Associate Degrees - Get your Diploma and Join an Exciting Career
An Associates degree is an academic degree that is usually awarded through community colleges, junior colleges and some four-year colleges and universities. To get an associates degree at most colleges, you need to at least 60 undergraduate credit hours.
Should you chose to take classes full time, your coursework will take you about two years to complete. However, as a part time student you can also enjoy some flexibility if you enroll in on line programs.
There are two main categories of associates degrees: Those that prepare you for your professional degree and those that you can use to earn your four-year degree as transfer courses. The second type helps you work toward your general education (Gen. Ed.) courses or foundational coursework. Typically, programs are made up of general education requirements, major requirements, and electives. Full time study is equal to 4 semesters or 15 semester credit hours. Some accelerated distance two-year programs are also available online and most associate degrees online have many of the same requirements as on-campus or in-classroom courses.
Two year programs are available in the areas of liberal arts, business, education and other areas and many online programs accept transfer credits. Some online associate degree programs to consider are arts and humanities, business, management, accounting, criminal justice, graphic design, early childhood, education, computer technology programs, health programs, paralegal, and nursing to give a few examples.
General education coursework is important in associate degree programs. You can expect to take courses in communications, mathematics, social sciences, and humanities. This will lead you to either an associate in science (A.S.) or an associate in arts (A.A.) degree. This will depend on the track that you choose.
Professional and occupational degrees give graduates the option to get be qualified for entry-level jobs in the areas of computers programming or networking, graphic design, nursing, medical assisting, paralegal etc. Therefore they offer graduates the advantage of quick entry into their chosen career field.
In general, you would need to have a GED or high school diploma to be accepted into a degree program. In addition, ACT or SAT scores would be required. However, some colleges may accept equivalent or relevant work experience if you do not have a diploma. Check with your college of interest if this is the case.
As many working adults continue to enroll in college, there is a growing demand for online degree programs. You can research many of these schools online. Many have great programs and they give students the option to apply for financial aid and scholarships.