General Studies, A.S.

Purpose

This program is a flexible associate degree for students who plan to transfer to a 4-year university, but are not yet sure of their intended major. The degree parallels the first two years of a four-year bachelor’s degree program, providing maximum transfer elective options for exploration.

Transfer Information

Students are advised to work closely with the faculty and advising personnel for program and course scheduling. Electives should be chosen carefully to meet specific requirements of the intended transfer institution. The responsibility for proper course selection rests with the student. Students are encouraged to complete the A.S. degree before transferring. Some Virginia colleges and universities exclude General Studies graduates from participating in guaranteed admission programs.

Two Years

Courses eligible for UCGS can be found on the General Education Electives page, marked with an asterisk (*). It’s recommended to choose electives with the guidance of an academic advisor to ensure they fulfill the requirements of the transfer institution.

¹

Credit will not be awarded for both MTH 155 Statistical Reasoning and MTH 245 Statistics I. Students who plan to take MTH 245 Statistics I should take MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning or MTH 161 PreCalculus I first.

²

Consult your specific degree or transfer pathway and chose based on the topic that most interests you.

³

Students must choose courses from two of the following areas: Fine Arts and Humanities. Credit will not be awarded for taking two courses from the same area.

⁴

Select a class which is not a History course.

⁵

Students can take another General Education Electives or select from a List of Transfer Electives for acceptable courses. The majority of four-year institutions require a foreign language through intermediate (202) level for Bachelor of Arts degree. Waivers or credit by exam for previous experience is available for some languages. See the ‘World Language Credit and Waiver’ section of the [Credit for Prior Learning Manual].