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Associate of Arts in General Studies
Version 003

Program Description

University of Phoenix offers an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies (AAGS) to meet the needs of adult students who want to complete a general AA degree before entering into the professional programs.

The Associate of Arts curriculum provides a solid foundation and overview within the academic disciplines of communication arts, social sciences, mathematics, life sciences, and the humanities. Instruction focuses on the development of skills on communication, critical thinking, and computation, and fosters a philosophical orientation that enables students to function as productive members of society. The completion of an AA degree also represents an important milestone for many students as they pursue their educational goals.

This foundation provides students with the perspectives necessary for meaningful self-examination of personal and social values, as well as enhanced ability to understand and cope with social, technological, professional, and cultural change. The AAGS program is a lower division degree program designed to provide a liberal arts education for the working adult learner in a non-traditional format.

Sixty credits are required for the AAGS degree. The distribution is as follows:

General Education Credits: 36

• Communication Arts: 6 credits
• Humanities: 6 credits
• Social Science: 6 credits
• Mathematics: 6 credits
• Science / Technology: 6 credits
• Additional Liberal Arts: 6 credits

Open Electives: 24 credits

All students are required to satisfy University of Phoenix's English, math, and critical thinking proficiencies. Proficiency may be demonstrated by successful completion of courses COMM/215, MTH/209, and PHL/251. Proficiency may also be demonstrated with passing scores on University of Phoenix English, math, and / or critical thinking assessment and / or CLEP exams. All students must earn the minimum credit subtotal in the communication arts, math, and humanities general education areas regardless of the methods of proficiency demonstration chosen.

Students entering with fewer than 24 transferable credits must complete the introductory course sequence (ICS).