If you get an associate's degree will all of the credits transfer when you go on to a 4-year college or university?

Answer 1

It depends on the type of associates degree and the specific program of study. There are degrees at the associate level that are referred to as transfer programs and will be accepted full faith in credit at four year colleges and universities. Many individuals take advantage of the community college system for a variety of reasons. Still, there are some programs of study that are typically terminal degrees, that are very career oriented and designed to give a student all the expertise necessary to enter the workforce immediately after completion of the degree. Always meet with the transfer counselor at the school you attend for detailed information. Read the following for the differences in associate degrees. This should help.

What is the difference between Associates of Arts, Associates of Science, and Associates of Applied Science?

Associate degrees fall into three main areas.

• Associates of Arts (AA)
• Associates of Science (AS)
• Associates of Applied Science (AAS)

Each of the above degrees is designed to be completed after two years of study as a full-time student and provided the student takes the degree as prescribed by the college. In addition, most every community college requires that every incoming student be placement tested before they register for their first semester (unless they fall into an exemption category). This test is not an admissions test and has no bearing on a student's acceptance to the college. In fact, most students have already been accepted to the school before they take the test. It is not a test that is passed or failed, but simply to determine whether an individual needs to take some refresher courses before entering college level coursework. This is to ensure the student has the appropriate basic skills to succeed at the college level.

The test is broken down into four parts; two parts English and two parts mathematics. The English includes grammar (sentence sense), and reading comprehension. The math includes computation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, fractions, square roots, and percentages), and the equivalent of a high school algebra I. If the student scores low in any these areas, then they will be required to enroll in the indicated remedial course/s starting with their first semester. Thus, the two year degree plan may turn into a two and a half year, or possibly a three year plan depending on how much remedial work is needed. To limit this time, students have the option to enroll in summer session courses.

Now let us look at the inherent differences between the degrees:

Associates of Arts (AA)

The Associates of arts is really designed as a fully transferable degree to a four year college or university for those pursing a Bachelors degree. It serves to complete most of the four year institutions general education cluster area, which amounts to the first two years of a four year program. It also serves to complete any perquisite courses needed for the four year institutions curriculum major and minor requirements. Students are admitted to Junior level status provided they have completed the matching associate's level degree. In other words, Business AA to Business BA, Engineering AS, to Engineering AS etc. Thus, within this degree students will be required to have a well rounded educational foundation to include, English literature, history, social science, laboratory science, humanities, math, communications, etc. These courses are in addition to the student's major field of study.

Associates of Science (AS)

Within the AS degrees a student will notice there are less general education requirements, and more career oriented course work. You will find this in curriculums to include, Nursing, Engineering, some Computer Science and Allied Heath fields. Still, these programs should be fully transferable to four year institutions provided the degree matches that of the four year college or university's program of study, as mentioned above under AA degrees.

Associates in Applied Science (AAS)

The AAS degrees are very career oriented and designed to give the student all the expertise needed for entry level positions upon completion of the degree. Therefore, the student will notice most of the AAS degree is made up of professional phase courses particular to a specific field, and a very limited number of general education courses. This has promoted the myth, that all AAS degrees are not transferable to four year colleges and universities. I will admit, as the degree was originally designed; transferability was not the original intent of this type of degree. Therefore many AAS degree fields of study did not transfer to four year institutions very well. In fact, in some categories it was almost like starting over. Today this is not so. Community Colleges today have what is known as Joint Admissions or Dual Admissions articulations with four year institutions, where if the student completes the agreed upon program of study successfully, the four year institution will take the degree full faith in credit and grant the student Junior level status. This includes AAS degrees. However, it is strongly recommended that a student who is seeking to transfer to a four year institution at a later date, make an appointment with a Transfer Counselor at the Community College for the pros and cons of AAS transfer as well as more detailed information.

Answer 2

Answer 1: In the United States, a four-year undergraduate degree is a bachelors degree. An associates degree is exactly half of a bachelors degree, and so it may be earned in two years. In both cases, full-time (minimum 15 semester credit hours per semester) college attendance is presumed. Both an associates degree, and a bachelors degree, are considered "post-secondary" (meaning after high-school) but nevertheless "undergradate" degrees (meaning below a masters-level or doctoral-level degree).

A person with a two-year associates degree may, in fact, transfer said associates degree into a four-year bachelors degree program, and get full credit for said associates degree toward the first two entire years of said bachelors degree, leaving only two more years of the bachelors to be completed. In other words, the two years of the associates degree count as the freshman and sophomore years of the bachelors degree, leaving only the junior and senior years of the bachelors degree to be completed in order to obtain said bachelors degree.

As a practical matter, though, there may be reasons why some part of the two-year associates degree may not, in fact, count as the entire first two years of the four-year bachelors. Most of the first two years of any four-year bachelors degree -- and so, therefore, most of an entire two-year associates degree -- is occupied by what's called "lower division general education" (LDGE). LDGE consists of anywhere from a year, to usually closer to a year-and-a-half, of courses which have nothing to do with whatever is the degree's major, but which provide a good, basic, college-level general education, regardless what more specific area of study one pursues toward one's degree's major...

...courses in things like, for example, English composition, math, natural science, social science, communications, humanities, computer and library usage, etc. LDGE is also intended to help those who can't figure out what they'd like their degree's major to be to be exposed to a wide range of subjects so that perhaps it will become easier for them to choose.

The reason I explained LDGE is because some two-year associates degree schools may have slightly different LDGE requirements than do some four-year Bachelors Degrees. Yes, the LDGE in both is about the same, but the two-year school's LDGE might only require, for example, one math course, whereas the four-year school's LDGE might require two match courses. If the four-year school won't give a waver on that second math course requirement of its LDGE to the incoming student with an associates degree which only contains one math course in its LDGE, the said incoming-to-the-bachelors-program may find himself/herself having to make-up that second math course before the four-year school will officially admit him/her as a full junior.

This is a big problem in California, for example, where the four-year California State University LDGE requirements can differ slightly from the four-year University of California LDGE requirements; and so students attending two-year California community colleges must keep in mind which of those two four-year systems they will later try to enter with their two-year community college associates degrees so that they can make sure that their associates degrees' LDGE will meet the LDGE requirement of whichever of the two four-year California university systems they ultimately enter.

Notwithstanding stuff like that, though, it remains true that a two-year associates degree is equal to the first half of a four-year bachelors degree; and a person with the former may enter the program of the latter and do just two more years of school to emerge with the four-year bachelors degree (and the two-year associates, as well... meaning that s/he may put bothof them onto his/her resume).

Answer 3

Yes, but they are cheaper at a jr if that's all you need.

Answer 4

An Associates Degree is a 2 year Degree.

Answer 5

an associates degree is a 2 year degree