Off-Road Equipment Minor

OFFRD

Brief Description:

From Apple Harvesters to Zambonis (including lawn mowers, excavators, and tractors), all off-road equipment have several things in common: engines, drive trains, safety needs, electronics, operator interfaces, power transmission, and usually hydraulics. The OFFRD minor focuses your education on these topics. This technical minor is a great complement to many engineering, agricultural, and mining majors. The minor will strengthen the program for students with machinery interests by exposing them to the technical aspects of off-road equipment. The minor requires 18 credits; some are prescribed, but many are selected from short lists.

The off-road equipment industries (e.g., turf, agricultural, construction, forestry, mining, military) are worldwide. These industries have steadily increased in magnitude with both economic and cultural impact. This trend will likely continue. These industries employ graduates from many disciplines in a wide variety of job roles. With the OFFRD minor, graduates interested in a career with companies serving off-road industries could develop specific technical expertise to complement their chosen major; this should make them more employable and increase their productivity early in their career.

Career paths the OFFRD minor may help launch:

Design engineer
Marketing specialist
Vocational teacher
Forester
Product manager

 

 Test analyst
Service or training support specialist
Equipment fleet manager
Custom harvester
Technical sales associate

Educational objectives:

Students who successfully complete the OFFRD minor will:

  • understand the generation of power in internal combusion engines
  • understand mechanical power transmission components and systems
  • understand electronic systems used in modern off-road equipment
  • appreciate the challenges of applications in the off-road environment
  • understand off-road power units as integrated systems for generating and delivering power to the ground for traction and to attachments for other work
  • gain supplemental insight into the operation or design of off-road equipment in a related area of fluid power systems or safety.

Interested enough in the OFFRD Minor to take the next step?

Feel free to contact the coordinator. You may want to schedule an appointment and bring along your transcript information. Together we will determine how well this minor fits with your career plans and your major curriculum.

Either send an email to: jwh2@psu.edu or call: 814-863-1817.

Click on your major to see how the OFFRD minor fits into your course selections. Note: The plans presented here require advanced planning and good elective/selective choices.

B E AG SCI ASM AEE AGESS ERM
FOR HORT ME TURF OTHER  


Biological Engineering/Ag Engineering option (0 credits beyond those required for the major)

Mechanical Engineering (0 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 as a supporting course selection
  • Take ME 413 as a supporting (ME) course selection
  • Take ME 36D which is required for the major
  • Take ME 30B which is required for the major
  • Take ASM 424 as a supporting course selection
  • Take BE 461 as a supporting course selection

Agricultural and Extension Education/Agriculture Option (0 credits beyond those required for the major)


Agricultural Science (0 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 to meet the Agricultural Minor Requirement
  • Take ASM 320 to meet the Agricultural Minor Requirement
  • Take ASM 310 to meet the Agricultural Minor Requirement
  • Take ASM 428 to meet the Agricultural Minor Requirement
  • Take one from : FOR 339, ASM 424, AGRO 425, HORT 408, TURF 425 to meet the Agricultural Minor Requirement
  • Take ASM 426 to meet the Agricultural Minor Requirement
  • Prerequisites required which are not already included in the major:
    MATH 110 to meet the quantification requirement
    PHYS 250 as an elective
    ASM 221 as a Technical Agriculture Selection
    ASM 326 as a Technical Agriculture Selection


Agricultural Systems Management(2 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 as an Ag/Biology selection
  • Take ASM 320 as an Ag/Biology selection
  • Take ASM 310 which is required for the major
  • Take ASM 428 which is required for the major
  • Take one from : FOR 339, ASM 424, AGRO 425, HORT 408, TURF 425 as a supporting selection
  • Take ASM 426 as an ASM selection
  • Prerequisites required which are not already included in the major:
    ASM 326, prerequisite to ASM 426, would be additional


Agro Ecosystem Science/ICM option (3 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 as a general list course
  • Take ASM 320 as an extra course
  • Take ASM 310 as a major supporting course
  • Take ASM 428 as a general list course
  • Take AGRO 425 required for the major
  • Take ASM 426 as a general list course
  • Prerequisites required which are not already included in the major:
    PHYS 250 as an elective
    ASM 221 as a major supporting course
    ASM 326 as a general list course


Environmental Resource Management (5 credits beyond those required for the major)


Forest Science/Forest Management Option (8 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 as a supporting course for the option
  • Take ASM 320 as a supporting course for the option
  • Take ASM 310 as a supporting course for the option
  • Take ASM 428 as an elective
  • Take FOR 339 as a supporting course for the option
  • Take ASM 426 as an extra course
  • Prerequisites required which are not already included in the major:
    PHYS 250 for natural science selection
    ASM 221 as an extra course
    ASM 326 as an extra course


Horticulture (0 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 as a selection from the department list
  • Take ASM 320 as a selection from the department list
  • Take ASM 310 as a selection from the department list
  • Take ASM 428 as a selection from the department list
  • Take HORT 433 as a selection from the major additional courses
    (Note this may require a petition because HORT 433 is not on the ORE minor course list)
  • Take ASM 426 as a selection from the department list
  • Prerequisites required which are not already included in the major:
    PHYS 250 as an elective
    ASM 221 as a selection from the department list
    ASM 326 as an elective


Turfgrass Science (0 credits beyond those required for the major)

  • Take ASM 420 as a professional agriculture list selection
  • Take ASM 320 as a professional agriculture list selection
  • Take ASM 310 as a professional agriculture list selection
  • Take ASM 428 as an elective
  • Take TURF 425 which is required for the major
  • Take ASM 426 as an elective
  • Prerequisites required which are not already included in the major:
    MATH 110 to meet quantification requirement (rather than MATH 21)
    PHYS 250 as an elective
    ASM 221 as a professional agriculture list selection
    ASM 326 as an elective

Other Majors:

Contact the coordinator. You may want to schedule an appointment and bring along your transcript information. Together we will determine how well this minor fits with your career plans and your major curriculum.
Either send an email to: jwh2@psu.edu or call: 814-863-1817.