Associate in Arts, AA

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60 Credits

The Associate in Arts degree is a total of 60 credits to include 36 general education credits available through the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the School of Pure and Applied Sciences. Students must refer to the Florida SouthWestern State College General Education Program Guide for the selection of appropriate general education courses. The 24 remaining credits are electives and may come from any discipline area as long as the course is not designated as an Associate in Science (AS) course.

Note: 3000-4999 level courses will not be considered as satisfying any AA Degree Requirements

Required General Education Courses for the Associate in Arts: minimum 36 credits

ENC 1101 - Composition I , must complete with a “C” or better * 3 credits

ENC 1102 - Composition II , must complete with a “C” or better 3 credits

Additional Communication General Education Course 3 credits

Core Humanities General Education Course ** 3 credits

Any Humanities course ** 3 credits

Core Social Sciences General Education Course 3 credits

Writing intensive Social Sciences course, must pass with a “C” or better 3 credits

Any Social Sciences General Education Course 3 credits

Core Mathematics General Education Course, must pass with a “C” or better *** 3 credits

Any Mathematics General Education Course , must pass with a “C” or better 3 credits

Core Natural Sciences General Education Course **** 3 credits

Any Natural Sciences General Education Course 3 credits

Natural Science Laboratory Course *****

According to Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-14.0303

* “One of the Humanities courses must be writing intensive and successfully completed with a grade of “C” or better .”

** ” Any General Education Humanities course (must be writing intensive completed with a grade of “C” or better if HUM 2020 or LIT 2000 was not taken to complete the Humanities Core requirement).”

***“Any student who successfully completes a mathematics course for which one (1) of the general education core course options in mathematics is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the mathematics core.”

**** “Any student who successfully completes a natural science course for which one ( 1) of the general education core course options in natural science is an immediate prerequisite shall be considered to have completed the natural science core.”

***** “The lab course must correspond to either of the two selected Natural Science General Education courses; it may be a standalone course (courses with an “L” suffix, e.g. CHM 1045L) or combined within a course (courses with a “C” suffix, e.g. BSC 1051C)

Elective Courses: 24 Credit Hours

Students should select elective courses that complement their intended baccalaureate major or program area of interest. Additional courses in all General Education content areas (such as communications, humanities, social behavioral sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences) can fulfill general elective hours. Additionally, students can select courses in disciplines such as accounting, business, computers and technology, criminal justice, early childhood, education, law and public service, marketing and management. Consult the Course Descriptions section of the Catalog for additional course information.

Students are encouraged to see an academic advisor to review program prerequisites and to review common course prerequisites for baccalaureate program areas (also available through Florida Virtual Campus at www.floridashines.org).

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) college-level coursework (EAP 1500 and above) is limited to 6 credit hours within the 24 credit-hour electives for the AA degree.

Other Associate in Arts Information and Requirements

Foreign Language Competency Requirement

In accordance with Florida Statute 1007.25, students initially entering a Florida College System Institution in 2014-2015 and thereafter must demonstrate competency in foreign language pursuant to guidelines set in Florida Statute 1007.262.

The Foreign Language Competency Requirement may be met by:

2 years of the same High School Foreign Language, or
Documented foreign language proficiency through testing, or
2 semesters of the same College Level Foreign Language (level II proficiency), or
Level II proficiency - this criterion occurs when a student has completed the second course of a sequence of college foreign language without completing the first course. For example, if a student has successfully completed a college-level Spanish II but not Spanish I, then the student has met the Foreign Language Competency requirement.

Students should check with their Academic Advisor for additional information, or if they are unsure whether they have already met this requirement.

Writing Intensive Courses:

The following courses satisfy the writing requirement of 4,000 words each. Each student must successfully take 12 semester hours of coursework demonstrating college level writing skills with a grade of “C” or better (Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-10.030(2)(a)).

AML 2010 - Literature of the United States I, to 1860 3 credits
AML 2020 - Literature of the United States II, 1860 to Present 3 credits
CRW 2001 - Creative Writing I 3 credits
CRW 2002 - Creative Writing II 3 credits
ENC 1101 - Composition I 3 credits
ENC 1102 - Composition II 3 credits
ENL 2012 - British Literature and Culture I, to 1780 - (I) 3 credits
ENL 2022 - British Literature and Culture II, 1780 to Present - (I) 3 credits
HUM 1950 - Humanities Study Tour- (I) 3 credits
HUM 2020 - Introduction to Humanities 3 credits
HUM 2211 - Studies in Humanities: The Ancient World through the Medieval Period- (I) 3 credits
HUM 2235 - Studies in Humanities: The Renaissance through the Age of Reason- (I) 3 credits
HUM 2250 - Studies in Humanities: The Romantic Era to the Present- (I) 3 credits
HUM 2510 - Studies in Humanities: Humanities through the Arts- (I) 3 credits
HUM 2930 - Studies in Humanities: Great Human Questions- (I) 3 credits
HUM 2950 - Humanities Study Tour- (I) 3 credits
IDS 2930 - Special Topics in Arts and Sciences- (I) 3 credits
LIT 2000 - Introduction to Literature (I) 3 credits
WOH 1012 - History of World Civilization to 1500- (I) 3 credits
WOH 1023 - History of World Civilization 1500 to 1815- (I) 3 credits
WOH 1030 - History of World Civilization 1815 to Present- (I) 3 credits

Previously Earned Associate in Arts or Baccalaureate Degrees

Students who have previously earned an Associate in Arts or a Baccalaureate degree from a Florida College System or a Florida State University System institution are considered to have met the General Education Requirements of a Florida SouthWestern State College associate or baccalaureate degree.
Students who have previously earned an Associate in Arts or a Baccalaureate degree from a college or university outside the State of Florida will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine which courses will meet the 36 hour general education and electives requirements.