Associate in Arts Degree (A.A.)
The A.A. degree is a customizable 60-credit hour, two-year degree that can be obtained traditionally and/or online for your convenience and guarantees your admission into one of Florida’s public universities.
While pursuing your Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree at FGC you’ll choose an area of focus centered around your educational goals. The A.A. program provides all the general education requirements for a Bachelor’s degree and provides an opportunity to take electives that will support your intended major.
Review our AA areas of focus and guided degree pathway resources page. You will find a detailed plan for your courses and other requirements each semester that prepare you for graduation and your transfer goals.
Florida Gateway College (Campus and/or Online)
Students must demonstrate competence in reading, math, or language through placement examination or by passing the appropriate reading, math or language courses, if not exempt by state board of education rule 6A-10.0315
Programs may be completed online or through a mixture of face-to-face and online classes.
This program requires 60 credit hours.
A student wishing to transfer to an upper-division university should be enrolled in courses leading to the Associate in Arts degree (A.A.). The Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree is the freshman and sophomore years of a four-year bachelor’s degree. Florida Gateway College offers a wide range of preprofessional courses designed to prepare students to transfer to upper-division universities.
It is highly recommended that students verify that a course is designated as General Education if choosing a prefix shown below without a specific course number. Courses designated with “GE” and the specific General Education Area in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog are acceptable General Education Courses for that area
Learning Outcome: Communications & Critical Thinking
Statewide Learning Outcome:
Courses:
and one course from:
Learning Outcome: Quantitative Reasoning & Critical Thinking
Your first course toward the general education requirement in mathematics depends on your meta-major. Please refer to the list of meta-majors to determine your placement.
One course from:
Learning Outcome: Scientific Reasoning & Critical Thinking
Note: At least one course must have a lab component. Science credit may exceed 6 credit hours. If a student achieves more than 6 credit hours in science from the approved list, credit hour overage will count as elective credit.
Complete Option 1 or Option 2
Learning Outcome: Information Literacy & Critical Thinking
Complete Option 1 or Option 2.
Learning Outcome: Cultural Awareness & Critical Thinking
A course may satisfy only one area of General Education requirements.
Total General Education Credits Required – 36 semester hours
Complete 24 credit hours of courses designated as AA transferable. Electives are prerequisites, background, or specialization courses required for junior and senior year work. These must be individually determined based upon the student’s transfer goals, transfer institution, etc. It is highly recommended that you contact your academic advisor and Advising Services to get needed information specific to your educational goals. Any General Education credit hours in excess of 36 will be applied as elective credit. Courses designated with an “AATR” in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog are acceptable A.A. elective credits.
GR indicates a Gordon Rule course which has specific writing or math requirements (see Gordon Rule).
General Education Core Course Requirement
Complete at least one core course from each of the general education subject areas of communication, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences. General Education core course options are identified in Rule 6A-14.0303.
Foreign Language Requirement
Completion of a post-secondary course at the elementary 2-level (meaning the second course in a foreign language sequence) in one foreign language or American Sign Language (ASL) or two credits of the same foreign language in high school, or passing scores on the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) for the elementary 2 level course. A detailed high school transcript showing two earned credits in the same foreign language must be on file in the Office of Enrollment Services. Contact the Office of Enrollment Services to request a review of your high school foreign language credit. FGC offers the following foreign language courses:
Computer Competency Requirement
Students in the Associate in Arts degree are required to demonstrate computer competency by passing SLS 1501 with a grade of “C” or higher or satisfactory completion of a college-wide computer competency test.
The general education requirements for associate degrees at Florida Gateway College are consistent with the College philosophy which states that each student who attends the College shall be assisted in acquiring learning as a lifelong pattern. Specifically, students in career-oriented areas should be able to communicate, to calculate, and to understand the social and scientific implications of the world around them. Students seeking transfer to a baccalaureate program should complete a general education requirement that is broad in scope and requires an in-depth level of inquiry.
The College recognizes that student learning goals may change during a lifetime; therefore, the general education requirement for all degrees is collegiate in nature and, as such, should provide an academic foundation for lifelong learning. It is designed to meet students at their levels of ability and assist them in attaining collegiate levels of performance. Not all students come to the College prepared for this level of endeavor. Developmental education courses, therefore, are provided to assist the student in gaining the requisite skills necessary to be successful in a work or collegiate setting.
Students in the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree are required to demonstrate computer competency with the completion of the computer competency course within Canvas during the first semester and prior to registering for the second semester.
Florida Gateway College requires students in all associate degree programs to demonstrate oral communication competency. Competency is defined as the ability to perceive, interpret, evaluate, organize, and demonstrate effective oral presentation. Students who were admitted for first time registration for the summer of 2001 and after (or students who have not been enrolled for at least one semester for every year of enrollment), are required to prove competency by passing one of the following courses before graduation: ORI 2000 Fundamentals of Oral Interpretation, SPC 1017 Oral Communications, SPC 1061 Introduction to Academic and Professional Speaking, or SPC 2608 Public Speaking.
Beginning with students initially entering a Florida College System institution or state university in 2014-2015 and thereafter, (including former dual enrollment students entering college for the first time following high school graduation in fall 2014 or thereafter), coursework for an Associate in Arts degree shall include a demonstration of competency in a foreign language pursuant to s.1007.262, Florida Statutes.
In accordance with Rule 6A-14.0303, beginning fall 2015, first-time-in-college students (including former dual enrollment students entering college for the first time following high school graduation in fall 2015 or thereafter) entering a Florida College System institution must complete at least one core course from each of the general education subject areas prior to the award of an Associate in Arts degree.
Listed below are the FGC General Learning Outcomes to be mastered by all students who complete an Associates degree program.
The transfer articulation agreement between state universities in Florida and Florida College System (FCS) institutions allows each FCS institution to develop its own general education requirements and determine what electives are allowed for the granting of the Associate in Arts degree. A student who completes the general education program at an FCS institution will not be required to complete other general education requirements at the four-year university.
A student should realize that upper-division universities also set their own academic requirements for entry into specific programs. The College will make every effort to advise a student concerning upper-division requirements for each major. However, for reliable information concerning which electives to choose while in residence at Florida Gateway College, each student is encouraged to consult with the dean, department chair, advisor or registrar of the school he or she expects to attend. Students are strongly encouraged to declare a major upon first enrolling at the College, because courses selected for electives may have to be used to meet university prerequisites to degree programs.
A student who has determined a professional program of study should become thoroughly familiar with the requirements for admission into that program at the particular four-year university to which he or she plans to transfer. The following meta-major academic pathways are established for the purpose of advising Florida College System associate degree-seeking students of the gateway courses that are aligned with their intended academic and career goals.
Graduation requirements for the Associate in Arts degree are shown below. A student who owes an obligation to the college will not receive a diploma or transcript until the obligation is resolved.
