Associate's Degree and University Transfer - Associate in Arts

The Associate of Arts degree is designed for students who plan to transfer to four-year institutions after completing the first two years of study at Pierce. The degree enables students to fulfill the undergraduate general education requirements of most four-year degree programs and is also recommended for students who have not yet decided the field they will enter or the four-year institution they will attend.

Pierce College's AA degree meets the Inter-College Relations Commission's AA Transfer Degree Guidelines for Washington colleges and universities.

General Degree Requirements

Download the Associate of Arts Worksheet to help keep track of credits.

  • A minimum of 90 earned credits in courses numbered 100 or above is required to complete the AA degree. The 90 credits must include at least 60 Core Requirement credits, 15 Core Elective (GTE) credits, and 15 General Elective credits.
  • English 101 (Composition - Exposition) is required for all AA degree candidates.
  • A minimum of 25 of the last 45 credits must be earned at Pierce College.
  • A college cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better is required.
  • A 1.5 grade (C-) or better for all Core Requirement and Core Elective (GTE) courses is required unless prerequisites state otherwise.
  • "Pass" (P) grades may be used only for General Elective credits.
  • Independent Study credits may be used only for General Elective credits.
  • Cooperative work experience/work-based learning credits may be applied to the general elective area only.
  • Once a course has been successfully completed, credits obtained may be used only once, even if that course is listed in more than one category.

Core Requirements

Courses should be selected from the Approved Core Requirements (GER) list. A minimum of 60 credits must be earned, distributed as follows. Learn more about the General Education program outcomes.

  • Communication (CM) – 10 credit minimum. Must include ENGL 101. View the transfer program outcomes.
  • Quantitative/Symbolic Reasoning (QS) – 5 credit minimum. Prerequisite: MATH 095 or 098 with a grade of 2.0 or better or placement out of MATH 098. View the transfer program outcomes.
  • Humanities (HM) – 15 credit minimum. Must include at least three different disciplines, with no more than five credits from performance /skills courses. No more than 5 credits are allowed in world (foreign language) to satisfy the Humanities requirements. View the transfer program outcomes.
  • Social Sciences (SS) – 15 credit minimum. Must include at least three different disciplines. View the transfer program outcomes.
  • Natural Sciences (NS) – 15 credit minimum. Must include at least three different disciplines, and must include at least one laboratory course. View the transfer program outcomes.

Core Electives (GTE)

A minimum of 15 credits must be earned from Pierce College's approved General Transferable Elective (GTE) list. Courses taken for a Pass/No Pass grade, Independent Study, and cooperative work experience/work-based learning courses DO NOT apply to the GTE area.

General Electives (GE)

Maximum of 15 credits of courses numbered 100 and above may be applied to this area. Credits may include physical activity (five credits maximum), cooperative education, courses taken under the P/NP option, independent study, etc.

Associate in Arts Outcomes

Program Outcomes

AA, AS and DTA Degree Outcomes:
General Education at Pierce College prepares graduates to live and work in a dynamically changing world by emphasizing whole student development through fundamental areas of knowledge and the college five core abilities.

Professional-Technical Degree/Certificate Programs:
Professional Technical education at Pierce College prepares graduates to live and work in a dynamically changing world by emphasizing program professional competencies, related instruction (fundamental areas of knowledge), and the college five core abilities. Program competencies can be found on the Professional Technical website.

Core Abilities Outcomes

Critical, Creative, and Reflective Thinking:
Graduates will be able to question, search for answers and meaning, and develop ideas that lead to action.

Responsibility:
Graduates will be able to respond by examining the relationship between self, community, and environments, evaluating potential impacts and consequences of actions, and making choices and contributions based on that examination and evaluation.

Information Competency:
Graduates will be able to seek, find, evaluate and use information and employ information technology to engage in lifelong learning.

Effective Communication:
Graduates will be able to exchange messages in a variety of contexts using multiple methods.

Multiculturalism:
Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of diverse ideas, cultures and experiences and the ability to examine their own attitudes and assumptions in order to engage others with civility and empathy.

Fundamental Areas of Knowledge Outcomes

Communication:
Graduates identify, analyze, and evaluate rhetorical strategies in one's own and other's writing in order to communicate effectively.

Humanities:
Graduates acquire skills to critically interpret, analyze and evaluate forms of human expression, and create and perform as an expression of the human experience.

Social Sciences:
Graduates use social science research methods and/or theory in order to analyze and interpret social phenomena.

Natural Sciences:
Graduates use the scientific method to analyze natural phenomena and acquire skills to evaluate authenticity of data/information relative to the natural world.

Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning:
Graduates utilize mathematical, symbolic, logical, graphical, geometric, or statistical analysis for the interpretation and solution of problems in the natural world and human society.

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