Associate in Arts, AA - College Transfer - General Studies - CIP Code: 24.0101

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Contact: (336) 334-4822, ext. 50096

The Associate in Arts (AA) degree is designed for students who want to pursue a four-year degree in one of the liberal arts disciplines or training at a professional school that requires a strong liberal arts background. Upon transfer, students who earn the Associate in Arts degree generally major in fields such as anthropology, business, communication, economics, English, foreign language, geography, history, humanities, music, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology.

Upon successful completion of this degree, graduates will be able to:

• Apply strategies to acquire new information (concepts and perspectives) in a variety of academic disciplines
• Analyze academic, workplace, and societal issues presented in a variety of academic disciplines using discipline-specific concepts and underlying perspectives
• Use critical thinking (reason and creativity in problem-solving and decision-making) in a variety of academic disciplines
• Demonstrate use of technology appropriate to a variety of academic disciplines

Advising Checklist for Transfer Students

1. Choose a major/program of study for your bachelor’s degree based on career goals and interests.

2. Choose a transfer institution and identify a back-up school in case you are not admitted to your first choice.  Align your GTCC program of study with your future major (usually, a BA requires an AA and a BS requires an AS, etc.). 

3. Check the transfer guides for your chosen institutions.  Pay special attention to math requirements and foreign language requirements.

• GTCC will award an AA with only MAT-143, but most BA and BS degrees require MAT-171 in the first two years for completion.
• GTCC will award an AA and an AS with no foreign language, but many BA and BS degrees require between 2 and 4 semesters of foreign language in the first two years for completion.

4. Plan GTCC courses based on both GTCC requirements and university baccalaureate degree plans.  If you have questions about unique circumstances, contact university admissions offices.

• ACA-122 is required for all transfer programs and must be taken during your first semester at GTCC to help in the transfer planning process.  
• If you need to take pre-curriculum math (DMA/DMS) or reading/English (DRE), start on those classes right away.

5. Meet with your GTCC advisor/coach to review your course selection, talk about success strategies, and have your advising hold removed, as applicable. 

6. Register as soon as your registration window opens for the best selection of available classes.

Comprehensive Articulation Agreement and Transfer Information

If you plan to transfer community college credits to a university, you must identify a program of study and destination institution as soon as possible to ensure you complete appropriate coursework at GTCC.  

University Requirements

You must complete an AA or AS with a 2.0 GPA or higher and no grade lower than a C for the CAA* to apply.  Certain university requirements are waived for students who earn transfer degrees at community colleges.  If you do not finish your AA, AS, AE, or AFA before you transfer you will need to meet these university requirements and some of your completed courses may not apply to your major.

*Transfer Terms

CAA: Comprehensive Articulation Agreement:

A statewide agreement governing the transfer of credits between NC community colleges and NC public universities. Students who graduate from GTCC with an AA or AS will be admitted to the university with junior status. Private institutions might abide by the CAA, but they can establish their own requirements and procedures.

• AA: Associate in Arts
• AS: Associate in Science 
• AE: Associate in Engineering
• AFA: Associate in Fine Arts                            
• AAS: Associate in Applied Science (non-transfer credits from AAS programs will likely not transfer)                                 

There are three types of courses in AA and AS programs:

1. Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC)

Guaranteed to transfer to the university for general education credit.

English	Communication/ Humanities/Fine Arts	Sociology/ Behavioral Science	Natural Science	Math
ENG 111	ART 111	ECO 251	AST 111/111A	MAT 143 (AA)
ENG 112	ART 114	ECO 252	AST 151/151A	MAT 152 (AA)
	ART 115	HIS 111	BIO 110	MAT 171
	COM 231	HIS 112	BIO 111	MAT 172 (AS)
	ENG 231	HIS 131	BIO 112	MAT 263 (AS)
	ENG 232	HIS 132	CHM 151	MAT 271 (AS)
	ENG 241	POL 120	CHM 152	MAT 272 (AS)
	ENG 242	PSY 150	GEL 111
	MUS 110	SOC 210	PHY 110/110A
	MUS 112		PHY 152 (AS)
	PHI 215		PHY 251 (AS)
	PHI 240		PHY 252 (AS)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. General Education

3. Pre-Major/Elective

Transfer Course Listings

You will find a complete list of college transfer courses and the requirement they meet (UGETC, general education, pre-major/elective) on the NC Community College System website.  Review the GTCC catalog and WebAdvisor to identify which courses are offered by GTCC.  UGETC courses also meet general education and elective requirements, and general education courses also meet elective requirements.

Transfer Guidelines

UGETC, general education, and elective courses should be chosen based on BOTH GTCC degree requirements and transfer guidelines from the university.  University transfer guides created for community college students, or baccalaureate degree plans, can be found on the UNC system website and are different for each institution and each major.  Taking the right classes at GTCC and completing the AA or AS degree will ensure you transfer to the university with junior standing in your major.