Program of Study
Look around your house, car, and workplace—you will see many products made out of plastic. Those products need to be made somewhere. Many of them, or their components, are made right here in Ohio. Ohio is the second largest plastic producing state in the US, which indicates that there are many employment opportunities within the state.
Terra’s Plastics Technology program provides students with a broad background starting in resin manufacturing and continuing through the many processing methods needed to produce finished plastic articles. Practical hands-on plastic processing and testing experience is gained in Terra’s state-of-the-art, industry supported laboratory. A unique feature of Terra’s program is that it gives the student a firm foundation in the use of colorants and additives in the Plastics industry.
It is the country’s only college-level program that teaches the coloring of plastics. Terra’s program is supported by the Color and Appearance Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers, the pre-eminent coloring of plastics technical organization in the country. Graduates of this program have been employed all over the USA.
Students in this program should enjoy courses in science, mathematics, and art. Students will find this program as a way to apply their abilities to a field that pays well and has significant employment opportunities.
The faculty has identified the following Learning Outcomes for all graduates:
- Safely and efficiently start-up, shut down, operate, troubleshoot, and optimize the operation of common plastic processing machines.
- Properly perform standard tests, common in the plastics industry, to identify unknown plastic materials and determine their important physical properties using ASTM test methods.
- Identify the various safety hazards associated with the handling of materials used in the processing of plastic materials.
- Select, weigh, and combine colorants with natural plastic to produce color samples on an injection molding machine.
- Use a standard light booth, spectrophotometer, and color software to make and evaluate the quality of a color match.
Potential Occupations:
- Plastic Process Technician
- Quality Control Technician
- Technical Service and Development Technician
- Color Laboratory Technician
- Plastic Color Matcher
ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE
TECHNICAL CONCENTRATION
| Course |
Course Name |
Credit Hours |
| EET 1050 |
Electricity |
3 |
| MFG 1020 |
Safety |
1 |
| MFG 1080 |
Materials |
3 |
| PET 1100 |
Introduction to Plastics (offered online) |
3 |
| PET 1110 |
Color Lab |
4 |
| PET 1240 |
Introduction to Color (offered online) |
3 |
| PET 2100 |
Plastic Processes |
4 |
| PET 2311 |
Plastics Material Testing |
4 |
| PET 2320 |
Colorants (offered online) |
3 |
| QCT 1020 |
Blueprint Reading |
2 |
†Technical Elective 3
Total Technical Credit Hours: 33
General Education and Related Courses
| Course |
Course Name |
Credit Hours |
| GEN 1000 |
First-Year Seminar |
1 |
| CHM 1010 |
Introduction to General Chemistry |
3 |
| CHM 1015 |
Introduction to General Chemistry Lab |
1 |
| CIT 1090 |
Computer Fundamentals |
3 |
| Choose One: ENG 1050/ENG 1020 |
College Composition I |
3/5 |
| ENG 1900 |
Technical Writing for Business and Industry |
3 |
| MTH 1310 |
Intermediate Algebra |
4 |
| MTH 1320 |
Intermediate Trigonometry |
4 |
| SPE 2200 |
Interpersonal Communication |
3 |
Total General Education and Related Credit Hours: 31/33
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS: 64/66
†Technical Electives (Need 3 Credits)
| Course |
Course Name |
Credit Hours |
| CAD 1110 |
CAD I |
3 |
| MET 2200 |
Hydraulics |
3 |
| MET 1130 |
Introduction to Machining Processes |
2 |
| MET 1140 |
Introduction to Machining Processes Lab |
1 |
| PET 2200 |
Color Lab II |
4 |
| ROB 1010 |
Introduction to Robotics |
3 |
See your advisor for appropriate course selection.
All students graduating from Terra State Community College with an Associate degree of any kind will be functionally proficient in common computer operations and applications. Please see your academic advisor or academic division office for further details.
To determine when courses are scheduled, see the program curriculum sheet which is available from the Enrollment Services office in Building A/Room 100, from the Business, Engineering Technologies and Workforce Development Division, Building E, Room 107.