Associate in Arts Degree

The associate in arts (A.A.) degree is designed to complete the Illinois Articulation Initiative transferable General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) and the lower-division portion of a Baccalaureate Degree. SVCC also offers a credential for completion of the GECC.

• General Education Core Curriculum (37-39 Semester Hours)
  • Communications (9 semester hours)

    A grade of “C” or better is required in the Communication writing courses.

    • ENG 101
    • ENG 103
    • COM 131
  • Mathematics (3-4 semester hours)
    • MAT 111
    • MAT 115
    • MAT 203
    • MAT 204
    • MAT 205
    • MAT 220
    • MAT 221
    • MAT 230
    • MAT 240
  • Humanities and Fine Arts (9 semester hours)

    At least one course must be selected from Humanities and one course from Fine Arts. Interdisciplinary courses encompassing both the humanities and the fine arts may be used for either category. Only one course noted with identical subscript letters can be utilized towards general education credit.

    • Humanities
      • Foreign Language
        • LAN 262
      • Literature
        • ENG 160
        • ENG 201
        • ENG 203
        • ENG 212*
        • ENG 225
        • ENG 226
        • ENG 227
        • ENG 228
        • ENG 230*
      • Philosophy
        • PHL 101
        • PHL 102
        • PHL 103
      • Religious Studies
        • PHL 104*
      • Interdisciplinary Humanities
        • HUM 150*
        • HUM 210
    • Fine Arts
      • Performing Arts
        • MUS 201
        • THE 141
      • Visual Arts
        • ART 118*
        • ART 119
        • ART 120
        • ART 121_A
        • ART 122_A
        • HUM 112
      • Interdisciplinary Fine Arts
        • HUM 150*
        • HUM 210
  • Physical and Life Sciences (7 to 8 semester hours)

    One course must be selected from Life Science and one course from Physical Science. At least one course must be a laboratory science course (LAB).

    • Life Sciences
      • BIO 103 (LAB)
      • BIO 104
      • BIO 105 (LAB)
      • BIO 123 (LAB)
      • BIO 131 (LAB)
      • BIO 140
    • Physical Sciences
      • CHE 102
      • CHE 103 (LAB)
      • CHE 105 (LAB)
      • GSC 105 (LAB)
      • GSC 106
      • GSC 115
      • PHY 175 (LAB)
      • PHY 201 (LAB)
      • PHY 211 (LAB)
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (9 semester hours)

    Courses must be selected from at least two disciplines. Only one course noted with identical subscript letters can be utilized towards general education credit.

    • Anthropology
      • SOC 115*
      • SOC 116*
    • Economics
      • ECO 211
      • ECO 212
    • History
      • HIS 131
      • HIS 132
      • HIS 155*
      • HIS 221
      • HIS 222
    • Human Geography
      • GEO 122*
    • Political Science
      • PSC 163
      • PSC 164
      • PSC 232
      • PSC 233*_B
      • PSC 251*_B
      • PSC 261
    • Psychology
      • PSY 103
      • PSY 200
      • PSY 214
      • PSY 215
    • Sociology
      • SOC 111
      • SOC 112
      • SOC 251
• SVCC Degree Requirements (4 Semester Hours)
  • First Year Experience (1 semester hour)

    (SVCC Requirement-This is not a General Education Core Curriculum IAI course and is not required by the State for degree completion.)

    • FYE 101
  • Personal Health and Development (3 semester hours)

    (SVCC Requirement-These are not General Education Core Curriculum IAI courses and are not required by the State for degree completion.)

    • ART 101
    • ART 113
    • BIO 120
    • BUS 237
    • CIS 109
    • EDU 105
    • MUS 106
    • MUS 155
    • THE 145
    • COM 161
    • THE 232
    • Any 100 level physical education course
• Major Field Requirements/Transfer Electives (21-23 Semester Hours)

  Students should consult an academic advisor and their transfer institution to determine the specific courses appropriate for their program of study.

• Total Credit Hours for Degree (64 Semester Hours)

Computer Skills

Students planning to enter virtually every field need to be knowledgeable of the operation and applications of computers.

Foreign Language

While few baccalaureate institutions require a foreign or second language in their campus-wide general education requirements, competency through two, three, or four college semesters (or the high school equivalent) in a single foreign or second language is required for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree at some universities, for all bachelor's degrees in some colleges (such as colleges of liberal arts), and for some bachelor's degree majors. Thus, community college students who intend to transfer should plan to complete the foreign language courses required by their intended institution, college within a university, and/or major prior to transferring. Students should consult with an academic advisor and their transfer institutions to determine how this requirement can be met.

*Human Diversity

While General Education Core Curriculum courses incorporate as much as possible throughout all of its courses, authors, sources, and topics that expose students to the realities of a culturally diverse world, several courses (marked with an asterisk) are designed specifically to recognize and engender respect and value for human diversity. Therefore, as a state mandate, one or more courses incorporating human diversity for the purpose of improving human relations throughout an educated citizenry should be completed as part of graduation from SVCC.

All students must satisfy graduation requirements. See Policies