Ridgewater College — Hutchinson Campus

A 32-credit, one-year welding diploma delivered through extensive in-person shop training. Official program material documents Stick, TIG, MIG, oxyacetylene welding, oxyacetylene cutting, plasma cutting, metal forming, and basic fabrication. The diploma is available at Hutchinson and Willmar, with weekday daytime laboratories and a fall start.

A 16-credit entry-level certificate covering Stick, MIG, and oxyacetylene welding, electrode selection, shop equipment, and foundational fabrication context. It is delivered in person with a fall start and weekday laboratory schedule.

A 60-credit interdisciplinary diploma combining creation and inspection of weldments. Students practice Stick, TIG, metal-arc and oxyacetylene welding, metal forming, and basic fabrication, then assess weld quality using ultrasound, phased-array, radiographic, liquid-penetrant, and magnetic-particle methods. The program is offered in person at Hutchinson with full- or part-time options and flexible weekday labs.

A 16-credit certificate focused on nondestructive radiographic methods used to identify internal defects in metals and weldments. The broader NDT program documents hands-on X-ray and isotope radiography alongside weld-quality applications; inspection topics are described here but are not recorded as welding processes.

A 16-credit certificate focused on ultrasonic nondestructive testing of metals and weldments. Ridgewater documents hands-on ultrasound and related NDT methods for defect detection; these inspection methods are described here but are not recorded as welding or thermal-cutting processes.