course from the same list
GE	General Education	A course that fulfills a specific general education requirement for a degree, which can be replaced with another course that meets the same requirement
Elec	Degree Elective	A degree-applicable course that is part of a degree roadmap to ensure that there is a total of at least 60 units, which is a requirement for an associate degree

Career path

Career Options:

This degree prepares students to work as a welder in:

oil refineries
nuclear power plants
aerospace industry
structural buildings
bridge construction
auto industry
small commercial fabrication shops

It also prepares students to work as welding shop supervisors and welding sales persons.

Advising Notes:

This degree can be completed using either the local AA/AS general education (GE) pattern or the Cal-GETC transfer GE pattern. See a counselor to determine which pattern is best for you based on your academic goals.
Students can substitute ESLW 340 for ENGL C1000/C1000H (formerly known as ENGWR 300/480).
Elective Courses: any elective courses numbered 100-499, or having a 4-digit number starting with C.

Scheduling Notes:

WELD 302, 333, and 334 are offered in the fall.
WELD 316 and 332 are offered in the spring.
WELD 333 and 334 are offered as 5-week courses that can be taken in the same semester.
WELD 320 and 322 are offered as 5-week courses that can be taken in the same semester.
WELD 330 and 332 are offered as 5-week courses that can be taken in the same semester.

Other Notes:

At the end of the second semester, students qualify for the Gas Tungsten Arc Plate and Pipe Welding certificate.
An internship (WELD 298) is highly recommended as it opens up potential employment opportunities. Students can earn between 0.5 – 4.0 units for related paid or unpaid work experience including volunteer and internship positions through WELD 298. This course also works toward satisfying GE Area L7B. See the Work Experience website for more information.

Published April 12, 2025

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