Requirements for Associate of Arts Degree
Students are required to complete 60 hours of transferable college-level credit to receive an associate of arts (AA) degree. Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rule 6A-14.0303 requires 36 semester hours of general education courses, excluding college prep/developmental education courses. The remaining 24 credit hours are elective credits. Also, graduates must meet the following requirements:
- Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rule 6A-10.030, College-Level Communication and Computation Skills (formerly known as the Gordon Rule)
- Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rule 6A-10.02413, Civic Literacy Competency
- Bachelor students must complete the state-mandated foreign language requirement by the time they graduate with their degree. If students are not going to pursue a bachelor's degree they must complete their foreign language requirement before graduating with their AA.
- Meet the Daytona State College residency requirements
- Have a cumulative 2.0 GPA and a Daytona State College 2.0 GPA. (See Graduation Requirements and Procedures.)
Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rule 6A-10.030, College-Level Communication and Computational Skills (formerly known as the Gordon Rule):
In accordance with the Florida Department of Education Administrative Rule, all students are mandated to satisfactorily complete 12 semester hours of courses which include written assignments demonstrating college-level writing skills and also satisfactorily complete a minimum of six (6) semester hours of mathematics. This rule applies to all students prior to receipt of an AA degree from a public community college or university, or prior to entry into upper division of a public university. For the purpose of this rule, a grade of "C" or better shall be considered successful completion.
Students who do not complete all of the College-Level Communication and Computational Skills courses within the 60 credits must complete additional courses to fulfill AA degree requirements.
Courses that satisfy the College-Level Communication and Computational Skills rule are part of the General Education Core and are listed in the college catalog under Requirements for Associate of Arts Degree under Communication, Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences. College-Level Communication and Computational Skills Writing Courses consist of any course denoted as a College-Level Communication and Computational Skills course EXCEPT those in the Mathematics Core.
Florida State Board of Education Administrative Rule 6A-10.02413, Civic Literacy Competency
In accordance with the Florida Department of Education Administrative Rule, first-time-in-college AA and baccalaureate students entering a Florida College System institution in the 2018-19 academic year, and thereafter, must demonstrate competency in civic literacy prior to graduation. Students can meet this requirement through one of the following options: successfully pass POS2041 American Federal Government or AMH2020 United States History 1865 to Present; or achieve a standard score on one of three assessments:
- AP Government and Politics: United States
- AP United States History or
- CLEP: American Government.
Foreign Language Requirements
Completion of two years of the same foreign language in high school, or completion of or demonstration of proficiency in a foreign language or American Sign Language at the elementary 2 level or above (e.g. French, German, Italian, or Spanish at level 1121 or higher or ASL2150 or higher.) Foreign and sign language courses satisfy elective credits toward the AA degree.
Each course used to satisfy this rule and all General Education Core courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or higher.
General Education Core
The state-mandated 36 hours of general education are distributed in the following areas:
I. Communication - 9 Credits
| ENC1101 | Introduction to Composition | 3 |
| ENC1102 | Writing with Research | 3 |
| SPC2608 | Oral Communications/Research/Presentation Skills | 3 |
ENC1101, ENC1102: satisfy the College-Level Communication and Computational Skills Administrative Rule.
II. Mathematics - 6 Credits
Note: Higher-level mathematics courses also will satisfy the core requirement.
Completion of 6 credits of college-level courses in this area satisfies the College-Level Communication and Computational Skills Administrative Rule requirement in mathematics.
In areas of NATURAL SCIENCES, HUMANITIES, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, one choice MUST come from Column I.
III. Natural Sciences - 6 Credits (Choose two)- One must be from Column I
Note: Higher-level natural science courses also will satisfy the core requirement.
Column I
| AST1002 | Astronomy | 3 |
| BSC1005 | Survey of Biological Sciences (For Non-Science Majors) | 3 |
| BSC1010C | General Biology I (For Science Majors) and Lab | 4 |
| BSC1085C | Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Lab | 4 |
| CHM1020 | Chemistry in Society | 3 |
| CHM1045C | General College Chemistry I and Lab | 4 |
| EVR2001 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3 |
| PHY1020 | Energy and its Environmental Effects | 3 |
| PHY1053C | General Physics I and Lab | 4 |
| PHY2048C | Physics with Calculus I and Lab | 5 |
Column II
IV. Humanities - 6 Credits (Choose two) - One must be from Column I
(Choose two: one must be a literature course: (AML, LIT) and one must be a humanities or art course: (ARH, DAN, HUM, MUH, MUL, PHI, REL, THE).
Note: All courses in this area satisfy the College-Level Communication and Computational Skills Administrative Rule writing requirement.
Column I
Column II
| AML2050 | Modern American Literature | 3 |
| AML2060 | Contemporary American Literature | 3 |
| AML2600 | Introduction to African American Literature | 3 |
| ARH2050 | Survey of Art History I | 3 |
| ARH2051 | Survey of Art History II | 3 |
| DAN1100 | Dance Appreciation | 3 |
| HUM2210 | Prehistory to Medieval Humanities | 3 |
| HUM2230 | Renaissance to Postmodern Humanities | 3 |
| LIT2030 | Understanding Poetry | 3 |
| LIT2040 | Dramatic Literature | 3 |
| LIT2110 | Masterpieces of World Literature I | 3 |
| LIT2120 | Masterpieces of World Literature II | 3 |
| LIT2380 | Literature By Women | 3 |
| MUH2110 | Introduction to Music History and Literature | 3 |
| MUL2380 | Popular Music in America | 3 |
| REL2300 | World Religion | 3 |
HUM2020, HUM2210, HUM2230, LIT2110, LIT2120, REL2300: Satisfies the Cultural/Global Focus Area graduation requirement.
V. Social Sciences - 9 Credits (SLS1122 + Choose Two) - One must be from Column I
SLS1122 is required of all students in the Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree. It is strongly recommended that students take SLS1122 within the first semester of course work. Some students may be exempt from the requirement to complete SLS1122. Cases in which a student in the AA program are exempt are:
- Transfer students with 24+ credits and a 2.75 cumulative GPA;
- Readmit students with 24+ credits and a 2.75 cumulative GPA; and
- Students who change their program from an AS program to the AA program with 24+ credits toward the AA and a 2.75 cumulative GPA.
It is required that students successfully pass either POS2041, American Federal Government, or AMH2020, United States History 1865 to Present, to demonstrate competency in civic literacy. Students may also complete one of three assessments. See introductory paragraph for more information.
Note: Those courses that contribute to the College-Level Communication and Computational Skills Administrative Rule writing requirement are identified as AMH2020, ECO2013, SYG2000, AMH2010, ECO2023, and GEB2430.
Column I
| AMH2020 | United States History 1865 to Present | 3 |
| ANT2000 | Introduction to Anthropology | 3 |
| ECO2013 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| POS2041 | American Federal Government | 3 |
| PSY1012 | General Psychology | 3 |
| SYG2000 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
AMH2020, POS2041: Satisfies Civic Literacy Competency graduation requirement.
Column II
| AMH2010 | United States History to 1877 | 3 |
| AMH2091 | Survey of African American History | 3 |
| CPO2001 | Comparative Government | 3 |
| DEP2004 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| ECO2023 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| EUH2000 | History of Western Civilization to 1648 | 3 |
| GEB2351 | International Business | 3 |
| GEB2430 | Ethics and Social Responsibility | 3 |
| GEO2000 | World Geography | 3 |
| GEO2420 | Cultural Geography | 3 |
| INR2002 | International Relations | 3 |
| SLS2281 | Diversity, Culture and Communication | 3 |
| SYG2010 | Social Problems and Deviance | 3 |
| WOH2012 | World History Before 1500 | 3 |
| TOTAL GENERAL EDUCATION |
36 credits |
| ASSOCIATE OF ARTS (AA) ELECTIVES |
24 credits |
| TOTAL CREDIT HOURS FOR THE AA DEGREE |
60 credits |
Associate of Arts (AA) Elective Courses
Students are required to have 24 credit hours of elective credits to complete the Associate of Arts (AA) degree. Any college credit course that is not already counting toward a General Education requirement may be used to meet this requirement, except courses that have a course number that begins with a 0, for example MAT0018C, ARR0121C, CJK0012. Courses in limited access programs are available only for students admitted to that program. (See Course Descriptions)
*Three (3) of the 24 elective credits must be a Cultural/Global Focus Area elective. This is a graduation requirement for students in the Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree. This requirement can also be satisfied using a course designated as Cultural/Global under Humanities and Social Sciences within the General Education curriculum. If the Cultural/Global Focus Area graduation requirement is satisfied using a course in the general education curriculum outlined above, then the graduation requirement is satisfied. If not, choose one to take as an elective within the Associate of Arts (AA) Electives.
Florida regulations require students to take any prerequisites needed for their intended transfer school/major as part of their AA degree. Students are required to meet with an academic advisor to discuss their intended transfer school and major and be informed of the prerequisites for their intended program before they have earned 30 credit hours.
Students should know the requirements of the senior university they plan to attend and work with their Daytona State College faculty advisor or an academic advisor to select electives to fulfill the prerequisites for their major. *Please see the Excess Hours Advisory Statement below from the Division of Florida Colleges.
Courses transferred from other institutions are decided on an individual basis.
*EXCESS HOURS ADVISORY STATEMENT
This Division of Florida Colleges advisory statement for incoming students is intended to ensure that all students within The Florida College System understand the importance and potential consequences of their course selections.
Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes, establishes an “excess hour” surcharge for students seeking baccalaureate degrees at state universities. It is critical that students, including those entering Florida College System Institutions, are aware of the potential for additional course fees. For the 2012-13 academic year and thereafter, “excess hours” are defined as hours that go beyond 110% of the hours required for a baccalaureate degree program. For example, if the length of the program is 120 credit hours, the student may be subject to an excess hour surcharge for any credits attempted beyond 132 credit hours (110% X 120).
All students whose educational plan may include earning a bachelor’s degree should make every effort to enroll in and successfully complete those courses that are required for their intended major on their first attempt. Florida College System students intending to transfer to state universities should identify a major or “transfer program” early and, by the time the student earns 30 semester hours of college credit, be advised of admission requirements for that program, including the approved common prerequisites. Course withdrawals and/or repeats, as well as enrollment in courses nonessential to the intended major, may contribute to a potential excess hours surcharge.