The engineering curriculum is designed to prepare students to successfully transfer to an engineering degree program at a four-year university.  

The Associate in Engineering (AE) program of study consists of a minimum of 60 semester hours of credit courses. The degree plan includes required general education and prerequisite courses that are acceptable to all state-funded Bachelor of Science in Engineering programs.

Students who follow the program will meet the entrance requirements at all of the Bachelor of Science in Engineering programs at University of North Carolina System schools. AE graduates may then apply to any of these programs without taking additional and sometimes duplicative courses. Admission to engineering programs is highly competitive, and admission is not guaranteed.

To be eligible for the transfer of credits, students must obtain a grade of "C" or better in each course and have an overall GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.