Associate Degree Graduation Requirements

An Associate in Arts (AA) or an Associate in Science (AS) degree may be granted upon the completion of 60 Degree Applicable Units of work and fulfillment of the following specific requirements:

  1. Scholarship Requirement
  2. Residence Requirement
  3. Major Requirement
  4. General Education Requirements
  5. Physical Education Requirement
  6. Multicultural Education Requirement
  7. Reading Requirement

Credit for Courses Completed at Other Colleges

Fullerton College may accept courses completed at other regionally accredited colleges/universities to satisfy general education requirements on Fullerton College’s local AA/AS GE pattern. Students may satisfy the requirements for any Fullerton College general education area (A-E) through submission of an official transcript that demonstrates completion of a general education course at another regionally accredited college/university if it can be determined that the course clearly fits the Fullerton College Title 5 based criteria for a specific general education area. The Articulation Officer will determine if a course will meet the requirements for the Fullerton College Associate Degree General Education Subject Areas in consultation with discipline faculty as needed. A course completed at another regionally accredited college or university may be used to satisfy a Fullerton College degree and/ or certificate requirement if it is determined to be “equivalent” to a course in the Fullerton College catalog. Equivalency is determined through the evaluation of official college transcripts. In addition to course-to-course equivalency, Fullerton College will also accept courses that meet a CSU GE or IGETC requirement at the college where they are completed to satisfy Fullerton College Associates Degree general education (or “GE”) requirements in the related GE area on the Fullerton College AA/AS GE pattern. The Fullerton College graduation requirements described above (in items 1-7) apply for traditional Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degrees. These graduation requirements do not apply to the Associate Degrees for Transfer, called “AA-T” and “AS-T” degrees.

Credit for Military Training

In alignment with the practice of the CSU Chancellor’s Office, Fullerton College certifies 3 units of transferable credit including full completion of Area E on the CSU General Education (GE) pattern for students who submit the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) indicating the completion of basic training. The intention is to award credit for the “Lifelong Learning” experience veterans get in Basic Training, which is documented on the DD-214 form. In lieu of CSU GE, students can also use the 3 units of transferable credit toward completion of Area E on the Fullerton College AA/AS General GE pattern. In addition to GE, Fullerton College also will grant prior credit for the 1-unit PE Requirement for Graduation.

CSU GE and IGETC credit for General Education courses completed at another college/university

Lower division general education courses completed with a passing grade at a California State University (CSU) prior to enrolling at a California community college will be accepted to meet requirements on the CSU GE pattern in the GE area for which they were approved at the CSU where the course was completed. The Articulation Office will determine if these courses may be accepted to meet the IGETC requirements that parallel the CSU GE areas, if a grade of C or better is reflected on the transcript. A general education course completed at a University of California (UC) campus, a regionally accredited independent college or university in California that does not maintain a CSU GE-B certification list or a regionally accredited out-of-state institution of higher education under one of the following regional institutional accrediting organizations (MSA, MSCHE, NASC, NCA/NCA-HLC, NEASC-CIHE, NWCCU, SACS, WASC), may be reviewed by the Articulation Office to determine applicability to a specific CSU GE and/or IGETC requirement. The Articulation Office will determine comparability for standard general education courses through consideration of the GE pattern and specific course objectives at the institution where the course was completed. If the course is substantially comparable in content, scope, and rigor to a course that is currently on the CSU GE-B certification list for any community college it may be “passed along” in that it will be used to satisfy a requirement in the appropriate GE area. PLEASE NOTE: credit will not be awarded for Fullerton College major requirements or used to fulfill requisites unless the course completed is determined to be equivalent to the course required for a major or the course requisite respectively (see explanation of equivalency on previous page).

Pass Along for Students with Prior Baccalaureate and/or Associates Degrees

Multiple Degrees: Students may earn a traditional Associate Degree (AA/AS) from Fullerton College after receiving a baccalaureate degree or an associate degree from another accredited U.S. Institution under one of the following regional institutional accrediting organizations (MSA, MSCHE, NASC, NCA/NCA-HLC, NEASC-CIHE, NWCCU, SACS, WASC), upon completion of the following:

  1. a minimum of 24 units in residence or the last 12 units prior to awarding the degree (in any subject area unless there are residency requirements for the specific major, see major requirements for details)
  2. all requirements in the major field of study, with a grade of C or better
  3. other Fullerton College graduation requirements for which equivalents have not been completed, including Physical Education, Multicultural, and Reading requirements
  4. a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better
  5. *Title 5 Minimum Requirements for an Associate Degree
  6. Official transcript(s) of the regionally accredited U.S. institution(s) must be submitted to Admissions and Records.

*There will be no additional local General Education requirements as long as all Title 5 Requirements have been met.

Title 5 Minimum Requirements for an Associate Degree include:

  1. Completion of an English composition course with a grade of C or better at the level of Freshman Composition (minimum of 3 semester units)
  2. Completion of a mathematics course with a grade of C or better at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra (minimum of 3 semester units) or by achieving an assessment test score determined to be comparable to satisfactory completion of Intermediate Algebra or a college level math course (please note: no units are awarded if this requirement is met using an assessment test score).
  3. An additional 12 semester units of General Education Requirements including at least 3 semester units in each of the GE areas below:
    1. (3 units) Natural Sciences
    2. (3 units) Social and Behavioral Sciences
    3. (3 units) Humanities
    4. (3 units) Communication and Analytical Thinking (this may be satisfied through completion of a math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra)

Scholarship Requirement: A cumulative grade-point average of 2.00 (“C”) in all degree applicable coursework.

Residence Requirement:

  • A minimum of 24 units accumulated during two or more semesters must be completed at Fullerton College; or
  • The last 12 units prior to awarding the degree must be completed at Fullerton College.

Major 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.

OPTION 1

Associate Degree General Education Requirement
24 UNITS

OPTION 2
(CSU GE)

Cal-State University General Education Breadth
39 UNITS

OPTION 3
(IGETC)

Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
37-39 UNITS

Physical Education Requirement:

  • One unit of Physical Education Activity or Dance Activity; or
  • Completion of AJ 135 F, PE 243 F, PE 266 F, or WELL 242 F
  • Veterans who completed Basic Training may be eligible for one unit of PE Credit to meet this requirement. Please see the Veterans Services section for more information.

Multicultural Education Requirement: Beginning Fall Semester 1996, to meet this requirement every student must complete one course from the Multicultural Education requirement list. A student may use the Multicultural courses to also meet a major or general education requirement for the Associate Degree. All students graduating after the year 2001 will be required to complete the Multicultural graduation component, no matter how their previous catalog rights were defined.

Graduation Reading Requirement: Proficiency in reading may be satisfied by one of the following:

  1. Completion of a degree (AA/AS or higher) from a regionally accredited college or university confirmed by submission of an official transcript from a regionally accredited college or university.
     
  2. A passing grade of “C” or better in READ 096 F (formerly READ 056BF), READ 101 F, READ 142 F, ESL 185 F or ESL 189 F; or an equivalent course with a grade of “C-“ or higher confirmed by submission of official transcripts from a regionally accredited college or university.
     
  3. A passing grade of “C” or better in any course in the IGETC (1B); or CSU GE (A3) Critical Thinking category; or an equivalent course with a grade of “C-“ or higher confirmed by submission of official transcripts from a regionally accredited college or university.
     
  4. A passing grade of “C” or better in the Fullerton College AA/AS degree General Education pattern Area A2 (Analytical Thinking), or an equivalent course with a grade of “C-“ or higher confirmed by submission of official transcripts from a regionally accredited college or university.

6/2022 (Dr. Lee/KTran)