Is Technologist Course a College Degree?

Find out if the Technologist course offers a top-level diploma and where to study this degree!
More and more students have opted for technological courses. Short courses, between 2 and 3 years old, and focused on the needs of the labor market, technologist courses account for 13.6% of all university enrollments, according to the latest Census of Higher Education.
Technologist courses are a college degree, as well as a baccalaureate and a bachelor’s degree. They are offered in public and private universities throughout Brazil and are highly valued in the market.
Learn more about higher technology courses, the difference between a technologist course and a technical course, and what to do with a technologist’s degree and where to study!
How is the technologist course?
The Technologist course is a college-level training that can be done at public and private colleges. To enter, it is necessary to have completed high school and go through a selection process, which can be of several types:
Traditional vestibular
Scheduled Vestibular
Unified Selection System (Sisu)
University for All Program (ProUni)
Performance in the National High School Exam (Enem)
The duration of a technologist course varies between 2 and 3 years and, at the end, the trainee receives the diploma of higher level with the degree of technologist.

There are more than 100 different types of technologist courses in Brazil, according to the National Catalog of Advanced Courses of Technology. They are distributed in 13 “technological axes”:
- Environment and Health
- School support
- Control and Industrial Processes
- Management and Business
- Hospitality and Leisure
- Information and Communication
- Infrastructure
- Military
- Food Production
- Cultural Production and Design
- Industrial production
- Natural resources
- Safety
Each of these “technology axes” corresponds to an area of activity, sector of the economy or department within the companies. For example, in the technology axis of “Hospitality and Leisure” are the courses of:
- Events
- Gastronomy
- Sports and Leisure Management
- Tourism management
- Hospitality
The curriculum of the courses of technologists is leaner than the curriculum of the courses of bachelor’s and bachelor’s degree. The focus of this training is to prepare the future professional to quickly enter the job market with good qualifications and high chances of getting a job.
There are courses of technologist in the face and distance formats and the diploma of technologist obtained the distance is worth as much as the face-to-face. What defines the validity of the diploma is not the modality of teaching, but the fact that the course has the recognition of the MEC. Therefore, as long as the course is recognized by the MEC, the diploma will be valid throughout the national territory.
What to do with the diploma of technologist
The diploma of technologist is of superior level. This means that, with it, you can prove this degree of education in various situations, such as:
Apply for a job that requires higher education.
Provide public competition that requires a higher level.
Do a graduate.
Differences between technical and technological course
Although they have similar names and are both geared to the needs of the labor market, technical and technological courses (or technologist) are quite different.
The technical courses are of intermediate level and to enter it is necessary to have finished elementary school. At the end, the trainee receives a certificate of average level and can continue his studies by taking a higher level course.
Technological courses, or higher technology courses, are of a higher level and to enter it is necessary to have completed high school. At the end, the trainee receives a higher-level diploma and can continue his studies by taking a postgraduate degree.

At the colleges we have just listed you will find facilities such as: FIES, ProUni, scholarships, bureaucratic funding, discounts and assorted covenants.
The MEC evaluates universities and higher education courses regularly and publishes the notes on the internet. You can consult the situation and evaluation of the MEC for free of charge for the course of technologist you intend to do. To do this, just:
Access the e-mec.
Click on the “Advanced Query” tab.
In the “Search by” field, select the “Graduation” option.
In the Course field, enter the name of the course you intend to do. You can also optionally select other search parameters, such as State (UF), Municipality, Course Gratuity and Mode (distance or face-to-face).
In the “Degree” field, select the “Technological” option.
In the “Situation” field, select “In Activity”.
Enter the displayed characters (letters and numbers) in the corresponding field, according to the screen directions.
Click “Search”.
Your search result will appear just below the form you filled out. In the results you will see all the universities that offer the course of technologist that you are looking for, the modality and the notes of the MEC for each one of them.