The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has given the final approval for Tarleton to establish a new bachelor of science degree program in mechanical engineering technology.

The action came following The Texas A&M University System board of regents approval of the degree in August. The program will be implemented in fall 2013.

The new degree is “more applied, more application oriented,” said Dr. George Mollick, associate professor and head of the Department of Engineering Technology, and “will build on already successful programs in industrial and manufacturing engineering technology.”

“Graduates with this degree will be built for small business,” Mollick added. “They can understand the business needs of small manufacturers, and small manufacturers are the greatest source of manufacturing jobs in Texas. There’s a big demand for these types of jobs.”

While the Dallas-Fort Worth area is one of the largest manufacturing centers in Texas, the number of engineering technology programs in the area is small, with only the University of North Texas offering a mechanical engineering technology program, according to supporting documentation for the degree prepared by Tarleton.

“While traditional engineering programs are well represented in the Metroplex … it is these technology programs outside of the Metroplex that are essential in growing the number of Texans employed in engineering fields,” the document added.