Associate Degree Graduation Requirements

An Associate in Arts (AA) or an Associate in Science (AS) degree may be granted upon the completion of 60 Degree Applicable Units of work and fulfillment of the following specific requirements:

  1. Residence Requirement
  2. Major Requirement
  3. General Education Requirements
  4. Scholarship Requirement

NOTE: A course may not be applied to more than one general education area, even if it is approved for multiple areas. Students may use the same course to fulfill both a local general education requirement and a general education requirement at the California State University or the University of California, provided that the receiving institution accepts the course for this purpose. A course may also be used to satisfy both a general education requirement and a requirement for a major or area of emphasis.

Students may receive credit for knowledge or skills acquired through a campus' procedures for awarding credit for prior learning toward an associate degree. Students may also petition to have noncredit courses counted toward the satisfaction of requirements for an associate degree to prevent injustice or demonstrated undue hardship.

The Fullerton College graduation requirements described above apply for traditional Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degrees. These graduation requirements do not apply to the Associate Degrees for Transfer, called “AA-T” and “AS-T” degrees. Refer to Transfer Degree Graduation Requirements for more information on earning at AA-T or AS-T degree.

Title 5 Minimum Requirements for an Associate Degree include:

  1. Completion of an English composition course with a grade of C or better at the level of Freshman Composition (minimum of 3 semester units)
  2. Completion of a mathematics course with a grade of C or better at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra (minimum of 3 semester units) or by achieving an assessment test score determined to be comparable to satisfactory completion of Intermediate Algebra or a college level math course (please note: no units are awarded if this requirement is met using an assessment test score).
  3. An additional 12 semester units of General Education Requirements including at least 3 semester units in each of the GE areas below:
    1. (3 units) Natural Sciences
    2. (3 units) Social and Behavioral Sciences
    3. (3 units) Humanities
    4. (3 units) Communication and Analytical Thinking (this may be satisfied through completion of a math course at or above the level of Intermediate Algebra)

Residence Requirement: The student is required to satisfactorily complete at least 12 degree applicable semester units of study in residence at Fullerton College or Cypress College. Units awarded as Credit for Prior Learning, including Credit by Exam, do not count toward associate degree residency units. The Board of Trustees may excuse the residence requirement to alleviate injustice or demonstrated undue hardship.

Major Requirement: 

  • Satisfactory completion of 18 or more units and all requirements for a major or area of emphasis.
  • Each course counted toward the major or area of emphasis must be completed with a grade of “C” or better, or of “P” if the course is taken on a “pass-no pass” basis.
  • A “major” is a focused program of study within a specific discipline, which may include some coursework outside the primary discipline.
  • An “area of emphasis” is an interdisciplinary program of study encompassing a broad range of courses from multiple related academic disciplines, providing the student with an academic pathway broader than a specific major but more focused than general education.

General Education Requirement: Students must complete the associate degree general education requirements or the requirements for an approved intersegmental lower-division general education pattern used for transfer to the University of California or the California State University.

Students who have been awarded a bachelor's degree from an institutionally accredited institution shall be deemed to have fulfilled the general education course requirements for the associate degree.

OPTION 1

Associate Degree General Education Requirement
 

OPTION 2
Cal-GETC

< LINK >

OPTION 3**
CSU GE Breadth

OPTION 4** 
IGETC


 

**Note: Students may only use CSU GE Breadth or IGETC toward an AA or AS if they enrolled at a California Community College or California State University (CSU) and maintained continuous attendance prior to Fall 2025. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with a counselor for a determination of their eligibility for IGETC or CSU GE Breadth.

Scholarship Requirement: 

  • The student must complete the requirements for the associate degree with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 in all lower division degree-applicable courses.
  • If a student accumulates units beyond those required for the degree that lower the student’s cumulative grade point average below 2.0, Fullerton College may compute the grade point average based solely on those courses used to satisfy the degree requirements. Students who use this modified GPA calculation for graduation are not eligible to graduate with academic honors.

Other College Coursework: 

Credit for Courses Completed at Other Colleges

Courses completed at other institutionally accredited institutions that meet or exceed the standards of the California Community Colleges shall be counted toward associate degree unit requirements. Students are required to submit official transcripts from all other institutions they have attended, prior to applying for graduation in order to earn an associate degree. Refer to the Acceptance of Transfer Credits policy for more information.

Fullerton College may accept courses completed at other regionally accredited colleges/universities to satisfy general education requirements on Fullerton College’s local AA/AS GE pattern. Students may satisfy the requirements for any Fullerton College general education area (A-E) through submission of an official transcript that demonstrates completion of a general education course at another regionally accredited college/university if it can be determined that the course clearly fits the Fullerton College Title 5 based criteria for a specific general education area. The Articulation Officer will determine if a course will meet the requirements for the Fullerton College Associate Degree General Education Subject Areas in consultation with discipline faculty as needed.

Students who have earned an associate, baccalaureate, or higher degree from an institutionally accredited institution are considered to have met the general education requirements for an associate degree. No additional general education coursework will be required. To verify eligibility, official transcripts from the accredited institution(s) must be submitted to the Office of Admissions and Records.

A course completed at another institutionally accredited college or university may be used to satisfy a Fullerton College degree and/ or certificate requirement if it is determined to be “equivalent” to a course in the Fullerton College catalog. Equivalency is determined through the evaluation of official college transcripts. In addition to course-to-course equivalency, Fullerton College will also accept courses that meet a Cal-GETC, CSU GE or IGETC requirement at the college where they are completed to satisfy Fullerton College Associates Degree general education (or “GE”) requirements in the related GE area on the Fullerton College AA/AS GE pattern. The Fullerton College graduation requirements described above (in items 1-7) apply for traditional Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degrees. These graduation requirements do not apply to the Associate Degrees for Transfer, called “AA-T” and “AS-T” degrees.

Cal-GETC, CSU GE and IGETC credit for General Education courses completed at another college/university

Courses completed at a California Community College may be applied toward Cal-GETC, CSU GE Breadth, or IGETC requirements if they were completed with a qualifying grade during a term for which the course was approved by the CSU and UC systems, as documented on ASSIST.org.

Lower division general education courses completed with a passing grade at a California State University (CSU) prior to enrolling at a California community college will be accepted to meet requirements on the CSU GE pattern in the GE area for which they were approved at the CSU where the course was completed. The Articulation Office will determine if these courses may be accepted to meet the Cal-GETCor IGETC requirements that parallel the CSU GE areas, if a grade of C or better is reflected on the transcript.

A general education course completed at a University of California (UC) campus, a regionally accredited independent college or university in California that does not maintain a CSU GE Breadth certification list or a regionally accredited out-of-state institution of higher education under one of the following regional institutional accrediting organizations (MSA, MSCHE, NASC, NCA/NCA-HLC, NEASC-CIHE, NWCCU, SACS, WASC), may be reviewed by the Articulation Office to determine applicability to a specific Cal-GETC, CSU GE, and/or IGETC requirement. The Articulation Office will determine comparability for standard general education courses through consideration of the GE pattern and specific course objectives at the institution where the course was completed. If the course is substantially comparable in content, scope, and rigor to a course that is currently on the Cal-GETC, CSU GE, or IGETC certification list for any community college it may be “passed along” in that it will be used to satisfy a requirement in the appropriate GE area.

Pass Along for Students with Prior Baccalaureate and/or Associates Degrees

Multiple Degrees: Students may earn a traditional Associate Degree (AA/AS) from Fullerton College after receiving a baccalaureate degree or an associate degree from another accredited U.S. Institution under one of the following regional institutional accrediting organizations (MSA, MSCHE, NASC, NCA/NCA-HLC, NEASC-CIHE, NWCCU, SACS, WASC), upon completion of the following:

  1. a minimum of 24 units in residence or the last 12 units prior to awarding the degree (in any subject area unless there are residency requirements for the specific major, see major requirements for details)
  2. all requirements in the major field of study, with a grade of C or better
  3. other Fullerton College graduation requirements for which equivalents have not been completed, including Physical Education, Multicultural, and Reading requirements
  4. a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better
  5. *Title 5 Minimum Requirements for an Associate Degree
  6. Official transcript(s) of the regionally accredited U.S. institution(s) must be submitted to Admissions and Records.

*There will be no additional local General Education requirements as long as all Title 5 Requirements have been met.