Unique Programs at SMCC
Storytelling Institute
Whether helping a student explore the intricacies of their own story, or become more prepared as a presenter in the business world, the Storytelling Institute has been a mainstay at SMCC for decades, and offers customized training, workshops, college course work, academic certificates, and an annual calendar of innovative events.
Engineering Program
SMCC features an on-campus MIT-inspired Engineering Lab that helps prepare students for 21st century STEM jobs, and the dawning of a new era in technology. The FabLab-inspired facility is complete with the most modern high-tech manufacturing equipment, which students use through formal courses or innovative individual projects while enrolled in the cutting-edge Engineering program.
Construction Trades Institute (CTI)
With a population that is expected to double by 2030, construction of new homes, businesses and infrastructure is exploding in the City of Phoenix. Skilled workers are in huge demand, and the Construction Trades Institute (CTI) fills that need, by training students quickly and professionally, and preparing them to enter the workforce in just one semester.
Key Support Services
Community Entrepreneurship Center (CEC)
The Community Entrepreneurship Center (CEC) for student entrepreneurs is an incubator offering education, services, tools, and resources for individuals, start-ups or existing businesses.
Veterans Services Office
The Veterans Services office acts as a liaison between veteran students and the Department of Veterans Affairs and assists veterans with completing the necessary paperwork to ensure proper VA educational entitlements, as well as providing registration assistance, educational benefits information, and academic advisement.
The Village
The Village provides resources for students and community alike. Whether it’s a snack on the go for a student running between classes; the opportunity to shop in an on-campus supermarket setting to help supplement groceries at home; or picking up fresh produce and food items at our Drive-Thru Food Pantry, the services of the Village help make a vital difference.
College/Community Partnerships
South Mountain Community Library
A joint project between the college and the City of Phoenix, the South Mountain Community Library is a jewel of South Phoenix, offering classes, trainings, community and study rooms and a variety of materials available for borrowing.
Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center
The mission of the Arizona Agribusiness & Equine Center provides high school curriculum and educational programs for high school students in grades 9 through 12. Students take college classes (when ready) on SMCC, which are taught by SMCC Professors, as part of their regular academic schedule. 30 percent of the students attending AAEC schools graduate from high school with both a diploma and an Associate’s degree.
Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is an on campus preschool Academy serving children ages 2-5, from preschool to Pre-K. The Tree of Life offers a 10 percent discount to tuition for SMCC staff, and reduced tuition childcare for SMCC students, including full scholarships covering the entire cost.
Award Winning College
Aspen Prize Top 150
For four consecutive terms (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021) the college has been named an Aspen Prize Top 150 U.S. Community College. The Prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges.
Bellwether College
The Bellwether College Consortium annually recognizes outstanding and innovative programs and practices that are successfully leading community colleges into the future. The college has been named a top 10 finalist for the Bellwether award for the following initiatives: 2015 - Foundations Academy, 2016 - Entrepreneurship, 2017 - Foundations Academy: Developing Students, 2017 - Business Innovation, 2020 – SMCC Default Rate Success: 2012-2016 and Beyond, 2021 – Student Athlete Development Program, 2021 – Construction Trades Institute, 2022 – STARS Endowment, 2022 – South Phoenix Oral History Project.
College Choice
In 2018, SMCC was named by College Choice as #11 in the top 50 community colleges in America for 2017.
American Association of Community Colleges
In April 2018, SMCC received the Award of Excellence for Community College Safety, Leadership and Planning from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).