Why Electronics Professionals Choose UA Grantham's Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology

Key Takeaways

• Working electronics technicians often know how to troubleshoot a circuit before they know the math behind it. A Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology adds that theory.
• University of Arkansas Grantham's program includes 11 lab courses that combine circuit simulation software with hardware such as microcontrollers, sensors, and oscilloscopes.
• The program carries specialized accreditation from the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET and is delivered 100% online.
• Courses run in 8-week terms with monthly start dates and students can transfer in up to 75% of credits.
• UA Grantham has taught electronics since its founding as the Grantham Radio License School in 1951.

Most electronics technicians learn the trade at the bench. They can trace a fault, read a schematic, and swap a failing component. Often, they do all of that before anyone has walked them through the math behind a circuit's behavior. For many working electronics technicians, an online electronics engineering technology degree is how they fill in that theory without stepping away from the job.

University of Arkansas Grantham's Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology was built for that student. Below, graduates explain in their own words what drew them to the program and what they took from it.

Is an Online Electronics Engineering Technology Degree a Good Fit for Working Technicians?

For many working technicians, yes. The best fit is a program that is applied rather than purely theoretical, includes real lab work, and runs on a schedule that works around a full-time job. UA Grantham's Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology checks those boxes: it is 120 credit hours, delivered 100% online, and organized into 8-week terms.

Engineering technology is a practical discipline. Where electrical engineering leans toward designing new systems, engineering technology focuses on applying, testing, and troubleshooting the systems already in use. That emphasis lines up with the work technicians already do every day.

The Theory Behind the Work You Already Do

The program's 84 program core credits move from the fundamentals of DC and AC circuits through Electronics I and II, Analog Integrated Circuits, and Electronic Communication Principles and Systems. Later courses cover Instrumentation and Measurement, Signals and Systems Theory, and Control Systems. Programming in C++ and a math sequence that runs from Precalculus through Calculus II build the analytical side.

That math is real work, and graduates say so. Jim Marion, who was managing cell phone and pager technicians when he enrolled, earned his Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology through Grantham in 1994. He still remembers what he calls “the summer of calculus.” In his words: “I remember just grinding it out.”

For Marion, the payoff was a stronger foundation for everything that followed. “The value is in what you know and what you can do,” he says. Read Jim Marion's full story.

Hands-On Labs Without a Campus Commute

Eleven courses in the program include a lab component, from Fundamental Properties of DC Circuits and Lab to Control Systems and Lab. Students build and test circuits with simulation software and work with hardware such as microcontrollers, sensors, oscilloscopes, controllers, and motors. Control Systems and Lab uses MATLAB throughout. The full course list is on the program curriculum page.

Jo Ann Tamez, a veteran, chose UA Grantham “for the ABET Accredited Electronics Engineering Technology program” while working as a pharmacy technician at Eskenazi Hospital. She points to the lab assignments as the best part of her experience. Working with medical devices later, she says, “I understood how these electronic devices were utilized from my course training.”  Read Jo Ann Tamez's story.

Want to see how the labs and course sequence fit your experience? Request information and a UA Grantham team member can walk you through the program.

An ABET-Accredited Degree Built Around a Work Schedule

University of Arkansas Grantham has received specialized accreditation for its electronics engineering technology program from the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET. The program has held that accreditation since 2014. UA Grantham reports it is one of only 48 programs nationwide that hold this accreditation and are offered 100% online. Read more about what that accreditation involves in ABET-Accredited Bachelor's in Electronics Engineering Technology.

The schedule matters as much as the credential for someone already working shifts. Most courses start monthly, and each term lasts 8 weeks. There are no set class times, but weekly deadlines keep coursework moving, so the program is flexible without being self-paced. Eligible degree-seeking students also receive a laptop at no additional cost, provided after classes begin.

Credit for the Training You Already Have

Many technicians come in with college credit from earlier coursework or military training. Students can transfer in up to 75% of credits for the Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology, and the transfer student page explains how to get started. Those without prior credit can begin with the Associate of Science in Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology, which satisfies the first two years of the bachelor's degree. Service members and veterans can also review UA Grantham's military-friendly programs and support.

A Long Line of Electronics Learners

UA Grantham's roots are in electronics. World War II veteran Donald Grantham founded the Grantham Radio License School in Los Angeles in 1951. The school later became the Grantham School of Electronics and then Grantham College of Engineering. The school's history traces that path to its 2021 move into the University of Arkansas System.

Jerry Osborne earned his first-class engineer's license through Grantham's three-month radio licensing course in Los Angeles, then spent decades in radio as a chief engineer, deejay, and program director. “UA Grantham is an important part of my development in radio,” he says. “I ate up the classes.”  Read Jerry Osborne's story.

Marion's own path shows how far the delivery model has come. “In those days, proctored exams were arranged to be taken at the local library, and assignments were mailed back and forth,” he recalls. Today, the same degree is delivered 100% online.

Build on Your Electronics Experience at UA Grantham

You already work with electronics. If you want the theory, math, and accredited degree to match that experience, the Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology is built to deliver them. Review the full program details, then to get started.

There is no guarantee, express or implied, that a college degree or certificate from University of Arkansas Grantham will improve employment prospects, earnings, earnings potential, or career advancement opportunities.