Associate in Arts (AA)
Associate in Arts Degree–60 Credit Hours
Curriculum Code 1280
The A.A. degree requirements are recommended for students pursuing a degree such as Art, Business, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, English, History, Mass Communications, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Special Education or Theater.
The general education core curriculum requirements listed below satisfy the statewide Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) and will transfer to participating schools as meeting their lowerdivision, campus wide general education requirements. Some schools may require admitted transfer students to complete an institution-wide and/or mission-related graduation requirement beyond the scope of the general education core.
Enrollment in some courses requires completion of a prerequisite. See course description for complete prerequisite information.
This program is for students who plan to major in disciplines such as Art, Business, Criminal Justice, Education, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, English, History, Mass Communications, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Special Education or Theater.
Summary of Credit Hours Required
- General Education Core Curriculum (IAI): 37 credit hours
- Communication (9)
- Mathematics (3)
- Physical and Life Sciences (7)
- Humanities and Fine Arts (9)
- Social/Behavioral Sciences (9)
- Baccalaureate Major/Minor and Elective Courses: 23 credit hours
Total A.A. Degree: 60 credit hours
Requirements
A. General Education Core Curriculum—37 credit hours
The general education core curriculum constitutes that part of an undergraduate education that develops breadth of knowledge and the expressive skills essential to more complex and in-depth learning throughout life. To develop breadth of knowledge, general education courses acquaint students with the methods of inquiry of the various academic disciplines and the different ways these disciplines view the world. The academic disciplines comprising the general education curriculum are the physical and life sciences, the humanities and fine arts, the social and behavioral sciences, and interdisciplinary combinations of these. To develop expressive skills, the general education curriculum requires courses that enhance written and oral communication and quantitative reasoning skills.
The foundation skills of communication (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), critical thinking and analysis/synthesis, quantification, and the use of resources (including technology and the library) are to be embedded in every general education course (adapted from Illinois Articulation Initiative, 2000).
B. Baccalaureate Major/Minor Field and Elective Courses—23 credit hours
Includes lower-division coursework in a student’s major and minor fields, additional hours from the above areas, foreign languages, and other college credit courses. Detailed information for many colleges is located online on the transfer webpage under Transfer Guides. It is recommended to consult the catalog of the transfer college or to reach out to the transfer representative at that institution. Periodic consultation with an academic advisor is strongly recommended.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Core Curriculum | ||
| Communications: | ||
| COM-101 | Composition I 1 | 3 |
| COM-102 | Composition II 1 | 3 |
| COM-103 | Speech Fundamentals 2 | 3 |
| Mathematics: 3 | ||
| Select one of the following (3 hours minium) | 3 | |
| MTH-120 | General Education Mathematics | 3 |
| MTH-122 | Math for Teachers II | 3 |
| MTH-139 | Probability and Statistics | 4 |
| MTH-143 | Finite Mathematics | 4 |
| MTH-145 | Calculus for Business & Social Scien | 4 |
| MTH-150 | Calculus I/Analytic Geometry | 5 |
| MTH-151 | Calculus II/Analytic Geometry | 5 |
| MTH-152 | Calculus III/Analytic Geometry | 4 |
| MTH-212 | Statistics for Business | 4 |
| MTH-215 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| Physical and Life Sciences: | ||
| Select one course from Physical Sciences and one course from Life Sciences, with at least one being a lab course. | 7 | |
| Life Sciences: | ||
| BIO-101 | Survey of Biology for Non-Majors 4 | 4 |
| BIO-103 | Germs: Good, Bad and Necessary | 3 |
| BIO-104 | Biology of Human Life 4 | 4 |
| BIO-105 | Human Genetics | 3 |
| BIO-111 | General Biology I 4 | 4 |
| BIO-112 | General Biology II 4 | 4 |
| NAT-111 | Environmental Science I 4 | 4 |
| NAT-112 | Environmental Science II 4 | 4 |
| Physical Sciences: | ||
| AST-101 | Descriptive Astronomy | 3 |
| AST-103 | Observational Astronomy 4,5 | 4 |
| CHM-111 | Fundamentals of Chemistry 4,5 | 4 |
| CHM-131 | Chemistry (University Oriented) I 4,5 | 4 |
| EAS-120 | Introduction to Earth Science 4 | 4 |
| EAS-125 | Introduction to Weather and Climate 4 | 4 |
| EAS-135 | Severe and Hazardous Weather | 3 |
| GEL-150 | Physical Geology 4 | 4 |
| PHY-108 | Fundamentals of Physics 5 | 4 |
| PHY-150 | Mechanics, Heat & Sound 5 | 4 |
| PHY-203 | Mechanics 5 | 4 |
| Humanities and Fine Arts: | ||
| Select three credit hours from Humanities, three hours from Fine Arts and an additional three hours from either Humanities or Fine Arts. All courses are three credit hours unless noted otherwise. | ||
| Humanities - Select 3 credit hours from: | 3 | |
| ARB-202 | Arabic IV 6 | 4 |
| FRE-202 | French IV 6 | 4 |
| HUM-101 | Western Humanities I: Foundations | 3 |
| HUM-102 | Western Humanities II: Continuities | 3 |
| HUM-115 | World Mythology | 3 |
| HUM-120 | Women in the Humanities 8 | 3 |
| HUM-135 | African & Middle Eastern Humanities 7 | 3 |
| HUM-140 | Asian and Oceanic Humanities 7 | 3 |
| HUM-145 | Native American Humanities 7 | 3 |
| HUM-155 | LGBTQ Humanities 8 | 3 |
| LIT-205 | Literature for Children/Young Adults 6 | 3 |
| LIT-213 | American Literature I 6 | 3 |
| LIT-214 | American Literature II 6 | 3 |
| LIT-215 | Bible as Literature I 6 | 3 |
| LIT-216 | Bible as Literature II 6 | 3 |
| LIT-217 | Introduction to Poetry 6 | 3 |
| LIT-218 | Introduction to Drama 6 | 3 |
| LIT-219 | Women in Literature 6,8 | 3 |
| LIT-220 | Introduction to Fiction 6 | 3 |
| LIT-221 | English Literature I 6 | 3 |
| LIT-222 | English Literature II 6 | 3 |
| LIT-223 | Western Literature I 6 | 3 |
| LIT-224 | Western Literature II 6 | 3 |
| LIT-225 | Shakespeare 6 | 3 |
| LIT-226 | Literature of the Non-Western World 6,7 | 3 |
| LIT-227 | Literature as Film 6,8 | 3 |
| LIT-228 | Latin American Literature 6 | 3 |
| LIT-230 | African American Literature 6,8 | 3 |
| PHI-101 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHI-111 | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| PHI-120 | World Religions 7 | 3 |
| PHI-125 | Ethics | 3 |
| PHI-200 | Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| SPA-202 | Spanish IV 6 | 4 |
| SPA-213 | Introduction to Hispanic Literatures 6 | 3 |
| Fine Arts – Select 3 credit hours from: | 3 | |
| ART-110 | Art Appreciation | 3 |
| ART-205 | Survey of Art I | 3 |
| ART-206 | Survey of Art II | 3 |
| ART-208 | Survey of Art III | 3 |
| ART-209 | Survey of Non-Western Art 10 | 3 |
| HUM-101 | Western Humanities I: Foundations | 3 |
| HUM-102 | Western Humanities II: Continuities | 3 |
| HUM-120 | Women in the Humanities 11 | 3 |
| HUM-135 | African & Middle Eastern Humanities 10 | 3 |
| HUM-140 | Asian and Oceanic Humanities 10 | 3 |
| HUM-145 | Native American Humanities 10 | 3 |
| LIT-227 | Literature as Film 9 | 3 |
| MUS-106 | Introduction to American Music | 3 |
| MUS-107 | Music Appreciation | 3 |
| THE-105 | Theater Appreciation | 3 |
| THE-107 | Film Appreciation | 3 |
| THE-110 | History of the Theatre | 3 |
| THE-111 | History of Film | 3 |
| Humanities and Fine Arts – Select 3 credit hours from either Humanities or Fine Arts courses not listed above. | 3 | |
| Social/Behavoral Sciences: | ||
| Select courses from two different disciplines (e.g., no more than two courses from the same course prefix). All courses are three credit hours. | ||
| Select 9 credit hours from the following: | 9 | |
| ANT-101 | Introduction to Anthropology | 3 |
| ANT-201 | Biological Anthropology | 3 |
| ANT-202 | Cultural Anthropology 12 | 3 |
| ANT-210 | Introduction to Archaeology | 3 |
| ECO-101 | Principles of Macro-Economics | 3 |
| ECO-102 | Principles of Micro-Economics | 3 |
| GEO-101 | Cultural Geography 12 | 3 |
| GEO-102 | World Regional Geography 12 | 3 |
| GEO-201 | Economic Geography 12 | 3 |
| HIS-101 | Western Civilization I | 3 |
| HIS-102 | Western Civilization II | 3 |
| HIS-150 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| HIS-151 | World History since 1500 | 3 |
| HIS-201 | American History I | 3 |
| HIS-202 | American History II | 3 |
| HIS-204 | African-American History | 3 |
| HIS-210 | History of Asia 12 | 3 |
| HIS-215 | History of Africa 12 | 3 |
| HIS-220 | History of Latin America 12 | 3 |
| PSC-103 | Introduction to Political Science | 3 |
| PSC-110 | American National Government | 3 |
| PSC-115 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| PSC-210 | International Relations 12 | 3 |
| PSC-215 | Comparative Government | 3 |
| PSC-225 | Non-Western Comparative Politics 12 | 3 |
| PSC-245 | Politics of the Middle East 12 | 3 |
| PSY-101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-104 | Life-Span Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-105 | Child Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-106 | Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-202 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-210 | Adult Psychology | 3 |
| SOC-101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| SOC-102 | Sociology of Family | 3 |
| SOC-203 | Sociology of Race and Ethnicity | 3 |
| SOC-204 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOC-206 | Social Inequalities 13 | 3 |
| SOC-215 | Sociology of Sex and Gender 13 | 3 |
| SSC-101 | Social Science I | 3 |
| Baccalaureate Major/Minor Field and Elective Courses | ||
| Select 23 hours | 23 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 60 | |
- 1
Note: COM-101 Composition I and COM-102 Composition II require completion of a prerequisite.
- 2
COM-103 Speech Fundamentals satisfies the requirements of Public Act 87-581 addressing course work in human relations.
- 3
Note: All MTH courses above require completion of a prerequisite.
- 4
Note: AST-103 Observational Astronomy, CHM-111 Fundamentals of Chemistry, CHM-131 Chemistry (University Oriented) I, EAS-120 Introduction to Earth Science,EAS-125 Introduction to Weather and Climate, and GEL-150 Physical Geology are courses with lab components
- 5
Note: AST-103 Observational Astronomy, CHM-111 Fundamentals of Chemistry, CHM-131 Chemistry (University Oriented) I, PHY-108 Fundamentals of Physics, PHY-150 Mechanics, Heat & Sound, PHY-203 Mechanics require completion of a prerequisite
- 6
Note: ARB-202 Arabic IV,FRE-202 French IV, LIT-205 Literature for Children/Young Adults, LIT-213 American Literature I, LIT-214 American Literature II, LIT-215 Bible as Literature I, LIT-216 Bible as Literature II, LIT-217 Introduction to Poetry, LIT-218 Introduction to Drama, LIT-219 Women in Literature, LIT-220 Introduction to Fiction, LIT-221 English Literature I, LIT-222 English Literature II, LIT-223 Western Literature I, LIT-224 Western Literature II,LIT-225 Shakespeare, LIT-226 Literature of the Non-Western World, LIT-227 Literature as Film, LIT-228 Latin American Literature, LIT-230 African American Literature, SPA-202 Spanish IV, and SPA-213 Introduction to Hispanic Literatures require completion of a prerequisite.
- 7
Note: HUM-135 African & Middle Eastern Humanities, HUM-140 Asian and Oceanic Humanities, HUM-145 Native American Humanities, LIT-226 Literature of the Non-Western World, LIT-228 Latin American Literature, and PHI-120 World Religions are courses examining human diversity from a non-U.S./non-European perspective.
- 8
Note: HUM-120 Women in the Humanities, HUM-155 LGBTQ Humanities, LIT-219 Women in Literature, LIT-227 Literature as Film, and LIT-230 African American Literature are courses examining human diversity within the United States.
- 9
Note: LIT-227 Literature as Film requires completion of a prerequisite.
- 10
Note: ART-209 Survey of Non-Western Art, HUM-135 African & Middle Eastern Humanities, HUM-140 Asian and Oceanic Humanities, and HUM-145 Native American Humanities are courses examining human diversity from a non-U.S./non-European perspective.
- 11
Note: HUM-120 Women in the Humanities examines human diversity within the United States.
- 12
Note: ANT-202 Cultural Anthropology, GEO-101 Cultural Geography, GEO-102 World Regional Geography, GEO-201 Economic Geography, HIS-210 History of Asia, HIS-215 History of Africa, HIS-220 History of Latin America,PSC-210 International Relations, PSC-225 Non-Western Comparative Politics, and PSC-245 Politics of the Middle East are courses examining human diversity from a non-U.S./non-European perspective.
- 13
Note: SOC-206 Social Inequalities andSOC-215 Sociology of Sex and Gender are courses examining human diversity within the United States.