Social & Behavioral Sciences AA: Full-time

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Plan of Study

The following is a plan of requirements to complete this Associate of Arts degree in 2 years. Each student’s experience will vary slightly, as this plan does not include transfer work, Advanced Placement (AP), or other institutions’ concurrent enrollment credits. Math and English placement will be based on the student’s appropriate placement scores. If developmental courses are required, they should be taken in the student’s first semester.

NOTE: This plan assumes the student is prepared to take the courses listed. If prerequisites are required, additional semesters may be required to complete this degree.

Meet with the Academic Program Advisor and consult DegreeWorks for specific degree requirements.

First Year

Second Year

Advising Notes

1. Periodically, ask if student would like to pursue one of the emphases or if student would like to declare one of the majors in the social and behavioral sciences. Encourage student to declare a major if it does not prolong the length of time toward completion or incur additional costs.
2. Discuss with student after first year about which transfer institution they plan on attending and if specific courses are needed for programs/majors the student would pursue after transfer. Course substitutions will likely be granted if the student presents a rationale demonstrating the courses needed for transfer.
3. Students who choose an emphasis in this degree are highly encouraged to take all recommended courses as part of their General Education requirements where it applies and where possible. This allows students more flexibility when selecting “Allied” courses in the program or general electives.
4. All “Pathways” courses in the major (and emphases) will fulfill a General Education requirement. The course will also fulfill the “Pathways” program requirement and students should then select a course from the “Allied” category, or from the category indicated in PCO3 for the specific emphasis.
5. This major will serve as the default for all students who select the “Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Area of Study” unless they select a different major. The degree is most useful for students planning on transferring to a university or for students exploring the various disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. It is designed to serve SBS students who, in the past, would have completed a “General Studies” degree.
6. Language course: As part of the A.A. degree requirements, students at the institution must take a second (or additional) language at the 1020-level or higher, or take a proficiency exam that awards the student with credits equivalent to the 1020-level. Currently at SLCC, 1000-level language courses count as five credit hours each and courses at the 2000-level count for four credit hours. Many of our students already come with second-language experience (to varying degrees), whether living in a household where more than one language was spoken, or from taking years of foreign language in high school, or from experiential language learning by being embedded in foreign language communities and foreign countries (e.g., study abroad, gap year, religious service, etc.). As part of this program, the intent is to highlight and value this important knowledge. While a second language is not required in some social and behavioral science degrees, even at the bachelor’s degree level, a second language has both practical and ideational usefulness to the social and behavioral science student. Historically, A.A. degrees count as a small fraction of total awarded degrees. Comparatively speaking, they accounted for approximately four percent of General Studies degrees. Additionally, some students who declare majors that offer only an A.A. degree may opt out of the major because of the language requirement. Analysis shows that the language requirement, in many cases, adds an additional step for students to manage. In order to treat this (real or perceived) question equitably, the language requirement is built into the A.A. degree, taking the place of one or two “Exploration” courses in the A.S. degree. Furthermore, the “Allied” course will count LANG 1010, which offers students with “Novice Low” (ACTFL standards) or beginner-level knowledge/proficiency the opportunity to have the course count towards a program requirement, where in most cases it is counted only as a general elective. This flexibility allows students who may desire taking a second language an extra incentive to pursue that route. Even in the case that a student does not continue to the 1020-level, the course will still fulfill the “Allied” course requirement and the student can opt for the A.S. degree. This orchestrated system then leaves general electives as true “electives” instead of as a “slop pot” to clean up where curriculum design can sometimes be messy or incomplete. Finally, given that students come with varying degrees of second-language proficiency, one may place into a course higher than the 1020-level. In this case, different combinations of “Exploration” and “Allied” courses can be combined to arrive at a minimum threshold of 13 credit hours for the A.A. program requirements.