Graduation Requirements for an Associate Degree

For This Catalog Year

Graduation requirements for the Associate Degree are prescribed by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, Title 5 and the North Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees. An Associate Degree may be earned upon satisfactory completion of all of the following:

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• Residence Requirement
  At least 50% of all major coursework must be completed at Cypress College.

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• Local Degrees Graduation Requirements
  Liberal Arts Emphasis and Occupational Degrees
  • Social Justice, Equity and Sustainability
  • Physical Education (PE)
  • Reading Proficiency

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• General Education Requirements
  All students are required to complete general education. Cypress College has three general education patterns:
  • Cypress College native general education pattern of 25 units;
  • CSU General Education Breadth pattern of 39 units; or
  • IGETC (Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum) pattern of 37–39 units.
    The appropriate pattern of general education for a specific degree is listed in the program requirements.  Please note for Cypress College Native Degrees (non-ADTs), students have the option of selecting the Cypress College Native General Education, CSU General Education Breadth or IGETC pattern.  This is in effect for all catalog years for which a program has been state approved.
    NOTE: A passing score on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, College Level Exam Program (CLEP) exam, or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam may allow a student to receive subject credit for various general education requirements. Please reference the External Exam Credit policy section of the catalog for more specifics and see your counselor for questions regarding these policies.

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• Major/Area of Emphasis Requirement
  A student must achieve a grade of C or better in each course attempted that is counted for the major or area of emphasis. Effective Fall 2008, C- (minus) grades do not satisfy these requirements. At least 50% of the major course work must be completed at Cypress College. 50% coursework can be either the number of courses OR the number of units - whichever benefits the student for completion of program requirements. (The Liberal Arts Areas of Emphasis in Arts and Humanities, Human Communication, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Math and Science and the AA-T and AS-T are excluded from the 50% policy.) Each area of emphasis requires a minimum of 18 units.

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• Scholarship Requirement
  A cumulative grade-point average of 2.00 (“C”) in all course work attempted.

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• Elective Courses
  A student may complete additional degree-applicable classes for a total of 60 units (see Non-Degree Credit Courses for description of classes that are non-degree applicable).

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