Associate in Arts

The Associate in Arts degree includes a 44-hour general education core, with courses in English composition, humanities & fine arts, social & behavioral sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics. An additional twenty hours of college transferable elective credits is required to complete the Associate in Arts degree. Students must complete the program with a total of 64-65 hours credit with grades of "C" or better in all courses and an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. Under the comprehensive articulation agreement between the sixteen institutions of the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System, students fulfilling these requirements will be admitted to at least one of the institutions in the university system and granted junior status. Students who plan to transfer to a private college or university should consult personnel at that institution concerning the transferability of courses.

Before beginning the University Transfer program, students must take academic assessment tests, either the SAT, ACT, or ACC’s placement test. Based on these test scores, students may be required to take developmental courses before registering for certain courses. Visiting students will be required to provide evidence of completion of prerequisite courses at another institution.

Students should maintain continuing contact with their academic advisors to ensure proper course selection to complete the Associate in Arts degree and prepare for transfer to a senior institution.

The Transfer Core Diploma/Early Transfer Option

The Transfer Core Diploma is an option available to students who choose to transfer prior to completing an associate’s degree. Students must complete the 44 hours of core courses including 6 hours of English, 12 hours of fine arts/humanities, 12 hours of social/behavioral sciences, 6 hours of mathematics and 8 hours of natural sciences.

Most colleges and universities prefer that students complete a minimum of 24 to 30 semester hours before they transfer. Students who transfer before getting an associate’s degree will need to meet the University System’s “minimum admission requirements” established for all high school graduates. Students who did not meet these requirements in high school and who do not have an associate’s degree must meet the following requirements before they will be eligible to transfer:

• Two college transfer social/behavioral science courses
• Two college transfer English composition courses
• Two college transfer lab science courses
• Two college transfer mathematic courses

Students who did not complete 2 years of a single foreign language in high school will be required by most UNC system schools to complete two semesters of a foreign language before graduation from the university with a BS or BA degree, no matter what their major. In addition, students should specifically ask about the foreign language requirements for their intended major so that they can take foreign language as part of their humanities requirement if they will need it at the university for their major.

Requirements for admission to some major programs may require additional pre-specialty courses beyond the general education transfer core courses taken at the community college. Students entering such programs may need more than two academic years of course work to complete the baccalaureate degree, depending on the requirements of the program.

Elementary Education Curriculum

The Associate of Arts degree can be tailored for students who plan to pursue a teaching degree at a 4-year institution. The courses in the 64-hour degree are chosen based on the requirements of the education programs at colleges and universities in North Carolina. Some of the specific courses included in this track are PSY241 - Developmental Psychology, EDU216 - Foundations in Education, HUM 150 - American Women’s Studies, HUM115 – Critical Thinking, COM110 - Introduction to Computers, and ART111 - Art Appreciation or MUS110 – Music Appreciation. It is important that students interested in a teaching degree meet on a regular basis with an advisor in order to choose the appropriate courses for the Associate in Arts degree for education majors.

The following are Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) approved courses for the Associate in Arts Degree:

Course and Hour Requirements