Microelectronics & Nanomanufacturing
This program is designed to give you very specific career skills or preparation to apply immediately to your career.
What You'll Learn
Pursue high-demand careers in the nation’s rapidly expanding tech manufacturing sector.
Designed for veterans transitioning to civilian careers, this program gives you the skills to enter the high-demand semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries. You’ll gain hands-on experience with microelectronic processing, cleanroom safety, and precision equipment. With major tech employers investing heavily in Upstate New York, you’ll be well-positioned for stable, well-paying technical careers that value your discipline and teamwork.
The Microelectronics and Nanomanufacturing Certificate Program (MNCP) is a comprehensive, SkillBridge-approved solution to meet the demands of the expanding microelectronics and semiconductor industry.
This is a free 12-week, extensive, and intensive program that offers a blend of live-streamed lectures, self-paced instruction, and rigorous hands-on training with nanofabrication and characterization equipment used in most semiconductor facilities. Interested parties should apply and will be interviewed for available seats. The MNCP is an exceptional opportunity to gain industry-specific skills in a relatively short amount of time and join a growing workforce.
Interested?
This is the last semester this program will be offered!
| Cost | Free for:
|
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 weeks: January 20 – April 10, 2026 |
| Apply Deadline | November 15, 2025 |
| Required Orientation Week | January 12-15, 2026 |
| Format |
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Have questions?
Carrie Coates Whitmore
Director of Continuing Education and Workforce Development
Tompkins Cortland Community College
clw@tompkinscortland.edu
607-844-6586
Lynn Rathbun, Ph.D.
CNF Laboratory Manager
LCR2@cornell.edu
607-254-4872
The Upstate NY Technology Hub
Upstate New York has had a long history as a high technology region, with dozens of small and large companies from Albany to Corning and from Rochester to Binghamton. Tompkins County sits right in the middle. There has been significant demand for entry-level laboratory and manufacturing technicians throughout the region.
In 2023, Menlo Microsystems announced their commitment to manufacture their Ideal Switch® in Ithaca, NY. This is a multi-year investment of $150 million to fully onshore their production. This investment is creating 100+ high-tech jobs locally over the next five years.
In 2022, Micron announced it would build a huge fabrication complex in Clay, NY, increasing the demand for manufacturing technicians significantly. Micron itself will require 10s of thousands of workers, with another similar amount in surrounding support industries. Many of these will be entry-level positions. The federal government, the state, and NY academic institutions are all implementing programs to address this need.
What Microelectronics Technicians Do
Technicians make the semiconductor industry work. Two of the most common pathways include a microelectronics process technician or an equipment technician.
Microelectronics process/manufacturing technicians are at the heart of the semiconductor fabrication plant, commonly known as the “fab”. They are the “cooks” who process the silicon wafers resulting in working chips. Each wafer goes through hundreds of precisely documented chemical and physical recipes using several complex machines (generally called tools). They work under the direction of the scientific and engineering staff. They can work in large factories, small companies, or university/government laboratories.
Equipment technicians install, maintain, and fix the tools in the microelectronics fab. This requires a combination of mechanical, computer, and electronics skills in addition to the background knowledge taught in this course. Field Service Engineers work for tool manufacturers and service equipment on site at the fabs that operate them.
What if I don't get into the Spring cohort?
We only have 6 spots for the Spring 2026 cohort. If you don’t get in, don’t despair! We recommend taking courses in the Micro-nano Fabrication Safety Credential that will give you prerequisite knowledge in chemistry, electrical circuits, safety in the cleanroom, and existing technology. To enroll in part-time classes, visit Register for Classes.
- Applied Image (Rochester)
- Global Foundries (Albany)
- Intel
- KLA
- Menlo Microsystems (Lansing)
- Micron Technologies (Coming to Syracuse)
- Nanoscience Instruments
- NXP
- Qorvo
- TEL (Tokyo Electron) (Albany and elsewhere)
- Texas Instruments
- TSMC
- WGNSTAR
- Wolfspeed, Inc. (Marcy, NY)
- Pall Corporation (Cortland)
- …and many more!
This program is funded by the National Science Foundation ATE program under award DUE-2229983
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NNCI-2025233. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.