university college - Department of Extended Studies - Florida ...

computer education, environmental education, mathematics education, operations research,
physics, science education, space sciences and teaching. Advanced degrees include the
Specialist in Education and doctoral degrees in applied mathematics, biological sciences,
chemistry, mathematics education, operations research, physics, science education and
space sciences.
University College consists of five divisions that include Applied Research, Distance
Learning, Extended Studies, Florida Tech Consulting and Professional Development.
Extended Studies began in August 1972 as “Off-Campus Programs,” when 42 students enrolled
in a master’s degree program in electrical engineering at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent
River, Maryland. From that modest beginning, the graduate programs have grown to more
than 1,425 students per year enrolled in 30 degree programs. Extended studies programs that
benefit employees of industry were added in 1976 when in-plant courses started with several
firms and the municipal government in St. Petersburg, Florida, and with Martin Marietta
Aerospace in Orlando, Florida.
Florida Tech’s extended studies programs are conducted in a very traditional manner with
admission and graduation standards the same as those required on campus. Each site is staffed
with at least one full-time terminally degreed faculty member. Most courses are taught by
instructors possessing terminal degrees. Curricula and course content are tailored to meet
the needs of the students and their employers, while maintaining the highest possible academic
quality and integrity. Class times and locations are selected for the convenience of the
students. The conduct of administration is made as effective and efficient as possible by onsite
staff and University College in Melbourne, which was established for that sole purpose.
Since the 1972 beginning, nearly 16,000 Florida Tech master’s degrees have been conferred
on off-campus candidates representing the military services, federal and local government
employees and a wide variety of businesses and industries.
Degree programs available in Distance Learning can be found on our Web site at
http://uc.fit.edu.
HISTORY
Founded in 1958 as Brevard Engineering Institute by Dr. Jerome P. Keuper, Florida Tech
initially offered continuing education opportunities to scientists, engineers and technicians
working at what is now NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center. The new school grew quickly,
in many ways paralleling the rapid development of space technology that was taking place
at Cape Canaveral. In 1966 the name was changed to Florida Institute of Technology to
acknowledge its growing identity as a scientific and technological university, the only such
independent institution in the Southeast.
From its inception, Florida Tech has shown its commitment to graduate education. An
article in the New York Times in 1962 described Brevard Engineering College as “the only
space engineering college in the country…its graduate course offers engineers the opportunity
to obtain a master’s degree and keep up with the advancement taking place daily at the
Cape.” Originally, all graduate students attended classes on a part-time basis, but at present
approximately one-half of the on-campus graduate students attend class and carry out
research full time.
The university moved to its current Melbourne campus in 1961, and construction began
immediately on administration and classroom buildings to augment existing buildings that
had been used by the former University of Melbourne. From that beginning, growth of the
campus has been continual through the years.
University College – Extended Studies 3