Founded in 1964 as the Springfield Technical Institute and located a few blocks to the west at the then Springfield Trade School, STCC moved, expanded, and adopted its current name in 1969. Facilities include the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery, the Top of Our City Conference Center, the Ira H. Rubenzahl Student Learning Commons, the SIMS Medical Center, and the Smith & Wesson Technology Applications Center. The STCC campus is home to the Western Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Academy.
The STCC campus sits on the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, founded in 1777, and is managed and operated by the National Park Service. The Main Arsenal Building houses the Springfield Armory Museum and the Commandants House houses NPS staff. Other buildings are used by STCC and the STCC Technology Park. As the only "technical" community college in Massachusetts, STCC aims to continue the legacy of technological innovation at the Springfield Armory site. While of the site remain in the hands of the Park Service for historic preservation, are used by the college.
STCC Technology Park
The STCC Technology Park continues an important role in technology transfer that the Springfield Armory began in 1794. The 15.3-acre site is managed by the STCC Assistance Corporation and is located across the street from the main STCC campus.
STCC Assistance Corporation
The STCC Assistance Corporation was formed through an act of the Massachusetts General Court to purchase land formerly part of the Springfield Armory site to help the college grow. The Assistance Corporation is governed by its own board of directors.
Academics
Springfield Technical Community College offers associate degrees and certificates in over 90 programs. STCC graduates often choose to transfer to four-year colleges or universities to pursue additional education. STCC is home to the only degree-granting Optics and Photonics Technology program in New England. Established in 1976, in recent years the community college has collaborated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics of Rochester, to bolster its photonics program, providing modern lab facilities. Citing a high demand for such jobs in the region, the college has also been working towards the expansion of this technician-training program, including a proposed "Photonics Education and Practice Factory" emulating a similar facility completed at MIT in 2017.
Innovation
STCC is a member of the Knowledge Corridor economic and cultural alliance, which covers the region anchored by Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut.
STCC has advanced to the national championship tournament in men's soccer, women's soccer, men's basketball, golf, and wrestling. The women's soccer team is known for its competitive teams and won the national division 3 NJCAA title in 2005. Many students attend STCC as junior college athletes in order to transfer to sport-competitive NCAA schools after completing their associate degrees.
