Apr 05, 2025  
2025-2026 College Catalog 
  
2025-2026 College Catalog

Associate in Arts Degree, A.A.


Program Code: H.GAA.AA

Graduation requirement: 60 credit hours

The Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree is designed so that students may complete the lower-division (freshman and sophomore) portion of a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree. The A.A. degree includes the transferable General Education Core courses and the lower-division Baccalaureate Major Field core courses recommended by the Illinois Articulation Initiative.

All course work must be baccalaureate-oriented (courses numbered 100-289 whose second digit is even).

The A.A. degree is ideally suited for students seeking a B.A. degree in areas such as liberal arts and sciences, English, psychology, and many other fields. Since admission to colleges and universities - and to specific majors - is often competitive, students planning to transfer should understand that completing the recommended courses alone does not guarantee admission.

It is recommended that students fulfill the foreign language requirement of the program of the senior institution to which they are transferring. In general, credit for the four years of the same high school foreign language or credit for two years in the same foreign language at the college level satisfies the foreign language requirement of most bachelor of arts degrees.

Graduation Requirements for the Associate in Arts Degree


General Education Core Curriculum: 38 credit hours


Note: One course taken in Humanities, Fine Arts, or Social/Behavioral Sciences must be a Non-Western culture course.

Communications: 3 courses (9 credit hours)

Take all three:

Social/Behavioral Sciences: 3 courses (9 credit hours)

Humanities and Fine Arts: 3 courses (9 credit hours)

Mathematics: 1 course (3 credit hours)

Physical and Life Sciences: 2 courses (8 credit hours)

Liberal Arts and Sciences: 3 credit hours


Take one:

General Elective Courses: 19 credit hours


Choose general elective courses to meet the 60 credit hour graduation requirement. If LAS 188  was chosen above, 22 hours of general elective courses will be needed to reach 60 total credit hours.

General electives include any transfer-focused courses (courses with an even middle number such as MGT 101 or ART 121).

Students should work with their advisor to choose electives that match their interests and transfer plans.  Some four-year universities prefer transfer students to complete specific coursework.  Contact the Academic Advising office for assistance with course planning.