Best undergrad program in surveying?

I would suggest you also look into the Geomatics program at Oregon Tech.

Ferris is very good! Suggest you also look at Akron, East Tenn State, New Mexico, and Mich Tech. There are others as well, but those 5 are all good.

I knew several fellers that were going through the Eastern Tenn. State University surveying program. (etsu.edu)
At the time they were allowing in-state tuition fees for out of staters in neighboring states that had no surveying 4 year degree program. My buddies were all in NC.
They all seemed to like it. One party chief, Colin, had me review his paper on GPS one day while waiting out the rain sitting in the truck.
I have long since lost touch with all of them so I have no idea of the state of affairs anymore.

As a Michigan Tech alumni in the surveying program that was available then (mid 70's), I will say that Ferris would be the other choice if I were prone to that agenda nowadays in our beloved Great Lake state. Started out in Forestry, but here I am some 40 yrs later.

I picked 'da Tech more for the forestry program but switched to surveying in my junior year. I hear they have since morphed into a full surveying degree. From what I also hear, the Ferris program is more geeked out for the surveying engineering and/or geodetic agenda. With a BS in Survey Engineering from there, you can also become a PE if that fits your goals. I think 'da Tech is a tad more dialed in to the law and property rights issues, but not really sure.

I know several PLS's in MI from the Grand Rapids area who got degree's from Ferris, and I will say that they are well advanced in all the gizmo technology that geezers like me are tired of trying to learn.

In my days in sunny AZ, I knew several PLS's from the East side of the state who went to New Mexico State. They seem pretty sharp IMO. Also heard good things about Purdue, Ohio State, Colorado, and I think there is one in New York.

Best of luck in your adventure. Hope you enjoy the Copper Country and have a brewski at the Library Bar in Houghton, will ya.

I will vote for Oregon Tech too as a 1980 grad, a good school, however I think all the other ones mentioned are decent too, Fresno State is also in the running here on the west coast.

SHG

University of Maine has a good program, I believe. I am pursuing my Master's Degree from there.

Students Seldom See More Than One Program

So it is almost impossible for anyone to actually respond to your question.

You could get a response to "College Survey programs you did not like?" and hence avoid them.

It may be possible to hack into NCEES records and find the College programs with the greatest "first time exam pass rate" but that to is unlikely.

From what I see many college surveying programs rely heavily on one personality. Meet that person and go from there.

Quite a few college programs have very small class sizes. I would say 1/2 the programs have less than the ideal class sizes.

I see that Penn State Wilkes-Barre only has 2 students signed up so for Spring elementary Surveying courses.

For some other programs are hard to determine their participation rate.

Paul in PA

You might ask a large company or agency which program they would recommend. They may have hired from several. You can't really ask for specifics due to legal concerns (or rather they may not answer). But if they throw out a couple names you can be sure there are others they intentionally didn't mention. But I imagine they are all very good if accredited regionally and by ABET.

Other factors may be more important to your success. It does no good to go to the "best" if you are miserable and it impacts your studies. Try to find a school that matches you. What are the extracurricular opportunities, is it urban or rural, what are the big programs on campus and so what kind of other students are they attracting, etc...

Directory of Schools Offering Surveying/Geomatics

Directory Of Schools Rather Incomplete

34 US schools are listed, I currently have 92 on my list of US schools.

Paul in PA

Directory Of Schools Rather Incomplete

Post away.................

My Most Recent List

The following are from my "Bookmarks" List.

Email me and I can reply with all the links.

ABET Accredited Programs Search
ABET ACSM American Congress on Surveying and Mapping - Colleges-Universities
AK-Alaska-edu Geomatics
AL - Troy Univ Surveying and Geomatics BS
AR- Univ Ark Monticello-Land Surveying Tech AS
AR-UArkCCMorrilton Surveying AAS
AZ-Phoenix College- Surveying Tech AAS
CA-Evergreen Valley Col- CE Tech Surveying Certificate
CA-Santa Rosa Jr Coll- Geospatial Tech Certificate
CA-Santiago Canyon College - AS Surveying
Cal Poly Civil Engineering Geospatial
Cal State Fresno Geomatics Engineering
CO-Metro State Denver- Surveying and Mapping
CO-Westwood Coll Surveying AAS
FL Florida Atlantic U Geomatics Engineering BS
FL Univ of Florida Geomatics
FL-UF Undergrad Catalog
FL-Univ of FL-Online Geomatics (MS)
GA - Southern Polytechnic BS Surveying and Mapping
GA-Middle Georgia Col - Surveying Cert & AS
ID, Idaho State U Geomatics Technology BS
ID-Course Sequence Geomatics Technology College of Technology Idaho State University
ID-Lewis-Clark State College BAT Eng Tech
IL-Southern Il U Civil Engineering Surveying BS
IN - Vincennes U-Surveying AS
IN-Purdue-Geomatics Eng-BS CE-LS Minor MS PhD
KS - Pittsburg State Univ. Const Eng Tech - BSET
KS-Butler Community Coll - Engineering - Surveying KY-N
KY U-BS Construction Management - Surveying
LA-Nicholls St U Geomatics BS
LA-TH Harris Tech College AAS Civil, Surveying and Mapping
MD - Towson Geography and Environmental Planning
ME-U Maine Surveying Eng Tech
MI-Ferris State- Surveying Engineering
MI-Mich Technological Univ-Surveying Engineering—BS
MN-St. Cloud State University Surveying
MO Univ Science & Tech, BS CE + 12 Surveying
MO-Metro Comm Col-Longview- Land Survey AAS
Most Popular Schools for Surveying Technology-Surveying Major & Degree _Program - StateUniversity.com
MS-Hinds Comm Coll AAS DDT Survey
MS-Jones Cty Jr Coll-AAS CET MS-Land-Surveying-Concentration
MT-Flathead Valley Comm Col- Surveying AAS
NC-Asheville-Buncombe CC GeomTech AAS
NC-Central Piedmont Comm Coll Surveying Tech AAS
NC-NCA&T-Geomatics BS
ND State College of Science, CE & Surveying Tech
NH U of-Civil Tech Surveying & Mapping AAS
NJ-Essex Co Col Const Eng Tech - Land Surveying AAS
NJ-Gloucester Co Col - CET - Land Surveying AAS
NJ-Thomas Edison State College ASAST in Surveying
NJ-Thomas Edison State College BSAST in Surveying
NJIT Engineering Technology Surveying Engineering Technology
NMSU Surveying Engineering
NV-Great Basin College BS
NY-Alfred State SUNY Surveying Eng Tech (BS)
NY-Mohawk Valley Comm Coll AAS
NY-Paul Smith's College- Surveying AAS
NY-SUNY Coll of Env. Science and Forestry - The Ranger School - AS
OH-Cincinnat St-CET-Surveying AS (BS with N KY U)
OH-Columbus St Comm Coll- Surveying AAS
OH-Univ of Akron Surveying & Mapping
Ohio St U Engineering & Geodetic Science
OK-OSU-OKC Civil-Surveying Tech AAS
OR-Or St U - GIS Certificate Program
OR-Umpqua Comm Coll-Eng Tech Surveying AS - Transfer to OIT BS CE
Oregon Institute of Technology Geomatics
Penn State Wilkes-Barre Surveying Programs
Pennsylvania College of Technology Surveying Tech AAS
PR, Univ of Puerto Rico Civil Engineering and Surveying
PR-Polytechnic U of PR-BS Land Surveying-MS Geospatial
SC-Greenville Technical Coll- Geomatics Tech
SD - SE Tech Inst - AAS LS Science Technology
TN- Middle Tenn State U-Eng Tech
TN-ETSU BS Surveying MS Eng Tech
TN-Surveying and Mapping Science Major, B.S. - East Tennessee State University
TX, Odessa Coll - Surveying AAS
TX-LSC-Montgomery Surveying AAS
TX-Texas A&M U Corpus Christi - Cert - Geomatics & GIS
TX-U of Houston-Surveying Eng Tech BS
TX-Undergraduate Majors The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
TX-UT Tyler-Surveying & Mapping AS - BS Industrial Tech
UNB - Geodesy & Geomatics Engineering
UT-Salt Lake Comm Coll-Surveying AAS
UT-Utah Valley Univ- Geomatics Program
VA - Old Dominion Dept of Eng Tech VA-Northern
VA Comm Coll - Surveying Certificate
WA-Bates Tech Coll-Land Surveying AT
WA-Renton Tech Coll-Land Survey Tech AAS
WI - Nicolet College AAS Worksheet
WV, Glenville State Coll BS Land Surveying Tech
WV-Southern WV Comm. & Tech. Coll.-Survey Technology AAS
WV-U Civil and Environmental Engineering 9 Credits of Surveying
WY-Sheridan College Surveying Tech AAS
WY-U Wyoming Land Surveying - Course Descriptions

Paul in PA

My Most Recent List

Southern Illinois program no longer exist. Now they are headed to Northern Illinois program (new).

Northern Illinois Is On My List

However I see only 20 Geomatics credits available in the Geography department.

Paul in PA

Thank you all for your time and great recommendations! I will certainly brew all of this over.

I am currently search & rescue for the National Park Service and am pursuing a path that lands me working for the NGS. My undergrad is in history and classics, but my electives were in map reading, GIS, etc. I would love to make a career out of the park service, but full-time permanent positions are few and far between.

Anybody have any further thoughts on a program that is geared towards the work of NGS?

How About Starting Online ?

Penn State Wilkes-Barre has 7 online courses. They assume some preliminary survey education:

http://wb.psu.edu/Academics/Degrees/surveyingcertificate.htm.

"Online Courses and Certificates

The surveying program offers seven courses that are completely online. The are SUR 241, SUR 341, SUR 441, SUR 351, SUR 441, SUR 455, and SUR 262.

The Penn State Surveying Engineering program offers two online certificate programs in surveying. They are Measurement Analysis and Least Squares Adjustments and Geodesy and GPS. Both certificates are offered completely on the web.

Each certificate program consists of three courses:

Measurement Analysis and Least Squares Adjustments

1.SUR 241 - Surveying Measurement Analysis
(access to surveying equipment required)
2.SUR 341 - Adjustment Computations
(access to a programing language required: C, Pascal, Fortran, or Basic)
3.SUR 441 - Data Analysis and Project Design

Geodesy and GPS 1.SUR 351 - Geodetic Models
2.SUR 441 - Data Analysis and Project Design
3.SUR 455 - Precise Positioning Systems

To take any of the courses listed above, you should apply with the nondegree application form and register for these courses at the Wilkes-Barre campus. The prerequisites for the classes are college-level calculus (MATH 140 & 141), statistics (STAT 401), and computer programming (CMPSC 201).

The costs of tuition and other charges can be viewed on the bursar's page at http://tuition.psu.edu/.

To learn more about taking these courses online, contact Dr. Chuck Ghilani at 570-675-9127.

Application

To apply, print the form, fill it in with the appropriate information, and mail it to:

Registrar
Penn State Wilkes-Barre
P.O. Box PSU
Lehman, PA 18627-0217"

Also available from Penn State is an online GIS Postgrad Certificate or an online Masters in GIS:

http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/geographic-information-systems-gis-certificate/overview

University of Florida also has online Geomatics courses:

http://sfrc.ufl.edu/distance/msgeoonline/courses/

Paul in PA

Add another thumbs up to Oregon Tech (OIT)!:good: If you're looking for a future with the NGS you probably want to get a Piled Higher and Deeper degree. AKA PHD or at least a Masters.
OIT Undergrad
OSU Grad

Thanks for the post Jered! Oregon Tech looks like a great program, even better that it is in beautiful Klamath Falls. Did you enjoy your time working for the forest service? I would love to hike through the Mountain Lakes Wilderness.

Thanks for the recommendations! I saw that you are in the Shenandoah Valley, I just came from working in the park. I sure do miss those beautiful mountains and El Paso in Elkton!