The student can earn an Associate of Applied Science Degree, a Certificate and/or a Workforce Certificate. The student will first enroll for the certificate, then the degree. Most of the advanced courses do have prerequisites.

Students coming to Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology with college credit and experience may get waivers for certain classes. Another option for students with work experience to get credit for a class is by challenging a course (take a test and get at a score of least 80). However, all students seeking an Associates degree must have 60 college credit hours to graduate (that is a requirement of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board). Students with no prior college credits and experience may challenge a class to get credit for that class. For details, talk to the Department Chair.

Most classes meet twice a week, Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday during the day and/or evenings. Weekend (Saturday) College alternatives are also available. See the schedule for the desired semester. Note: Weekend college choices are listed by campus; HART is located at Riverside – RVS.
Understand the course schedule.

For a student completing the Certificate, the total course materials purchased from the bookstore is currently $200 (this amount is subject to change without notice).

Many of the advanced classes have prerequisites. The introductory classes are

• HART 1401 Basic Electricity for HVAC
• HART 1403 Air Conditioning Control Principles
• HART 1407 Refrigeration Principles

It is VERY strongly recommended that students take HART 1403 Air Conditioning Control Principles AFTER COMPLETING HART 1401 Basic Electricity for HVAC as it assumes the student has all of the knowledge and skills from the HART 1401 Basic Electricity for HVAC class.

The Certificate diploma requires 9 courses to be completed. If you complete 3 courses each semester and you attend the summer semester, you should be completed in one year. Note that we schedule classes fall, spring and summer.

The AAS (Associate of Applied Science) degree requires 18 courses. Again, if you complete 3 courses each semester, you can be completed after 6 semesters. That’s 2 years, but each person will tailor their school schedule, and if you are employed, the number of courses you attend each semester may be reduced.

Check the canceled classes section of the schedule after registration ends.

No. You do not have to register and attend every semester. But you must complete your chosen program within 5 years or complete the program under a new college catalog that is not over 5 years old.

Classes are usually limited to 12 students. This allows close attention to each student by the instructor and plenty of hand-on time working with the equipment.

Students do not need to provide any tools except a high quality auto ranging digital voltometer. These are available in most air conditioning parts stores.

Yes! All of the instructions have worked or currently do work in the HVAC/R industry.

Complete the Graduation Application. Apply to graduate (deadlines and other details)

Typical jobs include:

• Heating and air conditioning service (residential)
• Refrigeration service (residential and commercial)
• Maintenance (apartment complexes, management companies, hotels, industrial plants, state and federal buildings, food chains, etc)
• Installation (residential, commercial and industrial)
• Duct design and fabrication
• System sizing and design (residential and commercial)

Before graduation
A student taking classes in HVAC may be hired as a helper.  With limited skills and knowledge, this employee would work with a lead employee to help install new systems. The (student) employee would not be able to complete service calls solo, and the starting pay would reflect the limited work skills.  With time, this employee should gain the hands-on knowledge and experience to eventually work alone in installations and residential service calls.

After completing the Certificate Program
Once the student has completed the Certificate Program he/she should be able to address almost any residential type service call (heating or cooling) with minimal assistance and minimal training.

After completing the Associate Degree***
The Associate Degree gives the student the ability/opportunity to work in either residential, commercial or industrial refrigeration or air conditioning. Commercial/Industrial tech positions usually pay more than a residential A/C tech.

Probably not. The State of Texas requires a State Contractors License to operate an air conditioning business. Some member of the company must have the license. Questions about the state license should be directed to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The number is at the end of this document. To be eligible to test for the license, the applicant must have at least three (3) years of wage earning experience in the HVAC field.

Yes. See the Licensing page for details on the state license and EPA testing.

To be eligible for a contractors license in Texas, you must meet one of the following experience requirements:

1. You have at least 48 months of practical experience in air-conditioning and refrigeration-related work under the supervision of a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor in the past 72 months, OR
2. You have held a technician certification for the past 12 months and you have at least 36 months of practical experience in air-conditioning and refrigeration-related work under the supervision of a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor in the past 48 months

Link to more information on the TDLR website.

In 1992, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed regulations requiring all HVAC technicians to become certified to handle refrigerants, associated parts and equipment. Several industry organizations provide seminars and administer examinations, which if successfully completed qualify the technician for certification.

Use the Request Information form to email the information to HART. We will let students know.