The Associate in Arts degree requires 60 eligible college-level credits including 36 credits in general education, 24 credits of acceptable electives, and satisfaction of the foreign language proficiency requirement.
The general education program at Valencia is an integral part of the A.A. degree program and is designed to contribute to the student’s educational growth by providing a basic liberal arts education. A student who completes the general education program should have achieved the following outcomes:
Cultural and Historical Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of the diverse traditions of the world, and an individual’s place in it.
Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning: Use processes, procedures, data, or evidence to solve problems and make effective decisions.
Communication Skills: Engage in effective interpersonal, oral and written communication.
Ethical Responsibility: Demonstrate awareness of personal responsibility in one’s civic, social and academic life.
Information Literacy: Locate, evaluate and effectively use information from diverse sources.
Critical Thinking: Effectively analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and apply information and ideas from diverse sources and disciplines.
The general education program is 36 semester credits which serve as the core of the curriculum. The 36 credits are selected from 5 core areas of academic courses offered at Valencia: Communications, Humanities, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences.
Core courses are established by the State Board of Education to create a common General Education experience at every public institution in each of the 5 core areas. Core courses must be offered and accepted by every Florida College System (FCS) and State University System (SUS) institution. Core courses account for 15 credits in the General Education program. Institutional courses are established by each college and university to support their General Education program outcomes. Institutional courses account for the remaining 21 credits of the 36 credit General Education program.
| 12 |
| 6 |
| 6 |
| 6 |
| 6 |
| Total Credit Hours | 36 |
Area 1. Communications
| |
| ENC 1101 | FRESHMAN COMPOSITION I +*~1 | 3 |
| or ENC 1101H | FRESHMAN COMPOSITION I - HONORS |
| ENC 1102 | FRESHMAN COMPOSITION II +*~ | 3 |
| or ENC 1102H | FRESHMAN COMPOSITION II - HONORS |
| FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH ~ | |
| FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEECH - HONORS ~ | |
| INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION ~ | |
| INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION HONORS ~ | |
| NEW STUDENT EXPERIENCE ~ | |
| NEW STUDENT EXPERIENCE-HONORS |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 |
Area 2. Humanities
| |
| ART APPRECIATION ~ | |
| ART APPRECIATION - HONORS |
| INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES ~ | |
| INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES - HONORS |
| INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE ~ | |
| MUSIC APPRECIATION +*~ (GR) | |
| PHILOSOPHY ~ | |
| INTRODUCTION TO THEATER ~ | |
| GREEK AND ROMAN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| GREEK AND ROMAN HUMANITIES-HONORS |
| MEDIEVAL HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| MEDIEVAL HUMANITIES - HONORS |
| RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| HUMANITIES - RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE - HONORS |
| 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY HUMANITIES - HONORS |
| 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY HUMANITIES - HONORS |
| MYTHOLOGY +*~ (GR) | |
| MYTHOLOGY - HONORS |
| MIDDLE EASTERN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| ASIAN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| AFRICAN - AMERICAN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| LATIN AMERICAN HUMANITIES +*~ (GR) | |
| LATIN AMERICAN HUMANITIES - HONORS |
| WORLD RELIGIONS +*~ (GR) | |
| HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I +*~ (GR) | |
| INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY II +*~ (GR) | |
| MUSIC THEORY I ~2 | |
| ETHICS AND CRITICAL THINKING +*~ (GR) | |
| Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Area 3. Mathematics
| |
| COLLEGE ALGEBRA +*~ (GR) | |
| COLLEGE ALGEBRA - HONORS |
| MGF 1130 | MATHEMATICAL THINKING +*~ (GR) | 3 |
| CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY I +*~ (GR) | |
| CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY I - HONORS |
| STATISTICAL METHODS +*~ (GR) | |
| STATISTICAL METHODS - HONORS |
| COLLEGE TRIGONOMETRY +*~ (GR) | |
| PRECALCULUS ALGEBRA +*~ (GR) | |
| CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY II +*~ (GR) | |
| CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY II - HONORS |
| CALCULUS FOR BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE +*~ (GR) | |
| CALCULUS FOR BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE |
| MGF 1131 | MATHEMATICS IN CONTEXT +*~ (GR) | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 |
Area 4. Science
| |
| |
| ASTRONOMY ~ | |
| ASTRONOMY - HONORS |
| BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE ~ | |
| BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE COMBINED ~ | |
| BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE - HONORS |
| GENERAL BIOLOGY I *~ | |
| GENERAL BIOLOGY I HONORS |
| CHEMISTRY IN EVERYDAY LIFE ~ | |
| GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS I *~ | |
| GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS I -HONORS |
| EARTH SCIENCES ~ | |
| INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ~ | |
| INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE HONORS |
| PHYSICAL GEOLOGY | |
| INTRODUCTION TO OCEANOGRAPHY | |
| CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS ~ | |
| GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS I *~ | |
| GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS I - HONORS |
| COLLEGE PHYSICS I WITH ALGEBRA *~ | |
| BOTANY ~ | |
| GENERAL BIOLOGY II *~ | |
| GENERAL BIOLOGY II - HONORS |
| HUMAN BIOLOGY ~ | |
BSC 1020C | ~ | |
| BIOLOGY OF HUMAN SEXUALITY ~ | |
| BIOLOGY OF HUMAN SEXUALITY - HONORS |
| INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECHNOLOGY ~ | |
| HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I *~ | |
| HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II *~ | |
| INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL CHEMISTRY *~ | |
| GENERAL CHEMISTRY WITH QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS II *~ | |
| GEOLOGY OF NATIONAL PARKS ~ | |
| THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION ~ | |
| INTRODUCTION TO METEORLOGY ~ | |
| GENERAL PHYSICS WITH CALCULUS II *~ | |
| COLLEGE PHYSICS II WITH ALGEBRA AND TRIGONOMETRY *~ | |
| MICROBIOLOGY *~ | |
| Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Area 5. Social Sciences
| |
| U.S. GOVERNMENT ~ | |
| U.S. GOVERNMENT - HONORS |
| UNITED STATES HISTORY TO 1877 ~ | |
| U.S. HISTORY 1877 TO PRESENT ~ | |
| UNITED STATES HISTORY 1877 TO PRESENT - HONORS |
| INTRODUCTORY ANTHROPOLOGY ~ | |
| INTRODUCTORY ANTHROPOLOGY - HONORS |
| PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS-MACRO ~ | |
| PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS-MACRO-HONORS |
| GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY ~ | |
| GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY - HONORS |
| CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY +*~ (GR) | |
| DEAF CULTURE +*~ (GR) | |
| ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL WESTERN CIVILIZATION +*~ (GR) | |
| MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION +*~ (GR) | |
| MODERN WESTERN CIVILIZATION-HONORS |
| INTERNATIONAL POLITICS +*~ (GR) | |
| INTERNATIONAL POLITICS HONORS |
| STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT +*~ (GR) | |
| STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT - HONORS |
| INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY +*~ (GR) | |
| INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY- HONORS |
| SOCIAL PROBLEMS +*~ (GR) | |
| WORLD HISTORY TO 1500 +*~ (GR) | |
| WORLD HISTORY SINCE 1500 +*~ (GR) | |
| Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Most college-level credit courses taught at Valencia will count toward elective credit. Any credits in excess of the minimum required in any of the five core areas listed above will count as elective credits. University majors require certain prerequisite courses before transferring; these are the courses that should be taken as electives at Valencia.
To select the most appropriate electives, create an education plan through Atlas for review with a Student Services staff member.
Valencia’s college-level foreign language proficiency requirement can be satisfied in one of the following ways:
- You may complete two credits (two years) of high school instruction in one language other than English with a passing grade each year as documented on your official high school transcript.
- You may successfully complete one of the following sequences in a single foreign language with a letter grade of “C” or better:
- You may satisfy this requirement by successfully completing foreign language course work at the Elementary II college level with a minimum grade of "C."
- Demonstration of proficiency by passing a CLEP (College Level Examination Program) foreign language test or a foreign language proficiency test administered by the University of Central Florida. Students who earn college-level foreign language credits through course work or CLEP may apply these credits toward the 24 Elective credits.
- If your native language is a language other than English, you may satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement by successful completion of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course requirements and successful completion of the Area I Communications requirements for the Associate in Arts degree.
- Demonstrated college-level proficiency in American Sign Language (either through completion of eight semester credits or successful completion of ASL 2150) can be used to fulfill this requirement at Valencia.
- Demonstration of proficiency by passing Advanced Placement test with a score of 4 or higher.
- American Sign Language cannot be used to fulfill the foreign language graduation requirement at many universities. Students are responsible for verifying acceptability at the institution to which they plan to transfer.
Note: Satisfaction of this graduation requirement for Valencia may also satisfy the foreign language admission requirement for Florida public universities; it may or may not satisfy a specific university graduation requirement. Students are encouraged to find out the specific requirements of institutions in which they are interested.
Civic Literacy Requirement
Satisfy the civic literacy requirement. As per Florida Rule 6A-10.04213*, prior to the award of an associate in arts or baccalaureate degree, students initially entering a Florida College System institution in the 2021-22 school year, and thereafter must demonstrate competency in civic literacy prior to graduation by:
a. receiving a passing score on the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE), and
b. successful completion of one of the following:
- successfully passing POS 2041 U.S. GOVERNMENT. or AMH 2020 U.S. HISTORY 1877 TO PRESENT or
- successfully passing a prescribed assessment:
AP Government & Politics: United States Test* (passing score =3), or
AP United States History Test* (passing score = 4), or
CLEP American Government* (passing score = 50)
*receiving a passing score will satisfy both the FCLE and course requirements.
