Bachelor of Technology

The Bachelor of Technology (commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or B.Tech.(Hons)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after completion of a three or four year program of studies at an accredited university or accredited university-level institution. The degree is conferred in the Commonwealth of Nations, Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada,South Africa, Nigeria, and elsewhere.

In general, the degree is awarded to those who have undertaken a Bachelor of Science degree program which is additionally supplemented by either occupational placements (e.g., supervised practica or internships) or practice-based classroom courses. Due to these requirements, the degree normally takes at least four years.

In some countries, the degree is awarded following completion of a curriculum which is career oriented, emphasizing practice as opposed to theory. Here, by contrast, occupational placements and practice-based courses are more heavily weighted within the program

Australia

In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology programs are three to four years in duration. Honors degrees, abbreviated as B.Tech.(Hons), are awarded to graduates who successfully complete a four year program.

Canada

In Canada, the Bachelor of Technology designation is used inconsistently. Both universities and community colleges award the degree after completion of four year programs but have different entrance requirements. Some traditional universities as well community colleges also award the degree after a one or two year diploma-to-degree bridging program, such as McMaster University.

Care should be taken not to confuse the B.Tech. degree offered by university-level institutions with the Bachelor of Applied Technology (B.A.Tech.) or BAT offered by some community colleges in Canada. Community colleges are represented by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and university-level institutions by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the national accrediting body of universities in Canada. However, some community college engineering programs have recently been accredited by Engineers Canada following a thorough review by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), i.e., Conestoga College and the British Columbia Institute of Technology).CEAB accreditation allows licensing as a "Professional Engineer (P.Eng.)" and ensures that graduates of these programs can continue with graduate engineering studies at traditional universities.

Ryerson University's usage of the degree is the most inconsistent. Ryerson University has used the degree for one year diploma-to-degree bridging programs, e.g., Construction Management. Ryerson University has used the degree for 4-year programs with Grade 12 General Level (Community College) entrance requirements, such as the early Engineering programs, which is considered equivalent to a three year bachelors degree. Ryerson has used the degree for 4-year programs with Grade 13 Advanced Level (University) preparation entrance requirements, e.g., Architectural Science, and later Engineering programs. Most recently, after the elimination of Ontario Grade 13, Ryerson University is using the designation for 4-year programs with Grade 12 University Level entrance requirements.

Care should be taken not to confuse the B.Tech. degree with the C.Tech. (Certified Technician) designation used in Canada by the engineering technologists and technicians associations, which is attained by completion of a 2-year diploma program followed by two years of acceptable experience.

India

In India, The Bachelor of Technology degree is awarded after completion of a 4 year program. The B.Tech. degree is conferred by government and private institutions in various fields like Computer Science and Engineering, Information Technology, Electronics (Communication & Instrumentation) Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automobile engineering, Agricultural engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mining Engineering,Aerospace Engineering, Civil engineering , Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering,Production Engineering and Textile Engineering, Pulp and Paper Engineering as well as a host of other prestigious institutes (both public and privately funded) for their professional engineering programs.

Israel

In Israel, the B.Tech. degree is awarded only by academic colleges in fields of engineering. The minimum duration of the B.Tech. degree is eight semesters and 160 credit hours.It is also awarded to those who have upgraded from a Practical Engineering certificate to a B.Tech. degree by taking supplemental studies of minimum five semesters and 100 credit hours. The importance of this course can be judged from the fact that GDS is pursuing it.

Kenya

In Kenya, The B.Tech degree is awarded by Moi University and takes five years to complete. The fields offered by the university are Chemical engineering, Civil engineering,Computer engineering, Electrical engineering, Textile Engineering and Production Engineering

Nigeria

In Nigeria, The B.Tech. degree is awarded by Universities of Technology or Science and Technology which can be Federal, State or Privately owned.The duration of study is usually five years of ten semesters.Nine of these semesters is spent in the university while one(usually the second semester of the fourth year) is spent on compulsory Industrial Training(IT)ranging from three to six months although it can extend for a whole session(usually the whole fourth year) for students of Agriculture related courses. At inception most of the universities offered core Science courses,but have now expanded their course offerings to include Social Sciences and even Medicine.There are five Federal universities of Technology in Nigeria located in Minna,Akure,Owerri,Yola and Bauchi with some state and privately owned ones around the country .

Pakistan

In Pakistan: Bachelor of Technology (Honors) degree is a four year undergraduate degree program, including supervised industrial training, Projects and intensive course studies. The prerequisite for this program is a three years Diploma of Associate Engineer in specific fields e.g. Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical and Civil Engineering etc or two years F.Sc Pre-Engineering. B.Tech Honors four years degree awarded by public and private sector Universities under supervision of Higher Education Commission (Govt. of Pakistan) B.Tech (Hons) Degree from any HEC accredited Universities is considered at par and compatible with B.Sc.Engineering degree(Please refer to the HEC wesbite www.hec.gov.pk stating equivalence of B.Tech. Honors and B.Sc. Engineering degree.

South Africa

In South Africa, the degree is awarded by Universities of Technology and Comprehensive Universities (as distinct from Traditional Universities), and is often offered in areas to which there is no corresponding B.Sc. Although the B.Tech often carries the same amounts of points as a B.Sc. in terms of South Africa's National Qualifications Framework, the B.Tech. usually does not grant admission to the corresponding M.Sc. program; students instead pursue the Master of Technology (M.Tech.) and Doctor of Technology (D.Tech.) degrees.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, The Open University of Sri Lanka(since 1980) is the pioneer in offering the BTech which has a duration of minimum five years.Undergraduates can be specialised in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and communication Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering and Textile and Apparel Technology.

B.Tech Engineering is also offered by the recently established Uva Wellassa University which has a duration of four years. This is known to be a specialized degree where they are subjected to specialize in three fields, Food Engineering & Bioprocess Technology, Material science & technology and Mechatronics.

The BTech is also offered in Sri Lanka by the University of Vocational Technology in following fields of Information Communication Technology, Building Services Technology, Manufacturing Technology, and Mechatronics Technology.

United Kingdom

The degree is no longer awarded in the United Kingdom. Those who take such programs are more commonly awarded a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree. Care should be taken not to confuse the B.Tech. degree with the United Kingdom's Business & Technical Education Council (BTEC) designation, which is not a university degree. BTEC functions have now been overtaken by Edexcel.

United States

In the USA, The Bachelor of Technology degree is awarded after completion of a 4 year program. Many of the colleges and universities offering this degree are located in the states of Alaska (INDS), Florida, New York (New York City College of Technology, State University College at Buffalo, SUNY Morrisville), Illinois (Chicago), Missouri (Northwest Missouri State University), Nevada, South Carolina, Oklahoma (Northeastern State University) and Virginia. For example World College located in Virginia offers Bachelor of Technology degrees.