Is This Program for You?

Do you enjoy building things? Are you mechanically inclined, with strong math skills? Does a job working independently appeal to you? Welding may be a great career choice.

Students entering the Welding program should:

• Enjoy building things.
• Have good math skills.
• Have manual dexterity.
• Be able to work with little direction or supervision.
• Have good vision (glasses are acceptable).
• Have good hand-eye coordination.
• Be able to concentrate with patience on detailed work.

Program Basics

• Technical diploma, requiring a minimum of nine months to complete.
• High school articulation courses accepted.
• Financial aid available.

Cost of Attendance (COA) 26-27

Cost of Attendance (COA) is a total of all the usual expenses of being a student. The COA sets the maximum amount of financial aid a student can receive.

Based on Wisconsin Residents.

Approximate school costs are for a full-time (12 credit) student over a semester span of 17 weeks.

Fees are legislated by the Wisconsin Technical College System Board.

These costs are estimates and are subject to change without notice.

Admission Requirements

• Submit Application

Academic Preparedness Requirements

Before you can be fully accepted into your program, you need to complete the requirements below. These are the same requirements you may see in your SWTC Student Portal.


• Submit Official High School, College, Military Transcripts, and Test Scores (Not Required)
  Have documents sent directly to:
  • Email: admissions@swtc.edu
  • Mail: Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, Attn: Admissions, 1800 Bronson Blvd, Fennimore, WI 53809
• Meet with Your Advisor for an Admissions Meeting
  Schedule an admission meeting with your program advisor to complete your student success plan, including a career assessment and academic map and support plan.
  
  To schedule your meeting, go to the Appointments page. Find your advisor in the list, then select Make an Appointment under their contact information.
  
  Appointments are available on campus or virtually.

If you want to check which of these requirements you still need to complete, log in to your SWTC Student Portal, go to My Profile → Document Center, and make sure All Programs is selected.

Program Outcomes

At the completion of the program, students are expected to be able to:

• Demonstrate industry-recognized safety practices
• Interpret welding drawings
• Produce shielded metal arc welds (SMAW)
• Produce gas metal arc welds (GMAW)
• Produce flux core welds
• Produce gas tungsten arc welds (GTAW)
• Perform cutting operations
• Produce Oxyfuel welds

Technical Skill Attainment (TSA)

This TSA scoring guide will be used to document your attainment of technical program outcomes for the Welding Degree. To meet the requirements on the scoring guide, you will be asked to draw upon the skills and concepts that have been developed throughout the program and are necessary for successful employment in your field. Results will be used to inspire continual improvement of teaching and learning in Wisconsin Technical College System. In addition, this assessment will provide feedback to you about your performance.

Welding is the most common way of permanently joining metal parts, so welders are employed in a wide variety of manufacturing and construction jobs, including automotive and equipment manufacturing, structural building, maintenance, and repair. Welders may work on land or underwater, inside and outside.

• Welding Technicians, Supervisors, Inspectors, Instructors, Repair Shop Owners
• Pipe Layers, Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Steam Fitters
• Aircraft Body and Bonded Structure Repairers
• Aircraft Structure Assemblers
• Welder-Fitters
• Weld Fabricators
• Iron Workers
• Ship Building Workers
• Bridge Construction Workers

Southwest Tech's Career Services Center offers services to assist students looking for job placement.

Credit for Prior Learning

Experience Pays! You've Been There... You've Done That... Let's See If You Can Get Credit For It!

Credit for prior learning gives you opportunities to earn credit for college-level knowledge that you have already acquired. This may be the result of work or volunteer experiences, certifications, apprenticeships, military training, extensive self-instruction, or professional development. Credit for Prior Learning affords you the opportunity to accelerate the completion of your educational goals.

For more information on Credit for Prior Learning see our Credit for Prior Learning page.

Welding Courses that may have Credit for Prior Learning options:

Course #	Course Title	Challenge Exam (Demonstration)	Challenge Exam (Standard)	CLEP	Credential	Portfolio
31-442-311	Oxyfuel Gas Cutting & Gouging
31-442-312	Arc Cutting & Gouging
31-442-313	Plasma Cutting & Gouging
31-442-314	Oxyfuel Equipment
31-442-315	Oxyfuel Brazing & Welding-Carbon Steel
31-442-316	Oxyfuel Brazing & Welding-Stainless Steel
31-442-320	SMAW - Equipment
31-442-323	GTAW - Equipment
31-442-324	GTAW - Carbon Steel
31-442-325	GTAW - Aluminum
31-442-326	GTAW - Stainless Steel
31-442-327	GMAW - Equipment
31-442-328	GMAW - Carbon Steel (S Process)
31-442-329	GMAW - Aluminum
31-442-330	GMAW - Stainless Steel
31-442-331	GMAW - Carbon Steel (Spray Transfer)
31-442-332	FCAW - Equipment
31-442-333	FCAW - Carbon Steel (Gas Shielded)
31-457-317	Forming & Folding Metal
31-457-318	Fabricating
31-457-334	Fabrication Planning & Drawing
31-801-310	Workplace Communication
31-804-305	Applied Mathematics
	College Mathematics CLEP Test would also be accepted.
32-442-308	Blueprint Reading-Welding 1
32-442-309	Blueprint Reading-Welding 2

The Welding curriculum was developed in part through a Department of Labor TAACCCT Grant. This is an equal opportunity program. Veterans and TAA eligible populations are encouraged to participate.

Accreditation Status

The Southwest Tech Welding program is accredited by the American Welding Society, 8669 NW 36 Street, #130, Miami, Florida 33166. 305-443-9353 / 800-443-9353 (voice) 305-443-7559 (Fax).