Welding Technology
Associate in Arts School of Agriculture and Industrial Technology · Merced College · 2026-2027 Catalog
School of Agriculture and Industrial Technology
The Merced College Welding Technology Program prepares participants for employment in structural welding, welding repair, job shop welding, and production welding. The program is also designed to retrain and update persons presently employed in welding and related trades.
The program includes welding and related skills in the areas of (OAW) oxyacetylene welding, (OFC-A) oxyacetylene cutting, (SMAW) shielded metal arc welding, (GMAW) gas metal arc welding, (FCAW) flux cored arc welding, (GTAW) gas tungsten arc welding, (PAC) Plasma Arc Cutting, (CAC-A) air carbon arc cutting, and equipment used in metal fabrication. Basic welding processes are introduced and related skills are developed in the WELD-01 and WELD-02 courses. The WELD-56 course is designed to develop skills in design, layout, selection of materials, and production welding. WELD-46 is structured to prepare students for and pass the structural, (Limited Thickness, Steel) AWS qualification test. The curriculum used in the welding program is competency based.
Students are required to furnish their own safety glasses, welding gloves, pliers, measuring tape and text.
Students who wish to construct personal welding projects in WELD-56 are required to pay for the cost of their materials.
An Associate of Arts Degree in Welding Technology is available for students who successfully complete the graduation requirements and complete the following program. For successful completion, a student must complete the requirements with a minimum grade of a “C” (or P) in each course with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher.
Program Student Learning Outcomes
A. Evaluate workplace hazards in order to mitigate safety concerns.
B. Create sketches or working drawings that include welding symbols used in the fabrication process.
C. Set up welding equipment in order to achieve the correct welding outcome.
D. Produce the appropriate welds to pass industry-based employment test.
Program Requirements:
Program Core: (19 Units)
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WELD-01 | Fundamentals of Shielded Metal Arc Welding | 3 |
| WELD-02 | Fundamentals of Gas Metal and Flux Cored Arc Welding | 3 |
| WELD-46 | Advanced Arc Welding Procedures | 1 |
| WELD-54 | Print Reading and Sketching for Welder's | 2 |
| WELD-55 | Equipment Operation and Safety | 3 |
| WELD-56 | Welding Design and Fabrication | 5 |
| WELD-58 | Fundamentals of Gas Tungsten Arc Welding | 2 |
| Total | 19 | |
Completion of MCCD-GE Breadth: (24 units)
Elective (as needed to reach 60 units) Units: (17 Units)
Total Degree Units: (60 Units)
*Offered in the fall semester as a night class only. Offered in the spring semester as a day class only.
**Offered in the spring semester as a night class only.